In 2002 Mark Weber, a director of The Institute for Historical Review wrote an article about the powerful Jewish Lobby in the United States (US). What Weber articulates in his article is very relevant to the current brouhaha about the alleged comments made by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fatima Hajaig. As a result of those alleged comments, the Deputy Minister has now been vilified and accused of anti-Semitism, hate speech, bigotry and all manner of things that are intended to whip up the emotions of the Jewish community and social activists and inflate her comments beyond what they truly represented. In his article Weber beautifully outlines how Jewish money influences and controls the US Congress.
The Deputy Minister is alleged to have said: “They in fact control [America]. No matter which government comes into power, whether Republican or Democratic, whether Barack Obama or George Bush. The control of America, just like the control of most Western countries, is in the hands of Jewish money and if Jewish money controls their country then you cannot expect anything else.”
It is important to examine whether there is any measure of truth to claims by detractors of the Deputy Minister that she had indeed been anti-Semitic. A common understanding of anti-Semitism would generally refer to prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, although the appropriate meaning is not limited to Jews. I would immediately dismiss as utter rubbish claims that the above comments by the Deputy Minister are prejudicial against and hostile towards Jews. Moreover, these comments have no relevance whatsoever to Jews in South Africa.
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies is reported to have lodged a complaint against the Deputy Minister with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). Wendy Kahn, who is a director of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, is also reported to have said that the alleged comments by the Deputy Minister were classic anti-Jewish stereotyping and conspiracy-theory mongering, which were typically used by those seeking to portray Jews as scheming, manipulative and disloyal to the countries in which they lived. In her tirade against the Deputy Minister, Kahn went further to state that, “the Jewish community is outraged by such a public display of bigotry by a senior government representative. As South African citizens, we cannot allow this kind of comment to be brought into this country”.
The action by the SA Jewish Board of Deputies is an abuse of such national institutions such as the SAHRC. The SAHRC has a constitutional mandate to promote the protection of human rights of citizens of South Africa. Unless the SA Jewish Board of Deputies regards those South African Jews they represent as Westerners, their much-reported tirade is misguided and appears to be a publicity-seeking stunt.
The temptation after reading newspaper headlines and listening to the SA Jewish Board of Deputies go off at a tangent would be to lambaste and condemn the Deputy Minister and opportunistically rally behind the Democratic Alliance’s Tony Leon who called for her head and demanded her to apologise to the US President Barack Obama. Tony Leon may perhaps plead ignorance to Obama’s speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference when he said, “Those who threaten Israel threaten us. Israel has always faced these threats on the front lines. And I will bring to the White House an unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security … I will ensure that Israel can defend itself from any threat — from Gaza to Tehran … As president, I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30-billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade.”
Given this unequivocal support of Israel none of us should impose the Deputy Minister’s confidence on Obama’s administration, or any other before. The behaviour and over-reaction of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies is tantamount to fear mongering and a despicable attempt at playing victim to some invented threat to their dignity and human rights. The question we should all ask is whether or not Jews wield immense power and influence in the US. By answering this question we would arrive at an informed conclusion on whether these absurd attacks on the Deputy Minister are warranted instead of immediately dismissing them as I have.
Benjamin Ginsberg, a Jewish author and political science professor, in his book he published in 1993, The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State, said that, “Since the 1960s, Jews have come to wield considerable influence in American economic, cultural, intellectual and political life. Jews played a central role in American finance during the 1980s, and they were among the chief beneficiaries of that decade’s corporate mergers and reorganisations.”
Mark Weber also wrote that, “though barely 2% of the nation’s population is Jewish, close to half its billionaires are Jews. The chief executive officers of the three major television networks and the four largest film studios are Jews, as are the owners of the nation’s largest newspaper chain and the most influential single newspaper, the New York Times … The role and influence of Jews in American politics is equally marked.
Jews are only 2% of the nation’s population, yet comprise 11% of what this study defines as the nation’s elite. However, Jews constitute more than 25% of the elite journalists and publishers, more than 17% of the leaders of important voluntary and public interest organisations, and more than 15% of the top ranking civil servants.”
Seymour Lipset and Earl Raab, both Jewish writers, agree with the assertion that Jews in the US wield disproportionate political power and validate the alleged comments by the Deputy Minister. In their 1995 book, Jews and the New American Scene, they say that “during the last three decades Jews (in the US) have made up 50% of the top two hundred intellectuals … 20% of professors at the leading universities … 40% of partners in the leading law firms in New York and Washington … 59% of the directors, writers and producers of the 50 top-grossing motion pictures from 1965 to 1982, and 58% of directors, writers and producers in two or more prime time television series.”
Instead of condemning the Deputy Minister she should have been commended for her will to trounce the preservation of falsehoods and expose these self-evident yet unspoken and vexing truths about the influence and power of Jews in America. There is this fear to speak truth to power that is prevalent everywhere and so is the risk present of having one’s voice silenced with a nauseating anti-Semitism card. It is those of robust constitution who, regardless of the awful consequences of revealing these truths, rise above feeble others who allow suppression of their voices. Criticism of Jews has far too often triggered a backlash of unimaginable proportion, a sign of ingrained intolerance to robust and unflattering appraisal.
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies should perhaps inform the rest of us, who struggle to see hate, anti-Jewish stereotyping and conspiracy-theory mongering in the alleged comments of the Deputy Minister, whether the US congress is not biased towards Israel; whether they disagree with Dr. Stephen Steinlight, Fellow at the Centre for Immigration Studies in the US when he says, “… we (Jews) will continue to court and be courted by key figures in Congress … power is exerted within the political system from the local to national levels through soft money and especially the provision of out-of-state funds to candidates sympathetic to Israel …”; and whether Hamas possesses the capacity to destroy Israel.
The Archbishop Desmond Tutu also lamented this intolerance to criticism that pervades a larger section of Jewish communities when he said, “The Israeli government is placed on a pedestal [in the US] and to criticise it is to be immediately dubbed anti-Semitic.”
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies needs to get over themselves!
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147 Responses to “Jews do wield immense power and influence”
Thanks for highlighting the facts about the amountr of influence that jews have over America and it’s politics. A brilliant and very thought provoking article.
Thanks again.
“He is inquisitive about everything and a master of none.”
I suggest, sir, that until you master the art of objective writing, you henceforth refrain from dabbling in cultural stereotyping - as it really has no place in the non-racial society we would all prefer our country to be.
You certainly have done a fair amount of reading (or Googling) on the subject of Jewish World Domination.
However, on a fundamental level, the issue here is not really about Jews or non-Jews. It is about a South African Deputy Minister repeating outrageous hearsay from who-knows-where - that smack of rabble-rousing and playing to an audience of potential voters - at the expense of another cultural group.
You have to be pretty simplistic to contend that her feelings towards American Jews is unrelated towards here feelings towards South African Jews. Jews are Jews, according to her stereotyping - that’s the nature of stereotyping.
One would hope that in a world of professional journalism, sentiment alone, or lack or it, will never be enough to sway an argument. (Which fact is adequately borne out by the 1 out of 5 star rating this piece achieved - perhaps a little generous in the circumstances)
2 things, (1) Are you saying that arab oil has no less a significance over American foreign policy? Are the Saudis not an influential force on America?
(2) This blatant rascist Fatima, not only said Jews control America, she went FURTHER, jews control “most western countries”, that my friend is the classic anti-semitic stand, not just the American angle but the entire western world. The author of this article, no doubt chose to ignore that as it played against his argument. How can you sit there and argue on her behalf? Comeon man, think about what you are doing, read again what she said and replace that with gay people causing aids, and black people all being criminals. Of course it is hate speech, and no better body than the HR commission should be used to prevent this happening again.
(3) this accusation goes back hundreds of years “the protocals of the elders of zion” is a classic example of this…now think about what you are saying again my friend…you are agreeing with that know anti-semitic forgery! Think think think, devils advocacy didn’t prevent rational debate before WW2, there is no one to answer for the jews, how dare you argue on her behalf.
I am ashamed to be South African, if this is what ministers truly believe, this country is in big trouble, jews who have already left in their thousands will abandon you for good.
I don’t think it matters at all whether there is any grain of truth to what the Deputy Minister says.
Rather than examining through a microscope a single sentence of her alleged comment and trying to find some truth, it may be more worthwhile to examine the comment within its immediate environment - that rally - and see if, when listed alongside all the other alleged comments, it can be said to add fuel to the fire.
In excusing her because her comments are not exactly untrue and nor are they the absolute worst variety, you are also excusing all the backyard racists who only say minorly offensive things about people who are not like them and potentially contain a grain of truth.
And that’s one of the rare times I will come out on this side of an argument like this.
If the Jews control America, why was Hamas even allowed to run in the Palestinian elections, why is Johnathan Pollard still in prison etc etc etc.
And if Jews control America do they do it as Jews or as Americans. Do Black people control South Africa? So what?
You should remember that that the events surrounding the rise of the 3rd Reich were obviously tragic for the Jews but the big picture is that the irrationality of Jew hatred led to the deaths of 72 million.
Anyway I’m wasting my time. If people like you can get space here to defend the evil words of your deputy minister, the world is headed towards another catastrophe. I hope you enjoy it.
Sentletse - as someone who both opposes Israel’s policies and who gets the screaming shits every time someone conflates “Israel” and “the Jews”, and thereby makes it easier to dismiss criticism of Israel as simple anti-Semitism - could I please ask you to stop trying to help my side?
Also: there’s significant difference between saying “lobbyist groups such as AIPAC help Israel exert influence on US politics beyond what would be expected given the proportion of US citizens with ties to Israel” (Weber’s statement in a nutshell) and “Jewish money controls America”. The second statement is oversimplistic, factually inaccurate, and unhelpful.
And then there’s the fact that the cult of apocalyptic Christianity in the US has some influence on Israel’s policies too; a number of critics of Christian dominionism have written about this. The Deputy Minister is, whether through ignorance or other motives, making an overly simplistic statement that helps no one.
The majority of the USA is Christian. Roughly a quarter of the USA population of 303 million is Roman Catholic - about 70 million people? There are 13 million Jews in THE WHOLE WORLD!
I would say the Pope has much more power in the USA than the Jews. Which is why assistance for AIDS programmes from the USA has such heavy strings attached - emphasis must be on abstinence, and no clinics must be supported which allow abortions.
The Christians support the Jews in Israel because they believe their cause is just. They are entitled to their Jewish stae of 1% of the Middle East, when the Muslims have the other 99% and 22 Muslim states.
How many Muslims in the world by the way? Compared to the 13 million Jews.
Mo, this is anti semetic dross which could be straight out of the fevered imaginings of someone who believes that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an authentic historic document.
Jews don’t have “disproportionate” influence over US or any other politics. They have perfectly proportionate clout, befitting and reflecting their number. That’s called “democracy”, in case you didn’t know.
This typically simplistic piece makes no distinction between Judaism and Zionism. Judaism gave the world Spinoza, Einstein, Feunburg, Groonte, Marx, Pepe,Chomsky, and many other giants. Zionism which dominates AIPAC has given the world occupations, humiliation, oppression and endless wars. Though I disagree with the SAJBD on many issues I agree with them that comments by the Deputy Foreign Minister were ill-conceived and inappropriate as they are also informed by the failure to make that critical distinction. Many Jewish people in Israel were opposed to the war of aggression on GAZA. The 100 000 peace rally through Tel-Aviv is testement to the fact that Jewish people are not a monolithic entitity. Ronnie Kasril has been one of the most vocal opponents of Israeli/Zionist aggression.
