Antisemitism has been going on for thousands of years. At least three times the Israelis were invaded by the Babylonians as recorded in the Old Testament. Several instances have occurred in the last thousand years when Jews were frequently caught and brutally punished by burning at the stake.
Of course, the Holocaust was the most horrific example. 6,000 Jews were exterminated by gassing, mass shootings, of by simple starvation and ill treatment in those concentration camps. To put the figures in perspective, there are only 15,000 Jews living today. In other words, almost 30% of all worldwide Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
The next great Jewish massacre was the October 7, 2023 Hamas raid on Israel. 1,182 people were killed, some butchered after being terribly abused. There were 4,000 wounded, and 210 live hostages taken, including several children. That Hamas attack took several years in planning. It was known only by the top leaders to avoid possible leaks. The details were kept secret from other Hamas soldiers until days or even hours before the attack. About 7,000 terrorists from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took part in the raid.
Detailed maps were made of all areas involved. At 6:29 pm on the Jewish Sabbath of October 7 the raid was started with a barrage of 3873 rockets fired into Israel. One main target was the Nova Music Festival where 370 were killed, mostly under 30 years old. As the attack proceeded the crowd tried to evacuate by car, but the careful planning anticipated that cars would pile up at intersections. The inhabitants were then captured or shot. Those who tried to flee on foot through the woods fared the same. There were gang rapes, sexual mutilations, and then the women were shot in the head. Incendiary attacks were made on the many kibbutz in the area. Parents were decapitated in front of their children, and at other times children in front of their parents. All of these horrific actions are given in great detail on the website: 7octparliamentarycommission.co.uk. Israel naturally retaliated.
Now Hamas is trying to convince the rest of the world that Israel is at fault by attacking them and starving the Palestinians. They have tunneled under hospitals thereby creating human shields contrary to the Geneva convention. Those who are not aware of the brutality described above have been taken in by Hamas' story. Students in many universities have caused riots such as at Columbia and Yale, and Democrats have refused to condemn them. (In the last few weeks these schools have settled with Trump as he brought charges of violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act against them. But that's another story.)
According to Pew Research the Jewish population of the USA is 2.4% whereas the Muslim population is barely 1%. In the House of Representatives there are 25 Jewish members, but only four Muslims. In the Senate there are 10 Jewish members and no Muslims. Almost all of the Jewish members are Democrats.
How is it possible that Democrats have taken sides with those students who have promoted antisemitism in their protests when they have so many Jewish members in congress?
My theory is this: The party has been taken over by the left-wing extremists led by "the Squad" including AOC, Tlaib, and Omar (a devout Muslim.) Bernie Sanders, a quasi-Democrat, who campaigns with AOC and is Jewish, says that his father's family was entirely wiped out in the Holocaust. Thus, his position makes even less sense to me. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority leader in the delicate state of New York, who is also Jewish, tried to straddle the fence by saying that the Israeli PM should call for new elections.
I am not Jewish, but I support our ally in the middle east. The position of those who don't boggles my mind!
Peter Gilderson, Madison.
