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The Election Of President Biden: What Now For The American Jewish Community? Part 7

While Biden is happy to make promises to fight antisemitism, he does not necessarily intend to do anything about it.

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Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running-mate despite her close relations with the antisemitic organization, the Council on American Relations (C.A.I.R.) (Photo: Twitter/Joe Biden)

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In this, Part 7, I propose to address the issue as to whether Biden is a genuine friend of the American Jewish community and committed to its well-being.

The first thing I remember about Biden is that as Vice-President speaking to an American Jewish audience in the U.S, he made the bizarre statement ,which I quote from memory,   that  “Jews would be safer in Israel than in the United States.”

My point of departure to  address this issue   is Biden’s election canvassing

document (the ”document”)  specifically directed to the American  Jewish community. https://joebiden.com/joe-biden-and-the-jewish-community-a-record-and-a-plan-of-friendship-support-and-action/

In this document, Biden promises a number of things that are of interest to all the minority communities. I pick on two promises of particular interest to the Jewish one. The document promised:

  1. a) To lead a comprehensive approach to battling anti-Semitism that takes seriously both the violence that accompanies it and the hateful and dangerous lie that underlies it, and b) To appoint leadership at the Department of Justice who will prioritise the prosecution of hate crimes.

Cf. Hannah Elka Meyers, The Flames of Anti-Semitism Are Growing Higher, and Fuelled by Both the Left and Right…2021 promises to be worse February 4, 2021 www.tabletmag.com › news › anti-semitism-review-2020

Needless to say, the document also makes a number of positive representations about Israel and the close American –Israeli relations on the premise that these things need to be said as well to enhance Biden’s stature as a defender of the American Jews from the plague of antisemitism.

So far, the Biden Administration adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism. His Deputy Assistant Secretary of State informed the Jewish community that the administration views the IHRA‘s working definition of antisemitism as “an invaluable tool” that the administration “embraces and champions”.

That is all fine. Whether and how Biden will champion the definition to fight antisemitism remains to be seen, in the light of the fact that during Trump’s presidency, he did not publicly urge the House Democrats to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act.  That would have enshrined the IHRA definition into law, and his silence suggests that he will simply treat it as a political ornament, as does, unfortunately, our own Prime Minister Trudeau.

Curiously enough, the document makes no mention of the urgent set of problems that are unique to the Jewish community: antisemitic university professors; harassment and violence against Jewish students on university grounds as well as the harassment of Jewish faculty members, and the unwillingness of universities to take the necessary steps to address these problems, let alone address them effectively. Cf. ADL, Schooled in Hate: Anti-Semitism on Campus, https://www.adl.org/resources/reports/schooled-in-hate-anti-semitism-on-campus

As to the universities and their antisemitic faculty members are concerned, Obama decided to finance the establishment of academic units specialising in Middle-Eastern studies and justified it by the need to provide American students with an opportunity to develop expertise on Middle-East questions.

In doing that, Obama already knew that a) American universities were already receiving hundreds of millions from Islamic entities, and propaganda centres, and that b) Pipers must play the tunes called by the who of which were and continue to be Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

On the last known count, universities reported receiving $3.1 billion from Qatar and $1.1 billion from Saudi Arabia. Qatar is closely associated with, and probably finances, aids and abets the terrorist organisation, Muslim Brotherhood, supports and subsidises Hamas by providing monthly allowances to feed and assist the Gazan population in part as a result of the P.A.’s decision to blockade Gaza, and, needless to say, in part as a result of the diversion foreign assistance by Hamas to build underground attack tunnels, among other things.

And so it was and remains that a number of universities established these academic centres and a number of them hired antisemitic academics that support BDS, libel and defame the Israeli government, the IDF, their policies and practices, not to say more. 

During this time, Biden must have known what was going on since the faculty engaged in libelling and defaming were not whispering their accusations but speaking out loud and publishing their sordid utterances. Yet, he never raised his voice against the universities and. and the faculty and calls them to order.

Trump on the other hand imposed on the universities the legal obligation to report all the foreign funds which they receive from foreign sources.

Biden, mindlessly anxious to reverse all the decisions made by Trump, regardless of their merit, dropped the rule involving China under which Trump would have compelled primary, secondary and postsecondary institutions to disclose all contracts and transactions with the Confucius Institute and failing to do that would lose certification for the Student and Exchange visitor program. In doing so, Biden also dropped the Trump rule forcing universities to reveal the foreign cash received from foreign Islamic propaganda centres.