Funny you should complaon about the SAJBD abusing the SAHRC when your little organization is complaining to the Human Rights commission against Sexwale apparently accusing SHIKOTA members of practising witchcraft.
What a ridiculous article! You’ve shown that Jews exert political influence in America, granted, but so do blacks, hispanics, whites, and all manner of other people. The minister said something quite different: she said “..the control of America…is in the hands of Jewish money…”. This statement is false, incites hatred against jews in the context it was used, and is patently ridiculous when you consider that more than half of Barack Obama’s money was raised through small internet donations, NOT from big donors.
My brave friend, do not be surprised if you are asked to retract this piece or why it is rated a 2-star instead of the average 5-star that you normally obtain when you castigate Zuma and the ANC.
When it comes to Israel, the Western world and leaders always parrots:”Israel has a right to defend itself”. Even if this means the killing of babies with precision guided missile supposedly aimed at “terrorist”. The weapon of demonising and villifying ones opponent is not new.
My observation is that if you want to commit atrocities, simply label and call your opponent a “terrorist” and bomb and kill the civilians. Label all criticism Anti-Semiticism.
Mandela was labelled a terrorist prior 1994. It was only last year, that the US Congress removed Mandela and ANC leaders from the terrorism list in the company of Bin Laden. Apartheid South Africa shared a lot with the state of Israel including covert nuclear technology. Now that you are arguing against the SA Board of Jewish Deputies, I pray and hope that you will not be called a terrorist.
Sentletse - there are some issues on which it is best that you keep shut particularly if they’re are not within your expertise. Firstly, it is well understood by most people that Antisemitism simply means racism against Jews. Secondly, it is also well understood that there are numerous strong lobbies that operate around Washington. D.C, including the Christian Right which, by any stretch of the imagination, has far more power and influence than the so-called “Israeli (to be more precise)Lobby” could ever exert. To put it bluntly, Jews constitute just 4% of the electorate in the US - a potential voting “bloc” (and U.S Jews don’t vote as a bloc) that is far too small to be of much political force. If there is singular interest group which uses the power of wealth, it is the big corporations, whose institutional weight in U.S society goes far beyond the control of any one “ethnic” section within the predominantly white (usually male) power elite. I firmly support calls for boycotting Israel in order to end the blockade of Gaza and also the racist regime that Israel surely is. However, we do not serve the moral standing of that cause well when we latch onto ideas that fuel age-old prejudices against Jewish people. We need to address issues in terms of the specific political problem without casting racial aspersions on any group of people.
Even Noam Chomsky, no friend of either Israel or the Jews continually states that Jewish influence in the US is overstated, and that the US supports Israel for its own geopolitical and religious interests. Indeed, most of the people you refer to above do their very best to play down their “jewishness” and retreat from their Jewish identity. In the formulation of your argument, an argument common among anti-semites less interested in speaking “truth to power” than smears against Jews, you are highly selective in the “facts” you choose to present. The SAJBD’s is quite correct in seeing Hajaig’s comment for the racist drivel it is. The rubbish is in your article, not in their complaint.
The Institute for Historical Review is a notorious holocaust denier organisation, with antisemetic views, founded by a member of the National Front (British Nazis party by any other name.).
Since they were formed by a far right organisation that amongst other things believes in the repatriation of all non White and Jewish people (and Gypsies) from the UK, and USA, no matter how many generations settled and even if they have fought in the Army (like the Gurkhas and the recent mixed race VC Winner) and from your picture you are Black,
Then they must be laughing their tits off at getting a trained Darkie to do their dirty work for them in spreading Right Wing Propoganda, in the vernacular they use to describe Black People when thy dont think they are on Camera.
As an atheist I always admire their intellectual contributions to the world. Yes, they are a very brainy minority, who will not kill you for some criticism. Would you be brave enough to stand up to the uneducated mob, blinded by Islam? Israel does.
And don’t forget, Jews where on your side during the struggle.
Why do you exclue Jewish influence in Southern Africa. For example, Anglo America’s influence in the ANC. (eg, Shell House, etc). Perhaps the ANC’s economic policies under Mbeki are a direct result of that influence.
The reason why Jews are successful is that they go out of their way to look after each other. Hence Tony Leon’s actions. Whereas other groups don’t.
Chritians have always be alligned to the Jews since at least the first crusade. It is how the world revolves.
So if you are non christian and non western in thinking you will find yourself in an opposing camp.
South Africa today is stuck between being western and being un-western. So part of our society does not understand the other part of our society.
Hence the ‘debates’ on Jewish influence, Mugabe support etc. They all revolve around the issue of being pro or anti western thinking.
What I am trying to say is that Mugabe is illogically supported by african leaders if one is pro western and Israel is illogically supported if one is anti western. Common sense does not prevail on either of these 2 issues.
What utter rubbish! Has it occurred to you that perhaps Jews doing better than average is because they invest everything in their children, focus on study, and tend to solve their own problems rather than blaming them on everyone else?
IF your figures are correct, a greater representation in community work is an indication of a people who want to be engaged in their communities, to be selfless. Most would commend this - if only more people would do the same!
The comments by the Deputy Minister were nothing but Jew baiting, and you know it. Shame on you.
Mr Diakanyo,
You used the term ‘alleged’ three times when referring to deputy minister Fatima Hajaig’s comments. Surely you should have read the transcript of her speech before rushing to her defence.
Israel and the Palestinians have been involved in a bloody conflict for years now. Surely South African ministers should be non-partisan and yet we have the deputy minister giving a speach at a rally in solidarity with the Palestian people! That alone would have cost her her job in any civilized country. By supporting her you are saying her speech was acceptable by African standards.
Hajaig said, “Their (Jewish) control of America, just like the control of most Western countries, is in the hands of Jewish money and if Jewish money controls their country then you cannot expect anything”.
Just what we cannot expect she did not say.
Whilst the Jews may control much of the worlds finances, the Moslems control nearly all the worlds terrorism. Can you imagine the brouhaha if a minister was to address a Jewish rally on the subject!
Wonderfully ‘researched on Google’ piece of drivel. What you didn’t quote from, but were obviously inspired by, were the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ and ‘Mein Kampf’. I won’t even go into the Jews control America spiel, but for you to agree that their money controls Western governments is a double insult. They were murdered by the million in the same Western Europe. Why don’t you just blame the Jews for their own Holocaust.
I am new in reading this, but I must say my imagination was totally captured by the piece. What the Zionist state did in Gaza was crimes against humanity and anyone who thinks otherwise is very Jewish. In the name of defeating Hamas hundreds of innocent people were killed by Israel war planes. If you want to potray yourself as a champion of human rights, then your condemnation and/or sympathy should be consistent. Decent people don’t kill innocent people for any reason I can think of. When the first child was killed in Gaza, a decent nation would have pulled out of Gaza to strategise on reducing innocent casaulties. Instead Israel pushed on and America spurred them on by releasing a statement saying Israel has a right to defend it’s citizens. Any group that supports human rights should have joined the condemnation of such actions, I imagine that the SAJBD silence during the Israel siege of Gaza means that they support what the state of Israel was doing in Gaza. It seems that the SAJBD have found their voices when a seemingly harmless opinion expressed by the Deputy Minister is blown out of proportion. I don’t need the Deputy Minister to help me make my opinion on what I think of the state of Israel, the Zionist state can do that all by themselves. The hatred of anything “Israel” is growing around the world and good Jewish people need to start speaking out. Its time to stop acting victims and realise that a good people have been turned into vicious killing machines.
what a brilliantly articulated and intelligent article. well done! challenging stereotypes and the monopolising of victimhood. still wondering what is hateful about ms hujaij’s comments.
The emotional response by many above was expected. Instead of engaging their brains some chose to rather ramble on senselessly ignoring the fact that Jewish authors and scholars quoted on the article support the view that Jews of have immense power and influence in the U.S. I would like those who are blowing off steam to enlighten some of us what is false about the contents of this article, without digressing to the irrelevant.
Sure Saudi oil influences policy - which is why Churchill consulted with the Sauds (not the Jews) on a yacht in the Med about how little land they could get away with giving to the Jews and call it Israel.
Kit
The Author, Psychiatrist, and Mystic, Scott M Peck said that the half truth is more “evil” than the direct lie - because it is more difficult to disprove. Read his book “People of the Lie”.
Abdul
Do you realise that most of the websites you post are Jihadist extremist sites?
Pasile
I don’t think you know what Zionism is. Give us a definition, and the historical background please.
Moshe
There is no “myth” about the creation of the state of “Israel”. It was created in 1948 as a bantustan to protect the minority Jews from being slaughtered by the majority Muslims; exactly at the same time and for the same reason that the bantustan “Pakistan” was created to stop the Hindus slaughtered the Muslims in India.
Madoda
The ANC was labelled a terrorist organisation because it was communist. Mandela was ANC - so he was labelled a terrorist. Considering Mbeki and Mugabe’s antics - many people think the label for the ANC was correct.
Owen
Christians were “always aligned to the Jews since the crusades”
LOL
Never heard of the pograms, or the ghettos? The Brits were the first Medieval Christian State to expell all Jews - in 1290. When Marlowe wrote “The Jew of Malta” and Shakespeare “The Merchant of Venice” they had never met a Jew in their lives - but the prejudice is there in the writing.
Mo, you are a fine one to chastise those who have responded to your sloppy and prejudiced scribblings above with not “engaging their brains” and “rambing on senselessly”. The word “irony” does not just spring to mind; it marches in to the sound of pealing trumpets and rolling drums.
Fatima Hajaig flaunted her naivety and ignorance by playing nicely into the Zionist propaganda trap. It is the Zionists who have been insisting for decades that anti-Zionism is equivalent to antisemtism. Her assumption that all Jews agrees with and supports the apartheid Israeli state is just the result that the Zionist propaganda machine hopes to achieve. The dumbing down of the real issues in Palestine as an essentially Arab-Jewish conflict and the big lie of equating political resistance to the brutal Israeli occupation as “antisemitism”.
1 - The challenging of your sources (rather hillariously being a nasty white right-wing organisation)
2 - The questioning of your intentions
3 - The pointing out of your disingenuous use of the word ‘alleged’ to describe words that were recorded on tape. Here’s the link by the way for anyone who hasn’t seen our deputy foriegn minister in action:
You’ve dived into turbulent waters. Congratulations for swimming against the tide of self-righteousness and political correctness. But you’ve lost many friends and supporters, such is the price one pays when stepping on the necks of the most powerful and influencial… it is largely because of this power and influence that they (Jews and Israel) believe they are sacred and holy.
Comments that attempt to howl you down are doing just that - howl you down but ineffectually. Interesting to note that the overwhelming majority of these howlers are merely essentially closing ranks, hoping to intimidate you or anyone who does not subscribe to their misguided fanaticism, while not addressing the issues you have raised.
The phenomenon of the holocost and sleighing of Jews will remain sad for ever. But that should not be exploited by Jews to the point where even valid or reasonable criticism of Israel or Jews is immedaitely classified as anti-semitic - this is blatant manipulation and black-mailing.We should refuse to back off at this disingeneous attempt!
The core of the debate pivots around the role the USA plays in the M. East conflict. Now can anyone deny that the USA has not just openly sided with Israel but practically has a hand in the decimation of Palestinian civilians? Sentletse, you have nicely cited OBAMA’s (recently) sentiment and position on this.Why these howlers are eschewing this as evidence - of bias against Palestinians and hence justification for the Minister’s frustration, is beyond me.
