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Mercer does have a point about the bias of MSM: I read NY Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Atlantic, WSJ while NY Times, WaPo came out against Steve B

Mercer does have a point about the bias of MSM: I read NY Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Atlantic, WSJ while NY Times, WaPo came out against Steve Bannon for being anti-semitic when he decidedly is very pro-Israel and very against anti-Semitism and yet, didn't say a word about Keith Ellison who was running for DNC chair. MSM criticized Trump for not being strong enough on anti-Semitism but where silent about Ellison. Among other things, Ellison was one of only 8 members of Congress to vote against funding Israel's Iron Dome missile system -- a system which protected Israeli civilians from Hamas rockets [1]. The Anti-Defimation League whose reason d'être is to combat anti-Semitism came out with a statement against Ellison on Dec 1, 2016,[2] but you won't see MSM mention the ADL condemnation of Ellison. [1] http://jpupdates.com/2014/08/03/rep-ellison-explains-anti-iron-dome-funding-vote-need-cease-fire/ http://jpupdates.com/2014/08/03/rep-ellison-explains-anti-ir... [2] http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/israel-middle-east/speech-raises-new-doubts-about-Rep-Ellisons-ability.html http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/israel-middle... [3] http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/17/democrats-must-scrutinize-keith-ellisons-anti-semitic-past-and-ties-to-radical-islam/ http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/17/democrats-must-scrutinize-... Of course choosing Ellison as a candidate to lead them was truly a lack of judgment on the part of the DNC but for some reason, NY Times, Washington Post, etc. failed to report Ellison's views and the ADL statement. EDIT: The Wall Street Journal, unlike NYTimes and Washington Post does bring up Ellison's anti-Semitism, but only after the fact, not before the election: "Mr. Ellison, who is an African-American Muslim, also faced complaints about his past associations with the Nation of Islam and statements he has made that were perceived as criticizing Israel. Haim Saban, an Israeli-American donor who funded the construction of the DNC’s Washington headquarters, in December publicly called Mr. Ellison “clearly an anti-Semite.”" [4] [4] https://www.wsj.com/articles/democrats-elect-tom-perez-party-chairman-1488054192 https://www.wsj.com/articles/democrats-elect-tom-perez-party...

huac 10y ago
There's a huge difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. There's no real way to engage with somebody who willfully tries to remove that distance. It is also very much possible to be anti-Semitic and pro-Israel, but I won't go into those mental gymnastics here. Edit: the mental gymnastics that have been offered elsewhere basically boil down to, "we hate Jews, but are fine giving them their own country if it means they leave America." White supremacists are also pro-Israel because they think having a Jewish homeland justifies having a white homeland (America, Europe, etc).
- Waterluvian 10y ago
  The gymnastics can be simple if you distill it down to, "white looking people in the middle east" enemy of my enemy and whatnot.
- Strom 10y ago
  One simple way to be anti-semitic and pro-Israel is to live by the enemy of my enemy is my friend and use them for proxy propaganda/wars.
- reitanqild 10y ago
  There's a huge difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Practically speaking I'd say it is less than you think. Anti-Zionism is often just a proxy for hating jews who live in Israel. There's no real way to engage with somebody who willfully tries to remove that distance. I could say something similar the other way but that would be to accept your invitation to a framing competition. Actually this whole: there is no way to engage with x is a problem IMO.
  - owebmaster 10y ago
    The same way anti anti zionism is just plain old islamophobia and hate against palestines
  - huac 10y ago
    > Anti-Zionism is often just a proxy for hating jews who live in Israel. I mean, do you include Israeli settlers within 'jews who live in Israel'? When people argue that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, and must be a priori excluded, then debate and engagement is impossible. There is a difference between criticizing Jews and criticizing Israel, and erasing that difference necessarily forecloses on conversation.
    - reitanqild 10y ago
      When people argue that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic Just FTR, I'm not trying to argue that. Criticising Israel (or for that matter, Jews) should be totally ok.
ComputerGuru 10y ago
You're setting up a false dichotomy here. It's not "support iron dome" vs "support Hamas". There are reasons to vote down iron done that have nothing to do with hating Israel or being a terrorist sympathizer. If I were to introduce a bill to the house floor today that says we give Zimbabwae one billion USD to build a missile system to defend against terrorist missile strikes - a system which they refused to share details regarding its operative details and technical/operational schematics - and it was voted down, would you say all of Congress are anti-Zimbabwaen and terrorist sympathizer?
skywhopper 10y ago
Disagreeing with Israel or being against unquestioning US government support of Israel's policies is not anywhere close to the same thing as being anti-Semitic. Likewise, support for Israel's policies doesn't mean you aren't anti-Semitic, or that your other actions don't support anti-Semitism. You cite the ADL's statement about Ellison (which doesn't accuse him of anti-Semitism, but instead retracts ADL support based on his statements about US support for Israel government policy), but you seem to have ignored their statements about Bannon, eg: http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/miscellaneous/adl-statement-trump-appointment-priebus-bannon.html http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/miscellaneous... http://cleveland.adl.org/news/trump-appointee-bannon-accused-of-anti-semitism-white-supremacy/ http://cleveland.adl.org/news/trump-appointee-bannon-accused...