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Nonetheless, given the high profile, the seriousness and urgency of campus antisemitism problems, I am surprised that to date, Biden, failed to identify them as an urgent priority of his administration or to give any indication as to whether he intends to carry on with Trump’s Executive Order that extended Title VI civil rights protections to Jewish students on campuses, needless to say, without mentioning Trump’s name. Cf. Ariel Bulshtein, Winfield Myers on Radicalized Universities in the United States, Israel Hayom, December 3, 2020 https://www.meforum.org/61972/winfield-myers-on-universities-in-the-united

As a matter of fact, during his entire tenure as Vice- President, did not try to convince Obama or the Administration’s Secretary of Education to extend Title VI civil rights protections to Jewish students on college campuses to ensure that all antisemitism is treated as a hate crime. cf. Lauri B. Regan, Opinion: Is it Trump or Biden who has an anti-Semitism problem? Cf. FrontPage Magazine, 2020 https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/11/biden-not-trump-has-antisemitism-anti-zionism-lauri-b-regan/

As to the promise to appoint leadership in the Department of Justice, Biden nominated Kristen Clark for the position of Assistant Attorney- General for the Civil Rights Division suggests that while he is happy to make promises to fight antisemitism, he does not necessarily intend to do anything about it.

Joseph Klein reports that “Clarke has a long record of making racially charged comments going back to her time in college and law school and has since continued to do this. She has also spoken out in favour of an anti-Semite.” Cf. Joseph Klein, Biden’s Disastrous Pick to Head DOJ Civil Rights Division, January 15, 2021

And these problems with her nomination are not all of Clarke’s mischiefs. For example, she advanced pseudo-scientific theories of black racial superiority. Cf. Kevin Daily, Biden Pick for Civil Rights Chief Promoted Racism and Anti-Semitism at Harvard, Morning Bacon Newsletter, January 12, 2021 https://freebeacon.com/politics/biden-pick-for-civil-rights-chief-promoted-racism-and-anti-semitism-at-harvard/

Jonathan Tobin in his paper titled What does it mean to actually oppose anti-Semitism, JNS January 14, 2021, https://www.jns.org/opinion/what-does-it-mean-to-actually-oppose-anti-semitism/

reported on Clarke’s mischiefs and “her attempt to put out the fire involved both in expressing regret and providing an explanation that attempted to explain the otherwise inexplicable.

Days after Joe Biden disavowed Linda Sarsour, his national coalition director said “I am sorry that that happened” in a private call to Muslim and Arab Democrat leaders. (Photo: Joe Biden Facebook)

And that is not all.  Among his actions, Biden

  1. a) selected Kamala Harris as his running-mate despite the fact that she has close relations with the Council on American Relations (C.A.I.R.) an antisemitic organisation with links to unsavoury organisations in the Middle-East; kept quiet Harris refused to denounce llhan Omar’s vile antisemitic tropes;
  2. b) condemns antisemitism while keeping mum about it among the Democrats, Benjamin Baird, Biden Condemns Anti-Semitism While Ignoring Democrats Who Support it, The Federalist, September 12, 2020, com › category ›politics › page › 15
  3. c) embraced, along with Harris, Black Lives Matter which at its core is a flagrantly anti-Semitic movement; September 12, 2020
  4. d) refused to denounce Antifa, as reported “claiming that it was only an “idea” despite the fact that one of the hateful “ideas” at its core is anti-Semitism”;
  5. e) supported and endorsed during the election, Muslim antisemites including Farrakhan-supporter Linda Sarsour whom Biden invited to speak at the DNC and appeared with her on the radio.

Biden has been urged to proceed with dispatch to appoint a new U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism. In the light of the number of anti-Israelis, Obama-brand “progressive” Jews, just to mention two groups whose members, Biden nominated and appointed to high-level positions. I dread it.

So, is Biden a genuine friend of the American Jewish community and genuinely committed to its wellbeing?

Yes, so long as the friendship and the commitment, do not get in the way of a) intra- and inter-party politics, and b) his cordial relationships with antisemitic persons, groups, organisations and constituencies associated with and support the Democratic party.

In Part 8, I propose to address the question as to whether Biden is a genuine friend of Israel and genuinely committed, to its well –being and safety.

Doğan D. Akman is an independent researcher and commentator. He holds a B.Sc. in sociology, an M.A. in sociology/criminology and an LL.B in law. He held academic appointments in sociology, criminology and social policy; served as a Judge of the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, and occupied the positions of Crown Counsel in criminal prosecutions and in civil litigation at the Federal Department of Justice. His academic work is published in peer-reviewed professional journals, while his opinion pieces and other writings are to be found in various publications and in blogs.  

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Happy reading!

Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.

We do news differently!

Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.

We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.

But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!

Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.

Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.

We thank you for your ongoing support.

Happy reading!

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