Is it not because of economic rather than simply religious reasons that USA has taken this position? And this where the whole issue of who controls or has influence in America’s political economy emanates, and the truth hurts, does it not?
Saying Jews have immense influence in the American foreing policy because of their economic muscle is an expression of an incontrovertible fact, and linking that to how the US(directly/indirectly) subjects Palestinian women and children to brutal death and destruction is essentially being pertrified by such inhumanity, and not really being anti-semitic. Any social grouping could have done this (Aborigin,Red Indian or Masai…)and it would still not change the nature of this horrible act.
The devil is in the act and not just the sentimentor social classification. Here at home we still have high regard for Mugabe’s fight for the liberation of Zimbabwe. But we’re (black, whites/Christian/Muslim) appalled by his monstrous current treatment of Zimbabweans. Sectarian sympathy and support for Israel is not very different from what SADC is doing in Zimbabwe - blind loyalty driven by expediency! In our search for truth we should seperate political/religious bretherenhood from factual honesty, it is then that we can have justice and lasting world peace.
I give you this one Sentletse - the kind of stuff writers are made of!
What is this Third World obsession with demographics?
You quote various writers who indicate that ‘Jews’ exceed their ‘demographic quota’ in various professions and positions within American society.
The context in which these figures are forwarded implies that should representation within a profession by a ‘group’ exceed their ‘due’ proportionality within society, they have more than their ‘fair’ share, and undoubtedly came by it through questionable means.
If not, then why are these “vexing” truths?
What “falsehoods” exactly did the minister trounce?
On what basis can one lay claim that Jewish influence in America and elsewhere is ‘excessive’ and hence unwarranted?
Just because it is ‘undemographic’ and is ‘therefore’ undemocratic?
If not, then why did the deputy minister bring it up?
Come on Sentletse, your readers are not half wits.
The minister intended the comments to have an effect, to imply that Jews have more than their fair share and suggest that this is both unwarranted and detrimental to everyone else’s welfare.
(when I mention ‘professions’ I take it you would agree that a civil servant is a professional, and would duly serve all members of society equally without fear or favour, not ‘disproportionately affirmative’ towards members of the same ethnic group, party or cronies. It should not matter what proportion of the civil service is represented by what ethnic group other than in the small mind of prejudice)
Perry Curling-Hope on January 31st, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Dear Sentletse.Your article supported the clearly undiplomatic and biased view of our deputy minister.No one denies the wealth of Jews.However u underestimate their influence.Arabs control the oil cartels for example, which is also a factor.Israel is basically funded by the West and being of an Arab race themselves, Jews dont really have much influence on the Anglo-Saxon dominated West.In fact they are simply tolerated.Because a few liberal Jew scholars are self-critical doesnt make what u say correct. The root of the arguments and responses (hence relevance) are due to the Gaza-Isreal conflict.For me this is a war, and in a war people die. Although Muslims like Hamas dont have the guts to fight like men rather hide behind civilians or resort to terrorism.Bombing Gaza is more noble than Robert Mcbride bombing a resteraunt or Hamas launching rockets into Jewish schools or Muslims blowing each other up in markets.SA politicians cannot even fix the problems in their own backyard (Mugabe et al), so they should stay out of foreign politics which are far too complex for your their un-evolved brains to comprehend. As a neutral, I hope that Palestinians and Jews just fight it out and end this drama once and for all.
You need to be more responsible in choosing your resources, at the risk of sounding didactic. The “IHR” is a notoriously racist, anti-Semitic organization that personifies intellectual poverty. You could have chosen a thousand other credible sources for this debate, including Chomsky, the lionized demi-God of the left, especially in terms of the Israel discussion.
Having read that a black South African is quoting him in such a way, Weber must be dancing naked around his cave whooping and barking. Congratulations on condemning yourself into complete intellectual oblivion, i’d sooner vote for Jacob Zuma than anyone who you may represent.
Sentletse, thanks for this article and the expose which until now no SA newspaper dare publish.
I am a Jew and I know how the Jewish clan works and what power they exert, including here in South Africa.
In case you did not know, looking past the black front managers, roughly 80% of SA’s economy is in Jewish hands, most of all in the mining, financial and distribution sectors.
The solidarity in my community is unparalleled as there is no other community that can match that. Holocaust is being used as blackmail against the jews and the rest of the world to achieve that power and you are right neither Obama nor anyone else in the western world can make Jews change their behaviour.
But alas I can also see that one day the gentile world will unite against us and exact a terrible revenge.
I urge my fellow Jews to heed the warning signs and throw off their mantle of invincibility and arrogance.
If we are to believe what talking-heads speaking on behalf of organized Jewry tell gentiles, no one is more beyond the pale than the Nazis, authors of the Nazi Holocaust. And yet, we get such instances of doublespeak and doublethink as this:
When the South African Prime Minister, John Vorster, made a state visit to Israel in April 1976 it began with a tour of Yad Vashem, where the late Yitzhak Rabin invited the onetime Nazi collaborator, unabashed racist, and white supremacist to pay homage to Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Compared, say, to typical outcries from Jewish groups over even mild whiffs of Holocaust revisionism, no less remarkable was the bland equanimity both Israeli and Diasporan Jews also displayed toward the Vorster visit.
Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi recalls [The Israeli Connection, Random House: Toronto, 1987, p. x] that “[f]or most Israelis, the Vorster visit was just another state visit by a foreign leader. It did not draw much attention. Most Israelis did not even remember his name, and did not see anything unusual, much less surreal in the scene [an old Nazi diehard invited to mourn the victims at a Holocaust memorial]: Vorster was just another visiting dignitary being treated to the usual routine.” As a onetime Nazi collaborator, Vorster should, of course, have been arrested and tried once he set foot on Israeli soil — instead he was warmly welcomed by his Jewish hosts.
Vorster left Israel four days later, but not before signing several treaties between the Jewish state and Pretoria’s apartheid regime. A denouement Leslie and Andrew Cockburn describe in Dangerous Liaison [Stoddart Publishing: Toronto, 1991, pp. 299-300]: “The old Nazi sympathizer came away with bilateral agreements for commercial, military, and nuclear cooperation that would become the basis for future relations between the two countries.”
Good read, could have gone even more in depth on this issue. The hired guns have come out to defend and the comments are standard. Questions: If I make a comment that blacks dominate the sport of basketball in the USA, does that make me racist? I don’t see how stating facts can make one anti-semitic. Question two: Since 1948, the US taxpayer has provided the state of Israel over 100 billion dollars in aid. Maybe one of your defending commentors can tell us what the US taxpayer has ever recieved in return. Please do not include control of our government, control of our financial institutions and Wall Street, control of our media, control of hollywood, control of the porn industry or control of the teachers union as most aware people already realize we have recieved these wonderful gifts. Thanks.
Don’t let the Jewish Mafia threatening you here deter your work. They try to make anyone who speaks the uncomfortable truth back down from their words and apologize.
Keep on this subject and your viewership will soar. The Jews run an instant messaging program that alerts members to news and blog articles that go against their propaganda. The article got tagged.
These people here attacking you did not randomly find this piece. They were sent here by their controllers, “Give Israel Your United Support” (GIYUS).
“In 2002 Mark Weber, a director of The Institute for Historical Review wrote an article about the powerful Jewish Lobby in the United States (US). … In his article Weber beautifully outlines how Jewish money influences and controls the US Congress.”
The Institute of Historical Review is nothing more than a grubby collection of anti-semitic Nazi apologists and Holocaust denialists.
Mo, you should be ashamed of yourself for propagating such base anti semitism and Thoughtleader should be ashamed of itself for giving platform to such views.
“what is anti-semitic about saying Jews control “most western countries”?”
Because, it is a LIE!
The sort of lie that was propagated by the Nazis to whip up German anti semitism and to justify the policies that ultimately led to the Holocaust (let’s guess … you’re going to deny that ever happened, aren’t you?)
New York Time Published: January 12, 2009
WASHINGTON — In an unusually public rebuke, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Monday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been forced to abstain from a United Nations resolution on Gaza that she helped draft, after Mr. Olmert placed a phone call to President Bush.
“I said, ‘Get me President Bush on the phone,’ ” Mr. Olmert said in a speech in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, according to The Associated Press. “They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn’t care: ‘I need to talk to him now,’ ” Mr. Olmert continued. “He got off the podium and spoke to me.”
It never ceases to amaze at how the jews will try to defend the cause of zionism, regardless of how obvious the real truth is regarding their unlawful, evil actions.
Judaism IS the anti-Christ religion, the proof is in the talmud!
Always a good idea to check one’s sources before publishing, especially if it turns out one is relying on the rantings of an organisation that denies the existence of Nazi extermination camps! In my view, holocaust denial is a form of antisemitism, so it’s quite ironic that the musings of an antisemitic organisation are used to explain why the deputy Minister’s comments are not antisemitic. Doesn’t work for me, I’m afraid!
Very good points, sir. I’d say the proof is in the pudding. Mexico is becoming destabilized. America’s new President hails from a community that is on the frontlines to feel the brunt of this century’s Great Depression. Will there be a forthcoming war with Iran, Russia and China?
Fifty people share a dorm. All they have enough for is rice given their budget. One guy wants a PlayStation 2 instead of food. If that dude wins, you know who calls the shots, right?
Another Israeli spokeswoman, Tzipora Menache, stated that she was not worried about negative ramifications the Israeli onslaught on Gaza might have on the way the Obama administration would view Israel. She said “You know very well, and the stupid Americans know equally well, that we control their government, irrespective of who sits in the White House. You see, I know it and you know it that no American president can be in a position to challenge us even if we do the unthinkable. What can they (Americans) do to us? We control congress, we control the media, we control show biz, and we control everything in America. In America you can criticize God, but you can’t criticize Israel”
The key issue, Sentletse, resolves around this question: Do you really support the Palestinian struggle against U.S imperialism and Israeli racism? If you do, then you would understand that Jewish support, among others (e.g the Tamils in Sri Lanka) faced with similar forms of oppression in the world, depends on their feeling embraced as equals in the movement for Palestinian rights. Again, the notion of Jewish control implies that Jewish people act as a political bloc. That is such Antisemitic nonsense - many Jewish people in the U.S are on the left, within various antiwar and Anti-Zionist movements, including a notable group called the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network with offices in the UK, the U.S, Israel, Canada and other places, and whose members staged some significant protests against the recent invasion of Gaza. Craig is right Sentletse: saying that Jews control the western world is a prejudice as germaine to Antisemitism as the idea that black people are naturally prone to crime and corruption is germaine to the thinking of white supremacists going back to the days of slavery. Unfortunately, black Antisemitism, a minority stream among black people, has a history that goes back to Marcus Garvey who, oddly, thought well enough of the racist Ku Klux Klan as to stand on the same platform as they did. Please Sentletse, don’t join the Antisemitic crew. There’s a far better black political tradition to subscribe to i.e. the one that has a strong sense of empathy and solidarity with all peoples such as the Jews, who have faced persecution on the basis of their race or ethnicity worse than anything imaginable even today. For all the problems we still face in South Africa, the one thing we can be proud of is that the post-apartheid government embraced a constitution that proscribes against discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion, language, cultural affinity or colour. Let’s honour the spirit of this particular aspect of the constitution and refrain from spreading ideas based on Antisemitism or xenophobia, which we recently saw had such devastating impact on neighbourly feeling between South Africans and black people from other African countries. Three of the worlds strongest black voices against Antisemitism include the renouned spirituals singer Paul Robeson, Dr Martin L. King and Nelson Mandela. Let’s always uphold the spirit they represent and keep it with us as we stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Gaza.