huac 10y ago

There's a huge difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. There's no real way to engage with somebody who willfully tries to remove that distance. It is also very much possible to be anti-Semitic and pro-Israel, but I won't go into those mental gymnastics here. Edit: the mental gymnastics that have been offered elsewhere basically boil down to, "we hate Jews, but are fine giving them their own country if it means they leave America." White supremacists are also pro-Israel because they think having a Jewish homeland justifies having a white homeland (America, Europe, etc).

Waterluvian 10y ago
The gymnastics can be simple if you distill it down to, "white looking people in the middle east" enemy of my enemy and whatnot.
Strom 10y ago
One simple way to be anti-semitic and pro-Israel is to live by the enemy of my enemy is my friend and use them for proxy propaganda/wars.
reitanqild 10y ago
There's a huge difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Practically speaking I'd say it is less than you think. Anti-Zionism is often just a proxy for hating jews who live in Israel. There's no real way to engage with somebody who willfully tries to remove that distance. I could say something similar the other way but that would be to accept your invitation to a framing competition. Actually this whole: there is no way to engage with x is a problem IMO.
- owebmaster 10y ago
  The same way anti anti zionism is just plain old islamophobia and hate against palestines
- huac 10y ago
  > Anti-Zionism is often just a proxy for hating jews who live in Israel. I mean, do you include Israeli settlers within 'jews who live in Israel'? When people argue that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, and must be a priori excluded, then debate and engagement is impossible. There is a difference between criticizing Jews and criticizing Israel, and erasing that difference necessarily forecloses on conversation.
  - reitanqild 10y ago
    When people argue that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic Just FTR, I'm not trying to argue that. Criticising Israel (or for that matter, Jews) should be totally ok.

ComputerGuru 10y ago

You're setting up a false dichotomy here. It's not "support iron dome" vs "support Hamas". There are reasons to vote down iron done that have nothing to do with hating Israel or being a terrorist sympathizer. If I were to introduce a bill to the house floor today that says we give Zimbabwae one billion USD to build a missile system to defend against terrorist missile strikes - a system which they refused to share details regarding its operative details and technical/operational schematics - and it was voted down, would you say all of Congress are anti-Zimbabwaen and terrorist sympathizer?

skywhopper 10y ago

Disagreeing with Israel or being against unquestioning US government support of Israel's policies is not anywhere close to the same thing as being anti-Semitic. Likewise, support for Israel's policies doesn't mean you aren't anti-Semitic, or that your other actions don't support anti-Semitism. You cite the ADL's statement about Ellison (which doesn't accuse him of anti-Semitism, but instead retracts ADL support based on his statements about US support for Israel government policy), but you seem to have ignored their statements about Bannon, eg: http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/miscellaneous/adl-statement-trump-appointment-priebus-bannon.html http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/miscellaneous... http://cleveland.adl.org/news/trump-appointee-bannon-accused-of-anti-semitism-white-supremacy/ http://cleveland.adl.org/news/trump-appointee-bannon-accused...