Attacks on Synagogues? Must they stop?

Subject: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: GUEST,Spectator
Date: 07 Apr 02 - 12:11 PM

After 9/11, there were a number of wholly unwarranted attacks against Arab-Americans. Mousethief started a Mudcat thread, now over 100 posts long, demanding that such attacks stop.

Mousethief, and all Mudcatters who echoed him, were, of course, correct.

However, why are Mousethief and all other like-minded Mudcatters silent now that Jewish synagogues in France, Belgium, the United States and Canada, are being firebombed.

Even in such out-of-the-way places as Regina, Saskatchewan, synagogues are being firebombed.

Attacks on synagogues? Must they stop too?

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Apr 02 - 12:25 PM

Of course. Just like the Israelis need to stop attacking Palestinian civilians and withdraw from the occupied terrortories immediately, as the international community has demanded of them.

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Apr 02 - 05:58 PM

The difference between the attacks on Arab-Americans after September 11 and the alleged attacks on jewish synagogues now is that Arab-Americans did nothing to provoke their attackers while diaspora synagogues have all been funding the zionist conquest of Palestine since before 1948.

We recognize that fact and that's why you won't find the same sympathy for the jews here that you'll find for Arab-Americans.

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: BH
Date: 07 Apr 02 - 06:34 PM

Well --Guest---anonymity is wonderful for the cowardly---you have shown you prejudices admirably. By the way---correct English---Jew is capitalized--as is Arab.

Nice shot!

Nuff said.

Bill H

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: GUEST,Spectator
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 09:59 AM

To the first guest with no name:

The implication of your response is that firebombing of synagogues around the world is justified as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory.

The demands in the previous Mudcat thread about violence against Arab-Americans explicitly, and quite rightly, rejected linkage to the actions of the Arab terrorists who perpetrated 9/11. Your response, on the other hand, holds Jews in Saskatchewan and France responsible for the actions of the Israeli goveernment. You are saying that it is Jews the world over who are responsible for the occupation. Your statement reeks of anti-Semitism.

To the second guest with no name:

Your statement is blatant anti-Semitism.

Givem the outrage that so much injustice in the world generates at Mudcat, I must say that the silence of Mudcatters on this issue is quite surprising.

I as again, attacks on synagogues? Must they stop too?

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: greg stephens
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 10:06 AM

I cant help pointing out that I, and I suspect 100% of Mudcat members, are highly unlikely to attack synagogues, or mosques or churches either. Perhaps some of these remarks are better dircted elsewhere.

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: PeteBoom
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 10:18 AM

Or is it simply that the media (in the States at least) make less of the attacks on synagogues than they did on the attacks on mosques? It is hard to generate outrage when folks don't know about actions or activities that are happening. Not that this is an excuse for people rallying round, simply an observation.

Then again, maybe I'm part of the great conspiracy as well. I have this thing about not holding one person accountable for the actions of another, particularly when there is no relationship between the two people. Thus, I find people who commit acts of violence against Muslims because of the actions of OTHER Muslims as deplorable as people who commit acts of violence against Jews because of the acts of other Jews - Never mind that these folks are not even in the same COUNTRY, simply their ethno-religious basis is the same.

The above nameless guests will no doubt label me as a Zionist. And the Zionists will label me an anti-Semite. Maybe then we'll discuss what a Semite IS...

There. I've said my bit in this thread.

Pete

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: CarolC
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 10:19 AM

I have some pretty strong feelings about what is going on in Israel right now. I am absolutely horrified at what Sharon and his government are doing to the Palestinians. (In my opinion, with the assistance of the US government.) However, to answer your question, I will come right out in the open and say that Synagogues should never be burned. Ever. And no violence should be committed against any Jewish people anywhere in the world as a backlash for what Sharon and his government are doing. Period.

I think there is enough shame to go around without creating reasons for any more. We're all just people. That's all. Just people.

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 11:06 AM

One of the reasons you don't see a lot of posting on this issue is that it has been used to try start flamewars so many times at Mudcat that those of us who care simply don't usually make our feelings and actions a topic of discussion at Mudcat. To characterize silence as anything other than silence is bound to be inaccurate at best. To state assumptions about what people believe or do, based on a lack of posts about it, is itself rather inflammatory, eh?

~Susan

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: GUEST,Spectator
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 11:27 AM

"To characterize silence as anything other than silence is bound to be inaccurate at best."

Susan,

That may be so. However, when unwarranted attacks on one group generates more than 100 responses at Mudcat and equally unwarranted attacks on another group generates only silence, or prejudice or non-responsive responses, you might wonder.

Martin Niemoller wrote: "When they came for the Communists, I did not stand up, because I was not a Communist. When they came for the Jews, I did not stand up, because I was not Jewish. When they came for the Catholics, I did not stand up, because I was not a Catholic. When they came for me, there was no one left to stand up."

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 11:53 AM

All good points, guest. But the attacks against Arabs, Muslims, Sikhs, etc. that inspired the "attacks agains arab-americans must stop" thread were happening in the USA, while the synogogue arsons are mostly happening in France. I don't know the exact numbers, but the majority of Mudcatters are from the USA, while probably only a handful are from France. Yes, the synagogue torchings are important news. So are hundreds of other appaling acts that took place around the world in the last week and didn't get mentioned here. Rather than starting a bitch-thread, hinting about the anti-semitism of Mudcatters, why didn't you start a "attacks on synagogues must stop" thread yourself?

Oh, that's right. It's because you're a troll. Nevermind. :)

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: Jimmy C
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 11:55 AM

Carol C.

You are 100% correct. No place of worship should be attacked or damaged in any way, period.

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: GUEST,Spectator
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 12:04 PM

For the information of Lepus Rex:

Not all of the synagogue firebombings have been in France. One was in Regina, Saskatchewan. Another was Brooklyn, New York. I know that there are Mudcatters from Canada and the United States.

In addition to the firebombings, synagogues have been defaced with anti-Semitic obscenities in New York, Chicago, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Los Angeles and other places.

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 12:28 PM

First of all, I didn't say that all of the synagogue arsons were in France. And when was this firebombing in Brooklyn? I haven't heard about it, and none of the major or minor news sites seem to have, either.

And a lot of that anti-semitic grafitti you mentioned would've happened anyway. It's a shitty, redneck country, you know.

Anyways, my main point wasn't "It's happening in France, so who gives a fuck." It was "Why didn't YOU start the 'synogogue attacks' thread instead of this whiney-ass finger-wagging thread?"

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: ATTACKS ON SYNAGOGUES? Must they stop?
From: GUEST,Nerd (at work)
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 02:49 PM

1) Of course the attacks on synagogues must stop.

2) Are mudcatters anti-Semites? Probably a few of us are, and most aren't. Does our failure to leap in and condemn the actions of French anti-Semites prove anything? No it does not. Most of us are most concerned with things going on in our own backyard or actions undertaken by or against our own people or government. Does this make us a bit imperfect and even selfish? Yes it does.

Welcome to Earth, Guest Spectator.