Yes, good article, Jews (and non Jewish Zionists such as Bush/Brown/Blair/Merkel) completely run the western world, saying they have disproportonate influence is somewhat of an understatement.
The hysterical reaction of Jewish groups and some of the posters here only shows that you have touched on a sore point. Who else has the power to kidnap a US citizen (Ernst Zundel) and have him tried and jailed in Germany for simply stating an opinion in a country that supposedly upholds free speech.
I am from England by the way, no doubt I will be subject to the Anti Semite canard. I refute that though since I since I support the Semitic Palestinians in their struggle against the East European immigrants who have colonised their country and installed an Apartheid regime.
For those who seek to deny the obvious, have a look at the book “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy” by Professors John Mearsheimer (Univ of Chicago) and Stephen Walt (Harvard), a book available at Exclusive Books. If you can’t get the book, just read the reviews on Amazon.com which are sufficient to summarise the contents.
Michael Scheuer, a former CIA senior official, said that Israel has engaged in one of the most successful campaigns to influence public opinion in the U.S. ever conducted by a foreign government. Denying the immense power and influence of Jews in the U.S. is no different to denying that the sun rises from the East.
Can we have the source of your quote please - so we can look it up for ourselves.
Sentletse
Same for you - where can we look up your quote.
“one of the most successful campaigns to influence public opinion” has been waged in the Arab world by the new-Jihadist for the last 60 years to pursuade Muslims they are engaged in a defensive, not offensive war (which is forbidden by the Quraan).
The most disgraceful thing about your article is that you have deliberately chosen to ignore the rabble rousing context in which the deputy minister made her (”alleged”)comments.
No amount of parroting the views of other commentators can detract from this reality. In this case it is undoubtedly context that makes all the difference and this in turn reduces your arguments to risible nonsense.
anton kleinschmidt on January 31st, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Congratulations, you have successfully brought the neo Nazis, Holocaust denialists and good old fashioned anti Semites, crawling out from under their rocks.
God knows how the moderators have allowed some of these responses through. Not one of M&G Online’s prouder moments…
“In 2002 Mark Weber, a director of The Institute for Historical Review…”
And that’s where I stopped reading.
The Institute for Historical Review are bunch of Holocaust deniers. They would probably deny Apartheid given half a chance. The mere fact you quote them without actually researching them now means I have to cast doubt on the sincerity and accuracy on all your past and future postings.
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on January 31st, 2009 at 11:41 pm
It is fascinating how many choose to dismiss the IHR simply because they had disagreed with them before. The truth remains the truth regardless of the source. Are other Jewish authors quoted above also accused of being anti-semitic, racist, holocaust deniers?
I find the line of argument that seeks to draw the Holocaust into the article rather nonsensical and mischievous. Jews face no immediate and real threat of extinction from any group or nation; and this level of hysteria in response to criticism and truth must come to an end. Let’s raise our level of debate and engage each other on facts.
The context in which these figures are forwarded implies that should representation within a profession by a ‘group’ exceed their ‘due’ proportionality within society, they have more than their ‘fair’ share, and undoubtedly came by it through questionable means.
PERRY, I’m not sure how you arrived at the conclusion that anyone accused Jews of achieving their success through questionable means. Nothing in the article above insinuate what you’ve concluded. You’re being a little bit overimaginative here.
If not, then why are these “vexing” truths?
What “falsehoods” exactly did the minister trounce?
You ask a good question - why are these vexing truths? Perhaps you can enlighten us why we should not speak of the successes of Jews and create a false impression that Jews in the U.S. are less powerful and uninfluential.
On what basis can one lay claim that Jewish influence in America and elsewhere is ‘excessive’ and hence unwarranted?
Just because it is ‘undemographic’ and is ‘therefore’ undemocratic?
Who said it is unwarranted?
If not, then why did the deputy minister bring it up?
PERRY, the Deputy Minister must have brought it up to illustrate the indubitable fact that the U.S. will always take a biased position towards Israel. You only need to listen to Barack Obama speak to know that she is correct. No U.S. government that I’m aware of has ever taken a harder stance against Israel. How many U.N. resolutions has Israel flouted? How many U.N. resolutions condeming Israel has the U.S. vetoed? Did the U.S. vote in support of the recent cease fire?
Why shouldn’t the Deputy Minister bring this fact up?
“It is fascinating how many choose to dismiss the IHR simply because they had disagreed with them before. The truth remains the truth regardless of the source.”
Complete. Bull. Dust. The IHR peddle lies and misinformation about the Holocaust. They have been proved fraudulent over and over again and yet bigoted idiots will still believe what they say because it reinforces their own beliefs about Jews.
Why on earth should I suddenly believe that what they say here is in any way accurate or should be given a single second of consideration when everything else they seem to right is nothing more that racism and bigotry that has been proven incorrect by hundred of researchers far more qualified than either of us?
The IHR believes the Holocaust was a massive fraud perpetrated by Jews on the world. You seem to agree with the IHR about the so-called influence of Jews over the entire Western world, do you agree with the IHR and their assertions on the Holocaust?
PS The founder of the IHR, Willis Carto, besides hating Jews wanted to drive all African Americans out of the USA and ship them back to Africa. That’s some lovely company you’re keeping there. Please continue to defend them.
Sentletse, I wonder how much time you have spent in Jewish company. You’ve obviously not heard the saying: “Put two Jews together and you get three opinions”. Jews like to argue. The idea that Jews work together across the world to control things is ridiculous. We would never get to first base. Just look at Israeli politics to see what I mean. I live in London and I see how tough things are for minority blacks here. It is sad to see a black South African who should know better dabbling with racist material about a minority group. Out of all proportion to their size in the white community SA Jews distinguished themselves in the struggle. People like Jo Slovo, Arthur Goldreich, Ruth First, Albie Sachs, Helen Suzman fought so you have the freedom to write what you do, misguided and shameful as it is. You may get a buzz out of being controversial but dabbling with an ancient prejudice marks you out to some as being a bigotted racist. With your background you should know better. Ask Ben Pogrund what he thinks. Why not mail him your article?
It is only a matter of time before the mass of the population will awaken to the dreadful fact that we are the “Living Dead.”
When the nuclear age began there was a critical decision point and at that point, the decision was made to destroy the mass of the human race using the newly invented nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
In the intervening 65 years there has been a constant resort to secret attempts to launch nuclear weapons upon us, with the ‘intent’ to shut us up once and for all.
That the ordinary folks still just ‘don’t get it,’ is a slight indication that maybe these people (the usual suspects) are indeed actually ’superior’ in some ways to ordinary people.
We are the Living Dead.
We may be lucky that they decided upon a quick cheap kill using nuclear weapons, because if they would have used one of their many tried and proven methods of spreading plague or blight, we might be gone already.
As it is, the dozens of other advanced civilizations that reside within and share this planet with us vetoed the “Master” plan to immolate us and burn down the planet with nuclear weapons. A general nuclear war would have taken out the navigation and communication systems of the advanced civilizations. They apparently won’t allow that to happen.
Now on the other hand, if our newly minted nuclear war fighting elite had ‘held their fire,’ and not ‘jumped the gun,’ they may have been able to put together a plan of genocide that would not have caused damage to the advanced civilizations navigation or communication systems, and hence, not provoked a reaction (intervention) from the advanced civilizations.
It does appear that our nuclear war fighting elite may have, “Made their move too soon.”
Now some of us are discovering that we are the Living Dead. As the Living Dead, we now may finally be able to get together and shut down the war machine and the prison camps and create a truly just society.
First things first. We need to Take away the economic authority from the folks who wrongly used this power to build the nuclear war machine, and instead use this economic authority (The power to print and issue money) to finance the removal and disassembly of nuclear weapons and also use this ‘money power,’ (the power of the purse) to finance the development of an alternate, just and Peaceful, social structure.
The preamble to the Constitution spells it out this way:“To provide for the common good.”
Second: Make the financial resources available to humanely institutionalize those members of our nuclear war fighting elite who are determined by a jury to be criminally insane.
How can we do it? How can one be so sure that ordinary people can accomplish such an extraordinary feat?
It is a sure thing that we can do it because we are the Living Dead, and as the Living Dead, We for sure can do it.
M&G, do you really monitor the comments on your site for hate speech, or are you approving these comments because they fit with your newspaper’s own editorial bias, which, in the cast of this despicable blog post, is one of rabid and ignorant anti-Semitism? To see where Sentletse Diakanyo (and by extension the M&G itself, which should never have run this) give the game away, look no further than the headline: “Jews do wield immense power and influence.” If Jews merely wielded power and influence, well, that would be okay. But “immense” indicates that Jewish power and influence is undue, that it should not be allowed, that this power is somehow worrisome and that Jews (those damn pesky vile Jews!) should be denied it. Should Jews not be allowed any power or influence at all? The Nazis thought as much. But Diakanyo’s blog post is merely an electronic (and barely literate) equivalent to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Which shows that we as a society have gone absolutely nowhere in all these years, and that South Africa (judging by this post and resergent racism) is sadly moving backwards.
Sentletse - the only truth you’ve revealed is that because you haven’t used your brain, you’ve lined yourself on the side of Nazis and racist bigots who despise Palestinians as much as they do Jews. What you’re too stupid to realise is that you have friends on your side who would send to gas chambers Jews, Arabs, blacks or anyone else they did not like because they were not of the pure white race. You and I (being a black communist), along with many of the Jewish people who’ve protested the minister’s statement, would be in the same hell if the Nazis came to power. Again, please do not allow yourself to be used as tool of the worst kind of idiocy. Stop throwing your weight around with your repetitive responses to people, try and read more broadly, most of all, think carefully before you rush to press.
Sentletse Diakanyo on February 1st, 2009 at 12:03 am writes
“Let’s raise our level of debate and engage each other on facts.”
Please debate the above comments that I have posted and please use “facts” to back up your arguments.
For the record, please let your readers know how extensive your knowledge is with regard to anitisemitism and the rise of Nazism. Sentletse, what history books have your read? Are you parading your ignorance or are you willfuly trying to mislead your readers?
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on February 1st, 2009 at 7:31 am
Sentletse
It is not Israel who flouted the UN - it was Muslim Jihadists who rejected the settlement back in 1948 refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist at all. Then they went to war to try and destroy Israel altogether - and lost.
Mbeki has tried his best to re-write history, but history is history.
I suppose one would also be accused of being anti-white and racist if he was to highlight the fact that SA’s economy is still under immense influence and control of whites. It is possibly just a matter of time before the Black Management Forum is taken before the SAHRC for promoting hate speech. Please stop being ridiculous by trying to silence views you don’t agree with, with that anti-semitism nonsense!
See, Sentletse, what you’re missing in that last comment is the word ‘UNJUSTIFIED’. The point in SA is that white economic control historically came about in an unjustified fashion. It’s like the ‘undue consideration’ thing in law. If fair value has been paid for something in totality - in labour and money - that is not unjustified enrichment. The persistence of the ‘old boys’ club’ and legislation framed to enfranchise white people at the expense of others is why we can claim such.
