The New Legislators
According to reports in the Israeli media, perhaps to frighten the Israeli readers to assume Israel is the safest place in the world for Jews, anti-Semitism has been on the rise around the world. Some commentators believe this rise is fueled by Islamic fundamentalists and their followers who use Israel as their rallying-cry, with others maintaining that Israel is a politically accepted way to say ‘Jews.’
Some would say that Israel should be sacrificed to save the Jews outside of Israel, much as, in the film “High Noon,” some of the Hadleyville townsfolk were willing to sacrifice Gary Cooper to the Miller’s brother before the train carrying the killers reached town. According to this scenario, by sacrificing Israel, anti-Semitism would go away. The fact that anti-Semitism has existed for thousands of years before modern Israel was established is ignored, and with or without Israel anti-Semitism shows no signs of abating.
Iihan Omar, the newly elected Minnesota congresswoman, is the first Muslim woman elected to congress. She has begun her congressional career by bashing Israel, claiming U.S. support for Israel is influenced by payoffs made by AIPAC. She is supported in her claims by liberal-left politicians, like Bernie Sanders, and even AIPAC adversaries like J-Street. AIPAC denies the accusation, claiming it does not make any monetary payments to any politicians. This is true, but AIPAC does sponsor fact-finding trips to Israel for U.S. politicians. And, according to observers, does make plain AIPAC support for favored politicians.
But the question is, does Congresswoman Omar symbolize the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S.? Are Muslim-Americans gaining enough strength to lead an anti-Semitic revolt? Some news articles, perhaps scurrilous, perhaps accurate, claim that Dr. Abdul el-Sayed, an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in Michigan, was sponsored by the Moslem Brotherhood, an Islamic Fundamentalist group that wants to impose Sharia, strict Muslim law, around the world. Is Omar the harbinger of yet another dark page in Jewish history?
Another Muslim woman elected at the same time was Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). So far, Rep. Tlaib’s comments haven’t caused a stir.
But the question is, does Congresswoman Omar symbolize the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S.? Are Muslim-Americans gaining enough strength to lead an anti-Semitic revolt? Some news articles, perhaps scurrilous, perhaps accurate, claim that Dr. Abdul el-Sayed, an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in Michigan, was sponsored by the Moslem Brotherhood, an Islamic Fundamentalist group that wants to impose Sharia, strict Muslim law, around the world. Is Omar the harbinger of yet another dark page in Jewish history?
If the Jews are persecuted, as in the past in “enlightened” countries like England (in the 13th century) or Germany (in the 20th century), and forced to flee yet again, where would they go? Israel? Would Israel be safe? Could Israel maintain her military strength without U.S. aide to Israel? Aid that would be stripped by the likes of Omar? Would a weakened Israel be overrun by the Islamic Fundamentalist states like a mudslide seeping down a Mexican mountainside? Can the momentum of Islamic Fundamentalism be stopped? Or at least diverted enough to weaken the momentum?
As Muslim refugees pour into Europe and the U.S. more votes can be expected for people like Omar.
She does wear a head-covering indicating she is, or wants to appear to be, a religious Muslim. That does not mean all religious Muslims want Israel destroyed, or that religious Muslims don’t make a positive contribution to American or European society, but Fundamentalist Islam, like the Moslem Brotherhood, does aim to destroy Israel. According to an Israeli TV report by Zvi Hezkeli on Channel 13, the Moslem Brotherhood is very influential in Muslim communities in the U.S. and Europe. (He went on to say that the Moslem Brotherhood was essentially financed by Turkey’s President Erdoğan.)
Decades ago a white American Christian who had converted to Islam told me that Islam would once again arise and this time take over the world. Similar statements have been made concerning the Middle East, that the Mediterranean would once again become a Mohammedan lake. Much has been said and written about Islamic Fundamentalists wanting to destroy western thought and replace it with Sharia law.
But these are not the only dangers. A recent article in the New Yorker (Letter From Hungary “The Illiberal State” Victor Organ’s vision for Europe, by Elisabeth Zerofsky, Jan 14, 2019 issue) claims that Hungary’s PM Orban has a different solution. Anti-refugee, anti-liberal democratic policies are to be replaced by a right-wing Christian democracy. He also supports the anti-George Soros, a Hungarian-Jewish American billionaire, campaign that many believe is veiled anti-Semitism. Orban’s new political direction is supported by Marion Marechal, the niece of right-wing French politician Jean Marie LePen.
On one hand, Islamic Fundamentalists, on the other a rise of Christian anti-Semitism.
Is there a middle-ground? A few countries in Europe already have a sizeable Muslim population. In total, 25,000,000 Muslims now live in Europe and make up about 5% of the population. But a recent Pew research study says that the number will triple by 2050 to about 15% or 50,000,000 Muslims, while at the same time the non-Muslim population is expected to decline.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing the Pew Research Center, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. In fact, if current trends continue, Muslims will surpass Christians as the world’s largest religious group in the second half of this century. Also, by 2050 there will be more Muslims in the U.S. than Jews.
How many of these Muslims will want democracy and how many opt for and vote for Sharia law?
Israel TV’s Zvi Hezkeli went to a town in Florida with a Muslim majority and the town was trying to institute Sharia law, democratically.
Can one be a liberal and still find a future bright with the dawn of Muslim power rising around the world?
Are these scary times for Democracy of just for the Jews? Or is this just Jewish paranoia, the Jewish Survival Gene causing the antennae to twitch? Will this wave of Islamic ascendency dissipate or turn into a tsunami? What would today’s modern prophet, the super-computer, predict?