However, you run into a much bigger problem when singling out Jews in this manner, and it has nothing to do with the Holocaust or any other oppression other than to say that there was no historical unjustified enrichment to hark back upon. If there is now, it is a newer phenomenon than SA’s white economy and cannot be put under the same umbrella.
This is where SA’s incredible polarisation is leading. The article in itself is not hate speech - it’s merely an expose of other articles which are valid in their context. As such, it’s an interesting discussion. However, where you have tried to play into it a defence of the Deputy Minister’s comments (conveniently taken out of their context in order to attempt to ‘neutralise’ them) is where the response is coming from.
My first experience of antisemitism happened when I was 15, while having a crush on a lovely young female who sat in front of me at school. We liked each other a lot and started dating. It wasn’t just the comments from my close friends which blindsided me at the time, but their actions in expelling me from their grouping for daring to date a Jew.
From pre-Christ and certainly more so since, no race of people have been more demonized, oppressed, murdered or hated, than the Jews. I still don’t understand this, nor people’s fear and loathing of them, especially as Jewish people have brought so much good to the world, whether it be matters of the intellect, the sciences, the arts or Jesus himself.
Your article does nothing to advance tolerance and love within the South African or world community. You’ve joined a horrible club of malcontents with this article.
The Institute for Historical Review purpose for existence is to deny that the Holocaust happened. Yet, this column starts with a quote from a member of this institution.
Most American Jews are Democrats. If American Jews had as much power as Sentlese Diyanko thinks, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore and John Kerry would all have become presidents, because American Jews supported them.
“I suppose one would also be accused of being anti-white and racist if he was to highlight the fact that SA’s economy is still under immense influence and control of whites…”
The difference is that a belief in Jewish power and influence is a classic antisemitic belief that goes back to the Middle Ages in Europe. It is an argument that has been used to stir up hatred of Jews for centuries. It makes Jews a convenient scapegoat for whatever problems you have.
It would be ‘anti-white and racist’ to highlight that SA’s economy is under the control of whites if it were not true.
Equally clearly, there may also be an ulterior motive in ‘highlighting’ the issue, even when it is true.
Either way, this article does not establish that the ‘control’ of America and, still less, that the ‘control’ of ‘most western countries’ is in the hands of ‘Jewish money’. It quotes two or three selected, even tainted, sources and takes them as sufficient to settle the matter. You must not be surprised that for many readers, it does not.
Moreover, while only you know whether your views on the Israeli/Palestine conflict are influenced by any racial bias, your readers cannot be blamed for being led to suspect that they might be, because you relay uncritically ancient and pernicious calumnies against the generality of Jewish people, in the apparently confident expectation that you will enjoy consensus. Again, you see that you do not.
There seem to be two possible explanations for such free-wheeling writing: that you simply enjoy polemics; or that you are too short of time to look at an intractable, highly sensitive and tragic situation other than with an easy superficiality and a set of well-worn prejudices.
Many readers might feel more confident of deciding properly which of the two it is, if you attempted to answer the even-handed and decent points raised by Trotsky, which so far you have not.
Sentletse, you the only one sprouting nonsense. You have no idea of the historical background behind the Jews have too much money and power cabal. It has been used for centuries to justify persecution. You are out of your league on this topic and should perhaps keep your naivete under the wraps rather than embarrass yourself and COPE so publicly.
You are wrong on this issue because you have no inkling into the history behind antisemitism. (And if you take the retarded play on semantics behind what a semitic person is then swap antisemite with anti-Jewish.)
Again, let me say it, you may have won more popularity with the line you have taken here, but you are morally incorrect and have embarrassed yourself and your political party.
Sentletse - to say that whites still own and control the wealth in SA is an entirely different issue. It is something that is clearly measurable in the social statistics of SA and needs no elaboration. To say that Jews control the world isn’t measurable, and moreover, it is an idea that has a long lineage going back to the Middle Ages in Europe when the peasantry scapegoated Jews for problems imposed on them by their landlords invariably non-Jews) and merchant bankers (who were not only Jews, although Jews were concentrated in this economic activity because they were not integrated into the church-dominated feudal economy and society. Like the various racial prejudices against blacks, exaggerated notions of Jewish control and influence has a lineage that precedes any logical connection of those ideas with the people whose behaviour they claim to describe as almost a natural order of things. Such ideas come out of people’s bad dreams, and even bad dreams, as Freud once suggested, are no more than wish fulfilment. The idea of the greedy and overly powerful Jew, like the idea of black proclivity to rape and steal, is a form of wish fulfilment. By ascribing certain negative characteristics to a group of people, also seen to be somehow natural to them, the subliminal wish is for those people simply to disappear and then all the tensions and stresses of life would also pass. The death camps were just that - the utopia of those with a distorted conception of the “other.”
Sentletse Diakanyo‘s profile advertises the fact that he has mastered none of the subjects about which he writes. That his writing is thus uninformed is evident, and not only by virtue of this declaration. However, this, coupled with his self-imposed commitment to “write what (he) likes, without fear or favour,” almost by definition, must result in half-baked & facile writing. So it does.
To begin with, he needs to understand something about anti-semitism, if only the basics. While anti-semitism is a form of racism, it stretches back 2000 years & has taken quite specific forms which require exposition.
It arose from a religious rivalry with the Christian Church which itself had sprung from Judaism. Antagonism & a cycle of emnity & violence towards the Jewish community was generated by the need for Christianity to differentiate itself from the mother religion, and was further heightened by the fact that, being “in the family” it was a rivalry of “small differences” which is always more vicious than one of great differences. For the same reason family feuds are more vicious than disagreements between strangers.
To this end various canards & myths about the Jews arose, amongst these, that they poisoned wells, and also slaughtered Christian children whose blood would be used in the making of the Passover matzot (despite the Torah’s injunction against the consumption of the blood of animals, let alone humans). Historians count over 150 instances in which such accusations led to pogroms & massacres by the inflamed masses who believed these “stories” & held the entire Jewish community responsible for these “crimes.”
In more recent times other dangerous calumnies were levelled against the Jews. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a proved forgery disseminated by the Czarist police accused the Jews together with the Freemasons, of wishing to take over all existing governments & destroy civilization. This document, despite being conclusively ruled to be a fake in a number of courts around the world, including the High Court of South Africa, was propagated by the Nazis (with well-documented results) and unbelievably, is still widely disseminated in the Arab World. In 2004 Egypt produced a 41-part television series on the Protocols which has been run on stations throughout the Arab world.
Diakanyo asks the question “what is anti-semitic about saying Jews control most Western countries?”
He presents a mass of facts to show that Jews are demographically over-represented in the media, Hollywood, and a number of other areas. He might have added to his list, Nobel Prizes, where Jews are hopelessly over-represented. All this is very easily accounted for by the strong work ethic & emphasis on education in Jewish families which leads, believe it or not, to achievement. Interestingly, today in the US, the Chinese are replacing the Jews as the pre-eminent group in many fields.
But what can be derived from the fact that a particular group of people is over-represented in any profession or field. Nothing much. To say that over-representation means “control” is rather meaningless.
While it is true that there are many “individuals” of the Jewish faith making their contribution to society in many different fields, it does not follow that there is some group or collective body (“the Jews”) which has an “agenda” to control anything, let alone governments.
It is like saying that because most café owners in South Africa were Greek, that Greeks control the café business in South Africa. What sort of control could their over-representation imply? Would it mean they colluded on prices? That they wish to turn their establishments into centres of vegetarian subversion? Maybe that their wish is to further some as-yet unknown goal relating to the Greek mother country or their faith. Clearly all this speculation is nothing more than speculative nonsense.
But more importantly, when anyone speaks about Jews “controlling” governments, it cannot but be seen against the historical background described above. Diakanyo is surprised that statements of this kind, as he puts it, have “too often triggered a backlash of unimaginable proportions?” He sees it as a “sign of ingrained intolerance to robust and unflattering appraisal.” He must be kidding.
It was precisely imputations of this sort that formed the fertile ground out of which grew the atrocities of the Holocaust. The “vagueness” of the imputations themselves contribute to their viciousness by giving free rein to fertile imaginations.
How would Diakanyo fancy a “robust … appraisal” of the valuable economic benefits to the Americas of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, with, let us say, the prospect of reviving this lucrative enterprise, notwithstanding the enormous suffering it caused to black Africans? Would this not “trigger a backlash of unimaginable proportions?”
He says the “Jews face no immediate and real threat of extinction from any group or nation”. Not true. Take the numerous statements made by Iran’s President Ahmadinijad threatening to destroy not only Israel, but all Jews. Read the Hamas Hamas Charter (just Google it) to understand the implacable Jew-hatred in the Middle East and not just because of the Israel/Palestinian conflict. The Hamas Charter opens with the words: “Oh all our people, men & women. O our children: the Jews – brother of the apes” (reminiscent of the pronouncement of the AWB on Blacks); and, “The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees…(which will report)… there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him”.
Jews have good reason to be defensive.
But most of all, Diakanyo is confounded by the utterly incomprehensible fact (to him) that America supports Israel. Something must be afoot. That’s it – 5 million American Jews must be coercing/cajoling/tricking (who knows what?) 300 million Americans into supporting a country they would otherwise spurn.
The fact that America and Israel share a set of common values has not occurred to him. Like a democratic political culture with the secular & religious jurisdictions clearly separated, governed under the rule of a secular law, and established under Enlightenment principles in terms of a social contract with rights & obligations assigned to responsible citizens. Such values are in stark contrast to the countries surrounding Israel, which since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, have been battling to establish sovereign nation states under the rule of law rather than the rule of brute power.
Now radical Islam offers the people, who are sick of the despots & dictators, a better alternative – life under Islamic jurisprudence, the Shari’a, which, by the way, trumps everything else. It does not recognise the secular state as a source of law or an object of loyalty. Nor does it recognise the principles which Western democratic governments (including South Africa) hold dear – freedom of speech, freedom of association, and the Western notion of human rights.
While Diakanyo credits himself as one of “those of robust constitution who, regardless of the awful consequences of revealing the(se) truth(s), rise above feeble others who allow suppression of their voices,” he may find himself hard-pressed to “write what (he) likes, without fear or favour,” under the regimes he suggests
America should be supporting in place of Israel.
Sentletse your article is informed by an assumed homogenity within the Jewish community, and as I’ve indicated earlier that is a fatal flaw which leads to an analytic blind alley. The state of Israel from its inception has been dominated by Zionists who happen to be Jewish. So is AIPAC to which Obama pledged alligence during his presidential campaign- a fact you didn’t see fit to point out whilst you were drunk on ‘hope’ and ‘change’!
You correctly allude to the fact that 80% of South Africa’s wealth is controlled by white people. However, you don’t explain why your organization, COPE,in a bid to win the liberal white vote routinely undermines Affirmative Action and BEE.
Arab people have given the world agriculture, medicine and mathematics- religious fanatics amongs them does not nullify their contribution to humanity.
Zionism as expressed in AIPAC, SAJBD and the Israeli state does not reflect or represent Jewish people.
You cannot be more wrong and misguided. Rather than taking swipes at the author of this article, why don’t you level your misguided criticisms at the Jewish academics whose work he cited!
You cannot conflate pointing out that Jews in America hold a disproportionate amount of political influence (who cares hom much money they have), with anti-semitism.
Simply because in the past Jews having a disproportionate amount of power and influence has lead to instances of them being persecuted, doesn’t mean that anyone who highlights their disproportionate power and influence now wants that persecution to continue.
Your problem is with those who seek to persecute Jews, not with those who critise their disproportionate amount of influence in America or those who speak out against the atrocities being committed by Israelis.
Don’t conflate it all with anti-semitism. It renders less plausible the accusations of REAL ani-semitism when they do occur.
As for your criticisms of COPE, they are the best thing to happen to SA since the end of Apartheid and I’m certainly shifting my support from the DA to them.
The DA is completely out of touch with the emerging generation of new South Africans.
It is full of white, middle-aged, middle-class deludes who think that the values that served the white community in the past, can be extended to all in the future. They seem completely ignorant of the fact that societies values have shifted.
Their inability to see this and their old school socially conservative, religious, pro-establishment mindset has effectively reduced them to nothing more than a bunch of political dilletantes in the emerging South African landscape.
Bravo to the author of this article for standing up to the establishment view.
The Jews are the only Abrahamic religion who have always obeyed God’s command not to keep slaves. In fact - the opposite. They have also obeyed the strict anti-Xenophobic rules of the Bible to protect the stranger.
I think it poetic Justice if Gadaffi takes over as Emperor of Africa. He is Arab, not black, and therefore presumably decended from the original colonisers,the Arab slave traders.
So a non-black, colonial descendent will run Africa!
People organise and mobilise their resources in the best way they can.
That’s how the half-million of people who are COSATU members — all of them in formal sector paid employment — can pretend, quite successfully, to be the authentic spokesmen for “the mass 40 million of the African poor” instead of a select, unionised, formally-employed relatively-rich elite.
Jews of the USA are probably equal in their skills at MAXIMISING their democratic clout.
So, what’s wrong with that? Why should 1000 people who are influential and activists not make the very best use of their influence and activism? Why should they be 1000 meek electoral sheep who do nothing except to tamely and quietly cast their vote once every five year?
Democracy ALLOWS everyone to maximise his or her influence, individually or collectively, however great or small that may be.
Roy Robins wrote: “But “immense” indicates that Jewish power and influence is undue, that it should not be allowed, that this power is somehow worrisome and that Jews (those damn pesky vile Jews!) should be denied it.”
NO. Immense means “big, huge, a lot”. Unless you are using a new dictionary? I love how people get firmly onto their run-away bandwagons and ride off happily into the sunset.
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on February 2nd, 2009 at 6:21 am
This chap finishes this article on the question of anti-Zionism and anti-semtism. Isnt it ironic that the purpose of the rally where fatima spoke was “anti-Israel”. Funny how she allegedly started attacking Jews? Seems you have proved the point that the two forms of bigotry are one and the same.
I wonder if you write an article defending the minister if she had replaced “Jew” with “blacks” or “Muslim”.
Sentletse,
Mark Weber writes (9/1/2009) on his website..
“In published writings, in lectures, and in courtroom testimony, I have devoted much time and work to critically reviewing the “official” Holocaust narrative, to countering Holocaust propaganda, and to debunking specific Holocaust claims.”
Please set the record straight…
Do you also support reviewing the “official” Holocaust narrative? If so, in which ways is the “narrative” incorrect?
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on February 2nd, 2009 at 8:07 am
I’m appalled that a prominent African commentator would resort to using the neo-Nazi Institute for Historical Review material to make an argument.
Do you believe what they stand for?
Or were you too lazy to construct a more nuanced article instead of labelling all Jews in such a way. There’s a huge literature on the politics of ethnicity in the US, as well as the vast diversity of the Jewish community in the US & internationally, instead of the crudities you have come up with to support Fatima Hajaig. You forget that basic power in the US still lies with a white, protestant elite.
Furthermore, you seem to have forgotten that many of the strongest critics of the Gaza invasion are Jews!
It’s very sad that you have done this. I had a lot more confidence in your ability as a commentator until now.
Interesting that the Jewish topic stimulates an unusually long blog. That the US has participated in really stirring up religious animosity with a minimum 3 plus billion USD per year (a good part of the Israeli war-making or settlement costs), essentially one could say that in many respects the US is responsible for the persistence of Israel. The issues seem to be, one, the idea of control of the US government. In fact, one can influence nearly anyone at any level of government in the US with just tens of thousands of dollars, even the common man can influence legislation. Control is a different issue. It is that some people organize and are active, in the US, particularly old people have learned that this is effective, that is control. Thirdly, the Jews are not a race, black African to white Russian, but they are a religion, like Masons, that are organized, pass jobs to each other, and are effective and see the picture, like old people. It is not ‘control’, it is being organized and effective, and that is built into their religion. Likewise, the highly unbalanced success in nearly any field of human endeavor of Jews is because of the early awareness of just what constitutes success in children, and, again, the passing of jobs (religious cronyism?), and the passing of the tools regarding getting ahead. In California Asians are a major factor in the UC system, progress of an economic group in likely the best university system in the world. I would wish the same for my clan.
It is not control, but influence. And if one group moves ahead of another, I suggest you imitate them, at least at the functional economical level, and quit bitching.
People will always be jealous of the successful, want to pogrom those who claim to be ‘the chosen people’. Personally I would ignore the religion but learn and raise children to deal with the real world early.
Yes, it is interesting that a Jewish issue can solicit more comment than everything else.
By the way, I grew up in post-war Germany and know camp internees, as well as Palistinians, and modern innocents.
“CRAIG, what is anti-semitic about saying Jews control “most western countries”?
Sentletse Diakanyo on January 31st, 2009 at 2:28 pm” -
Quite simply, that sentence implies that Jews control the world. Absolutely outrageous and preposterous, how could a people that run the world be slaughtered in their millions just 60 years ago? If you can recognize the rascicsm in that sentence than you are morally weak. Its the same as saying “foreigners take all our jobs”…with given the recent xenophobic massacres perpetrated by your self-righteous african brothers in the townships, gives adequate credabiility as to the rascism behind such statements which are based on perception, not fact, and are used to incite hate and prejudice.
There is a lot of writing on Jewish and Israeli themes at the moment, much of it reasoned and thought provoking, much if it a platform for espousing predictable and stereotypical views that add little of interest. This blog, however, falls into neither category, marked as it is by almost wilful ignorance and sheer cluelessness. The sort of contemptible nonsense made even more eye-rollingly intolerable by the facile follow up comments of the author. Gives blogging a bad name, and makes one wonder how much more dumbed-down our public discourse can possibly get.
While it is sometimes difficult to spot antisemitism, and also possible to see it when it perhaps is not there, there is one sure-fire method to spot it. If ALL Jews (who generally do not agree with each other) across the political spectrum denounce a statement such as that of Hajaig’s, you can bet the house that it sounds, feels and smells rotten.
OK let me get this straight. You say that Jews do wield immense power and influence. This does not seem like a far-fetched conclusion, and the quoted authors (I shall ignore Mark Weber - I am not fond of people who deny atrocities) seem to concur.
However, this doesn’t make our Deputy Minister’s comments seem less petulant, partisan, or unprofessional. As has been pointed out, she did not say “Jews wield power and influence” (which is true) but that the world is mainly controlled by Jews (which sounds remarkably like a passage from a book by a certain German author). I have to ask, what did she intend to accomplish with her statement?
I am all for the truth, whether we like it or not, but there is a big difference between truth and hate-mongering. Our government officials would do well to stay away from hate-mongering.
Interesting point guys and even more interesting views raised in response. Nothing anti-semite. Just wonder why is it that when columnists/commentators condemn and ridicule African people (as in Zuma, ANC leaders) they are immediately hailed as sharp & independent. Just a thought, Why?
Trotsky,is a clever Zionist who tries to divert attention from being able to practice your right of self expression of stating facts as you see them and sympathizing with the peole of Gaza.Logic states that to sympathize with Gaza is tantamount to criticizing the state of Israel.Israel has all along been a disputed issue with many Jews.Shlomo Sand in his book;When & How the Jewish People was invented,averts that Judism never allowed Jews to go to Jerusalem, they were only allowed to long for it but forbade them from going to it until the messiah’s resurrect.He further assures his readers that there is nothing in the Torah that will negate his statement.Thats why not many Jews are interested in sharing Zionists with the alleged crime of stealing other people’s land.I think people’s pursue of knowldge and happiness should be respected and all events should also be available for crirical reading.
Buried in the mire of ugly spoutings from readers who don’t know the difference between Judaism and Zionism was a particularly nasty one: “Judaism IS the anti-Christ religion, the proof is in the talmud!”
It puts me in mind of the rhyme by the British journalist whose pen name was Trilby:
“How odd
of God
to choose
the Jews”
and the reply by the author Leo Rosten:
“But not so odd
as those who choose
a Jewish God
yet spurn the Jews”.
Is it not hate speech to call Judaism the anti-Christ religion? How can one believe this about Judaism and still come to terms with the fact that Christ was a Jew?
But how did a piece about some ill-judged remarks degenerate into this mud-slinging? Worse, how much further will it go? Will the forces of hate now embark on a pogrom - in the name of Christianity, or of Hamas, or of those impoverished by Jewish “greed”, or of…?
As another reader points out, this spate of correspondence has had the worms, slugs and cockroaches crawling out of the woodwork. One thing is clear: racism is alive and well in South Africa.
To all of those who have their OWN agendas for denying the premise of Mr. Diakanyo’s article, why haven’t you yet responded to the follwing?
Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister of Israel, is boasting to his fellow Israelis about how much control Israel has over “our” government:
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was left “embarrassed” after President George W Bush ordered her to abstain from a UN vote on Gaza war, which she herself had prepared and organised.
Speaking in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, which has come under rocket attacks during the last 17 days, Olmert took pride in narrating how Bush intervened in the matter at his request.
“Early Friday morning [Israel time], the secretary of state was considering bringing the ceasefire resolution to a UNSC vote and we didn’t want her to vote for it. Suddenly, within ten minutes it became clear that, the vote was going ahead”, the Israeli premier recounted.
“I [called the White House and] said, ‘Get President Bush on the phone.’ They tried, and told me that he was in the middle of a lecture in Philadelphia. I said, ‘I’m not interested, I need to speak to him now”, he said.
“He (Bush)got down from the podium, went out and took the phone call. I told him that the US cannot possibly vote in favour of this resolution. He immediately called the secretary of state and told her not to vote for it. She was left quite embarrassed,” he narrated.
You can deny the truth all that you want to, even as you accuse Mr. Diakanyo of being a denier of a holocaust (notice that I didn’t precede “holocaust” with ‘the’ as if no other group of human beings have suffered save for Jews).
It is interesting and very amusing to watch those invested in smearing all critics of Zionist policy as “antisemitic” and “holocaust deniers” denying the obvious truth that Jews DO wield immense power and influence, even as they simultaneously brag about their might in Hollywood and academia. ‘Stereotypes’ cut both ways, you cannot brag about Jews having higher IQ levels and more nobel prize winners and then cry and whine when people point out the obvious.
Mr. Diakanyo, stand firm. they are losing, they never anticipated that the internet would be such a powerful beacon of light against them.
So when would it not be cowardly to defend yourself? When both sides are equally armed, the discriminate killers who try to minimise lossses, and the indiscriminate killers? Then it would not be “cowardly”?
Then you would have 2 million not 2 thousand dead - but goody, goody, goody - it would be “brave” not “cawardly”.
Enough already- the world is on the brink of economic crisis requiring strong progressive responses and here is a South African taking time out to find a global scapegoat. Seek explanation and understanding do not compound prejudiced perceptions of langstanding sterility. The Four riders of the apocalypse will be on the plains and you will have chosen to point a false finger at a mythical foe.Vukani Umfowethu!Use your freedom to advance your freedom not to tie up another.
On June 9 1967, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee met to discuss ways to pressure Israel at the time of the Six Day War. The committee was chaired by Senator J. William Fulbright who said, “…they (Jews) know they have control of the Senate politically, and therefore whatever the Secretary tells them, they can laugh at him. They say, ‘Yes, but you don’t control the Senate.’”
The US secretary of state to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Foster Dulles said, “I am aware how almost impossible it is in this country to carry out a foreign policy [in the Middle East] not approved by the Jews….. terrific control the Jews have over the news media and the barrage the Jews have built up on congressmen …. I am very much concerned over the fact that the Jewish influence here is completely dominating the scene and making it almost impossible to get congress to do anything they don’t approve of. The Israeli embassy is practically dictating to the congress through influential Jewish people in the country”
In 2001, Isreal Prime Minister Ariel Sharon informed Shimon Peres that, “Every time we do something, you tell me Americans will do this and will do that. I want to tell you something very clear: don’t worry about American pressure on Israel; We, the jewfish people, control America. And the Americans know it.”
I would assume that Senator Fulbright, Secretary Dulles and Arial Sharon were dispicable anti-semites!
This is a mean and misleading article. The statistics are carefully selected to portray Jews as conniving. Some of the sources are racist, and no context is provided. Statistics about e.g. the disproportionate contribution of Jews to the civil rights movement in America are also not provided.
The article is unfair and hurtful towards Jews. Compare how hurtful an unfair article about black control of America would be towards black people. The article could also cite racist sources, and note powerful African Americans such as Powell and Rice (who played a big role in the criminal war in Iraq) and Obama (there has never been a Jewish president). There is also far more criticism of Israel in America than there is of the many African regimes that commit crimes far worse than those Israel is accused of.
The reason many Americans support Israel is not because of Jewish connivance or power. Americans aren’t stupid. Despite patronizing stereotypes to the contrary and the embarrassment of Bush, Americans are generally far better educated than South Africans, and are exposed to far more, and far more various media. I have lived and taught in various countries, including South Africa and America, but anyone can understand this given the poverty in South Africa.
Rather Americans think that Israel’s cause is just, and that the cause of Hamas is unjust.
Yes Sentletse, if this is what they said, these are indeed untrue and anti-Semitic comments. Since when do the Jews control the US senate or the congress or even the media for that matter. Its just bigoted nonsense man.
The three quotations above don’t prove anything. For these to be given any credence you would have to present them in their correct context, and importantly, argue for the speaker’s intention, and even then, a swallow or three wouldn’t make a summer. What your writing does prove however is an inclination to bigotry – the context is evident, your intentions, enthusiastically expressed, are blatant.
IMMORTAL, this is what COPE said regarding the current Middle East conflict:
“There can be no justification for the wanton killing of civilians in particular women and children who are the worst affected by Israel’s military escalation.
We join the international call for Israel to immediately stop its assault on Gaza and the collective punishment of people of that territory.
We also call for an end to all attacks on innocent people in Israel.”
NB: I’m not a COPE spokesperson, and the views expressed on this blog are mine and mine alone.
Those of you who have managed to stay with this so far will have noted that Sentletse’s invariable mode of proceeding is to adopt an inherently improbable position on a subject and, by way of sustaining it, to quote someone else who appears to agree with him.
In this instance he advances the superficially similar opinion of some 6 souls and, since there are at last count some 6 billion in the world, the conclusion must be that the odds for Sentletse’s success in any argument imaginable lie very heavily in his favour, especially as he does not hesitate, when necessary, to enlist the authority of the dead to support the living.
It is a popular - indeed, populist - approach. It has the advantage of making it entirely unnecessary to do any thinking or to look at any facts whatever. In this manner Mbeki was never an Aids denialist - Ronald Suresh Roberts and Mbeki himself can be quoted to prove it; Zuma is innocent - half the ANC say so; and Zuma is guilty - the other half of the ANC say so; everyone should abstain in the next election -Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he would; and there is no crisis in Zimbabwe - Mbeki made that clear publicly (funny how that name keeps coming up quite naturally here).
With such dire precedents in mind, readers still sceptical enough to doubt that ‘Jewish money’ does control ‘America and most western countries’ must prepare themselves for an extremely long and monotonous journey.
Sentletse, admit that you have painted yourself in a corner and you’re now frantically googling away to try and see how long it it till the varnish dries on the floor.
Your quotes above are proof of that. Ariel Sharon told someone that the Americans were ‘under control’ and ‘behind them’. Well, we pretty much know that they are to an extent and we also know that people will say things like that to boost the confidence, e.g. of troops. He’s hardly likely to say, ‘Well mate, I’ll have a chat and see but you guys just go out. We’ll send backup if we get any but I don’t really know…’
As for quotes from the sixties, let me tell you that there you are digging a grave for yourself of the Mark Weber variety. Perhaps also you would like to quote respected scientists of that age, people whom we quote on other matters, who drew up treatises on the wondrous superiority of the white race and the subintelligence of black people? Rather just back off now, this is beyond a joke.
Themba, I think that you may want to reconsider your views on African detractors. Many of the people commenting here and arguing with Sentletse have not shown much love for the state of Israel in previous posts. I for one deplore the actions of the Israeli government and believe that they should be punished for their absolutely inhuman actions in Gaza. That means that I criticise the government of Israel and have little good to say about them. But at the same time, the government of Israel is not ‘every Jew’. For someone to attack all people of Jewish descent on this ridiculous crusade to prove that they are ‘influential’ and thus should be cut down to size is abhorrent.
Thus it is also with the ANC. A person may criticise the ANC and its current policies, a person may criticise Jacob Zuma in his position as head of that organisation. But for a person to go ‘all African people think this’, ‘all African people do this,’ and criticise all Africans because there are some individuals and groups that they disagree with - that’s despicable racism.
That is what this article is. It doesn’t criticise the state of Israel nor the government, nor individual politicians, nor the army. It criticises Jews who, by virtue of the accident of birth, apparently are all ‘too powerful’. Historically, this is the exact same rhetoric used by the Nazis to sway public opinion away from a natural horror at the idea of the extermination of an entire people. And furthermore, it is intended as a defence of Fatima Hajaig, who added her aleged anti-semitic comments to a whole rally full of others, some far worse. What she said cannot, in context, be defended - but yet Sentletse tries, in his inimitable manner. Perhaps she is on the COPE gravy train soon as well?
Let me also add, Sentletse, that in some of your previous articles you have spoken in such a manner that appears almost designed to make yourself an informal COPE spokesman. You have done them an immense disservice by so doing and not providing enough clarity at the time, as it clear from some of the commentary here.
Jewish Senator, Joe Liberman said, “Everything that President-elect Obama has done since election night has been just about perfect, both in terms of a tone and also in terms of the strength of the jews names that have either been announced or are being discussed to fill his administration.”
Obama’s cabinet is dominated by Jews (62%), and here is the list of appointments:
Secretary of State: Hillary R. Clinton (Jew)
Secretary of Treasure: Timothy F. Geithner (Jew)
Secretary of Defence: Robert M. Gates (Jew)
Secretary of Interior: Ken L. Salazar (Jew)
Secretary of Agriculture: Tom J. Vilsack (Jew)
Secretaryof Health and Human Services: Tom A. Daschle (Jew)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Shaun Donovan (Jew)
Secretary of Education: Arne Duncan (Jew)
Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano (Jew)
White House Chief Of Staff: Rahm Emanuel (Jew)
Attorney General: Eric H. Holder
Secretary of Labour: Hilda L. Solis
Secretary of Transportation: Ray H. LaHood
Secretary of Energy: Steven Chu
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Eric K. Shinseki
Secretary of Commerce: vacant
Would it be racist and hate speech to say African-Americans control and influence U.S. government if they were the majority? Denialism is your prerogative. Facts are everywhere for anyone to see. I find it more ridiculous for some to suggest that I should apologise for stating the truth. Interpret the truth as you please, no person shall deny you your freedom to be insecure, however irrational. But do not impose your insecurities and irrational fears on others and assume them to have evil intentions when highlighting self-evident truth.
This is where my contribution ends on this subject!
I think you wrote an excellent article, and it is sad that most people in the world are totally unaware of Jewish money-power because most of the mass-media in the world are largely controled by them. Thank God for the Internet.
Interesting that your ‘contribution’ on this subject ends with the yellow star. Incorrectly applied from the ‘could I move to Israel’ test in some cases. But let that not daunt you.
The very beginning of Sentletse’s list of Jews in the cabinet is innaccurate. He says that Hillary Clinton is Jewish! But she belongs to the United Methodist Church, and anyone can easily check this up.
Maybe Sentletse should keep at it - the more he writes the more he exposes himself.
We all know that the U.S. vehemently opposed the UNSC resolution that called for ceasefire in Gaza; and they ended up abstaining from endorsing the resolution. As it has always been the case, Israel ignored the UNSC resolution and continued with genocide against the Palestinin people in Gaza. The U.S.’ silence was deafening as Israel went on violating the UNSC resolution. It therefore does not require one to be a rocket scientist to understand what the Deputy Minister was saying.
anton kleinschmidt on February 3rd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
it’s really looking like senty is going to stormfront and getting his info. which is fine. while i don’t think the 62% bit is accurate, if, and as kit and i have already pointed out, it seems like these numbers are based on the “aliyah” test, which is the same reason, as i’ve stated, that you can now get pork in tel aviv. [see, all of those russians — the people — are about as jewish as, well, hilary clinton].
it’s clear that few people posting on this forum followed the 2000 ny senate race in which clinton herself said that she shook her family tree and found some jews there. [barely paraphrasing]
she wouldn’t have needed to do that if appealing to, and showing her self to be a friend to, those who are “friends of israel”.
napolitano, btw, is a suspect surname. there’s a “jewish red flag” in the name. although, the “winer” and “roth” in her mother’s line don’t help much either. the stormfront people may have gone with the preponderance of the evidence, and run with it.
mandrake –
im going to have to roll with the americans being better educated than south africans. [collectively speaking.] it is killing me that i can’t afford to send my child to the american school — he goes to a south african school that is considered one of the best in cape town and i am appalled by what passes for an education there.
I have my experience of teaching in both SA and the US. But this is something that should be rather unsurprising given the poverty in South Africa and how it affects the schools (just look at what’s required for passing matric examinations, and what the pass rate is). Also the media in the US is much more diverse than in SA.
Some more information about Sentlentse’s alleged list of Jews in the US Cabinet:
Hillary Clinton is not Jewish - she belongs to the United Methodist Church
Robert Gates is not Jewish - he is Christian
Tom Daschle is not Jewish - he is Catholic
Janet Napolitano is not Jewish - she is Methodist
Tom Vilsack is not Jewish - he is Catholic
Ken Salazar is not Jewish - he is Catholic
I haven’t found information about the religion of some of the others listed as Jewish. But this is enough to show that the majority of people listed as Jewish by Sentletse are not Jewish. His sources - including racists - are indeed suspect. More generally, as Mr Whelan points out, if anything Google turns up is to be trusted, then we should believe anything and everything.
But Sentletse still ignores the fact that the president of the US is African American, whereas there has never been a Jewish president; that Powell and Rice are African American, and had a big role in the criminal war in Iraq; that there is far more criticism in the US and beyond of Israel than there is of the many African regimes that commit crimes that are far worse than those Israel stands accused of.
Should we conclude from this information wrenched out of context - perhaps with some quotes from the Ku Klux Klan - that black people have too much power and wealth? Only a racist bigot could agree with this. But this is precisely the sort of reasoning involved in this article.
For what it’s worth from the US, no candidate for President, the Senate or the House of Representatives has won against Jewish opposition, since the 60’s. Is that control? Well, a contributing factor is the ideological support of apocalyptic US christians. For references google Paul Findlay, Charles Percy, Cynthia McKinney, Earl Hilliard, William Fulbright. The America- Israel Political Affairs Committee (lobby) brags of that effectiveness in their fundraising circulars.
Thanks to Google, we know (if we didn’t know already) that SA has blocked some absolutely vital resolutions designed to stop killing in other nations. So the US is not alone. I’m tempted to tell you to stop throwing stones because you’re living in a plate-glass wonderland but it really can be entertaining at times.
Why no comments about a brilliant analysis by Steven Friedman:
Meanwhile, political analyst Steven Friedman was quoted by Business Day as saying on Thursday said that while the statement by Hajaig was “ill-advised”, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies’ complaint was a red herring and the board was diverting attention from the real issue.
“What we should really be talking about is the aggressive campaign to camouflage the attempt by the Israelis to cower the Palestinians into submission.”
He said the real human rights issue was that Israel was “destroying what may be the only democratically elected government in the Middle East with the exception of Lebanon”.
“If the South African Jewish Board of Deputies was as concerned about the deaths of more than 1 000 innocent Palestinians as they are over a foolish remark of a junior minister, I would take their claims about concern for human rights more seriously.”
I don’t think you even know what the Board of Deputies does. It is a welfare and cultural organisation, not a political party. Makes sure no widows or orphans are unprotected, assesses temple dues for charity etc.
I was phoned once by one of my opposition to assess another opposition member and asked how well I thought my opponent was doing financially - to which I replied that I thought he was doing much worse than he pretended. The deputy agreed. The purpose of the phonecall? Not to assess his contribution to charity higher than he could afford.
When one of the most powerful militaries in the world is slamming ordinance into an area of dense population, defended by one of the weakest militaries in the world, is it not fair to wonder why there is not a peep of criticism coming from American politicians? - the same folks with a pretence to world leadership (”the world’s only superpower”, and all that). They had a lot to say about Russia’s incursion into Georgia. Georgia’s initial provocation killed more people than all the Hamas rockets, but Russia’s response, although less extensive and less bloody than Israel’s against Gaza, was decried as disproportionate and excessive. With the exception of several actual mavericks (not phony mavericks like John McCain), does the near entire U.S. Congress like what Israel did in Gaza?
If Sentletse is an internet “Thought Leader” spokesperson for Cope, the above editorial will have done the political party that he supports immeasurable harm. Although his anti-zionist/anti-semitic line might win some votes in The Cape, it is not a long term political strategy. It is not based on decency, morality, or facts. It is instead based on racism, immorality and transparent lies.
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on February 4th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Now imagine we were to say that black people are incompetent - on the basis that some black people are incompetent and there are many failing Afican governments. Does that mean there’s enough truth in it not to be called prejudicial?
You know the answer to that.
The deputy ministers statement is a restatement of the protocols of the elders of zion conspiracy theory. The difference between saying Jews have a powerful influence on US politics and saying that they control the US is not the subtle distinction you’re trying to make out. It’s the difference between a political fact and a wild, racist prejudice designed to invoke fear of Jews.
And that has all the bearing in the world on South African Jews. It says that their government buys into the mad conspiracy theory that had Jews used as a scapegoat in christian countries for centuries - frequently with terrible consequences.
Please South Africa. NASA really did land men on the moon. Vaccines do not cause autism. HIV does cause AIDS. And Jews do not have a sinister agenda to control the world.
Senteletse,
There are times when the best of us make terrible mistakes. If you want to retain some credibilty, it might be a good idea to publish an apology.
You have made too many “errors” and you should just have the common decency to say.. “Guys, I’m really sorry.”
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on February 4th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Sentletse, perhaps you haven’t realised that you (and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs) are anti-Semitic because you’ve misunderstood the meaning of the word “prejudice”, as in your own definition as follows: “A common understanding of anti-Semitism would generally refer to prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, although the appropriate meaning is not limited to Jews.”
If you look in a dictionary (you could even try Google!) you will find the following definitions:
prejudice [prej-uh-dis]:
- Any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favourable or unfavourable.
- Irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion.
- Detriment or injury caused to a person by the preconceived, unfavourable conviction of another or others.
- A partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation.
- An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts.
- A hostile opinion about some person or class of persons. Prejudice is socially learned and is usually grounded in misconception, misunderstanding, and inflexible generalisations.
prej•u•diced, prej•u•dic•ing, prej•u•dic•es
- To cause (someone) to judge prematurely and irrationally. See Synonyms at bias.
First colonizers from outside Africa, were the Phoenicians, who colonized part of North Africa in 400 BC. They were later replaced by the Romans, who colonized large parts of North Africa.
Greek colonization of Egypt began during the time of Alexander the Great. (Cleopatra was of Greek origin)
Arabs colonized North Africa about a thousand years later.
The simple point that is being missed here is not whether or not the Western world is or isn’t controlled by Jews. It is a tenant that attributes the same characteristics to millions of people based on their *lowest common denominator*. Surely any reasonable person would know that painting all people with the same paintbrush is not something that an intelligent person would do. For instance, are we to assume that all Africans are murderous mobsters based on what the Hutu Africans did to the Tsutsi Africans?
Likewise, so what if many people in positions of power in the USA are or are not Jewish? Does the fact that they share the same race or perhaps, religion mean that they will all think alike, speak alike and do alike? From the point of view of reasonability, the answer to this is a simple no. However, if you think the answer is yes, you are the carrier of discrimination and remember that you will be judged as you judge others.
What statements as those made by the Dep. Minister and Sentletse aim to do, is exactly to paint people with the same paintbrush on account of their lowest common denominator, as if they are some sort of weird “hive mentality”. Furthermore, where exactly is it meant to lead? It can only be meant to lead to, if not resentment then outright hatred of those people by those such as the Dep. Minister and Sentletse who very pro-actively used their so-called “intellectual faculties” to vicitmise themselves into a state of exclusion or a state in which they are powerless to, inter alia, use diplomacy as a tool of influence.
Conspiracy theories are the tools of victimhood consciousness and those who espouse victimhood consciousness will attract victimhood unto themselves. That includes the Dep. Minister & Sentletse, the latter of whom is so blinded by his own red herrings that he now projects Jewishness onto anyone in power irrespective of whether or not it is true, like Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It is not only the youth, but also the adults who have no knowledge of history.
And Steven Friedman, in my opinion, is a terrible analyst!
Oldfox
Arab colonisation started from the 7th to the 9th centuy. Timbuktu, as a main city on the trade route of the slave traders, was established in the 10th century. I roll around laughing when the SABC/SAFM talk about it as the oldest city in Africa. Were Cleopatra and Anthony cavorting in tents 2000 years ago?
The Europeans only arrived on the coast of Africa in the 17th century
I am not suggesting anything. I am observing that charities stay out of politics - for obvious reasons.
I think if you look up the history of “The Red Cross”, you will find it was started by Christians. However both they and “The Gift of the Givers” go everywhere IRRESPECTIVE OF RELIGION OR POLITICS!
What a piece of bigotry. I put it on the same level as: “African people are just lazy and corrupt. Look at the evidence. They have haven’t been able to achieve anything and their continent continues to descend further into poverty. We need to face reality.”
Count Basie once justified his sparse piano solos elegantly adorning his orchestral lushness by suggesting the listener “try to hear” what he wasn’t playing. Trite as this anlogy may appear, I have attempted to apply this discipline to the article by you DS, and trying to glean what you did not write.
I wont descend to the obvious by suggesting that the numerous subtexts/encoded genuflections to base and endemic, crusty, centuries-old truth perversions, no matter how emphatically they may be comprehensively refuted, are little more than disturbingly lazy, sensationalist and worryingly, racialistic carbuncles suppurating in a scattered mind.
I would even give you the benefit of the doubt by suggesting you wrote this in haste (as no doubt you conducted your “research” (sic)), and is now backpeddaling furiously to reconcile the tripe with some form of vaild riposte.
I suggest we can see all too easily how robust these are. They arent.
However, referring to the absences referred to above in your statistical denouement of Jewish tentacles, I would also ask you to indicate, inter-alia the following:
The vast array of Jewish involvement in the journey towards US Civil Rights;
The Jewish contribution to the demise fo Apartheid;
Indeed sadly, the silent acquiesence of many other Jews in the fostering of same (thereby debunking right there the notion of some sinister Jew conspiracy)…sigh
The detailed list of disproportionate contribution of Jewish money to altruistic causes and philanthropy in areas where there is neither expectation nor desire of a return, let alone power and influence other than universal wellbeing - examples: Healthcare, Human Rights. (So many examples abound on your research tool du jour - google, that I’m certain you will have little difficulty in buidling this massive compendium)
The numbers of Jews whose cession of rights to the academic institutions faciliating the numerous Jewish researchers aspirations to discovery (Nobel laureates etc)neither designed to enrich nor seek adulation.
The list of Jews in odd positions of authority (not power) thereby further debunking the thesis. example The Bahreini Ambassador to the UK is a Jew (and female) shock horror….all benign and positive, and NOT as you would portray
The Captains of Industry (now demoted to mere corporeal status) jostling for benefits (yes they exist - I am one)…so much for power and cotrol and influence
On the flip side I’m also intersted as to why you have been so selective: why not the number of Jews controlling football team (and NFL in the US) not to mention Oligarchs in Russia…or how about the ratio of synagogues to Jews (who dont attend) - You’ll find it surprising since there is always one shul that a jew refuses to go to!
Or perhaps the number of rabbis (not that this is a great job for a nice jewish Boy and increasingly Girl - OY!) to aspire to
perhaps you get my drift - your book of lists demeans both you and the readers who try to make sense of it and regretfully come up with…..a naked predisposition to race hate fometation
How ever do you cope!
Predictabloy though there will be the odd blogger on here who will merely suggest that altrusim in merely another method we Yiddles use to subvert the system.
Why even bother when its spokesmen have neither the ability nor increasingly the nous to engage…like you DS.
Late to this, but so entertained I can’t help but point out…
A quick search indicates that Rahm Emmanuel is the only Jew on the list you gave of Obama’s cabinet. I posted an updated list on the blog that responded to yours.
The commenter who quoted “Tzipora Menache” apparently didn’t bother to note that she is a fictional person. Even Stormfront admits that (it was attached to a computer virus so that those googling the quote would inadvertently download it).
Snopes.com is your friend, man, you need to utilize it more often if you’re going to keep up these pretenses to journalism.
Oh, and in case I’m going to be lumped in with the “Jewish mafia”: I’m Presbyterian, directly descended from the English Calvinists who came over on the Mayflower (yes, my family roots in the US go back to 1620). I’m as WASPish as they come (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, in case that’s an acronym with which you’re unfamiliar).
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Sentletse Diakanyo's blogs may contain views on any subject which may upset sensitive readers. Parental Guidance is strongly adviced. He is not a journalist and his readers should not unreasonably expect balanced articles.
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Thanks for highlighting the facts about the amountr of influence that jews have over America and it’s politics. A brilliant and very thought provoking article.
Thanks again.
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