General Discussion

Max Blumenthal Slams Elie Wiesel Hours After Death — Draws Rebuke From Hillary Clinton

http://forward.com/news/344431/max-blumenthal-slams-elie-wiesel-hours-after-death-draws-rebuke-from-hillar/

Maxx Blumenthal, the journalist and harsh critic of Israel, harshly condemned Elie Wiesel after his death last weeekend, Tweeting that the iconic Holocaust survivor did “more harm than good” with his unswerving support of the Jewish state.

“Elie Wiesel went from a victim of war crimes to a supporter of those who commit them,” said Blumenthal, whose father Sidney is a close confidant of Hillary Clinton. “He did more harm than good and should not be honored.”

The outburst drew a rebuke from Clinton.

“Secretary Clinton emphatically rejects these offensive, hateful, and patently absurd statements about Elie Wiesel,” Jake Sullivan, senior policy aide to the Clinton campaign, said in a July 6 statement to The Jerusalem Post. “She believes they are wrong in all senses of the term. She believes that Max Blumenthal and others should cease and desist in making them.”

Max Blumenthal is the author of Goliath, a book that harshly criticized Israel and its occupation of Palestinian land. He is also a force on on social media, where he has a large following.

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WILD THING: MAX BLUMENTHAL’S CREEPY ANTI-ZIONIST ODYSSEY

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/189172/max-blumenthal-and-anti-zionists


Late last year, Germany was captivated by a mesmerizing, almost absurdist video at the heart of something eventually dubbed Toiletgate. In it, anti-Zionist activists Max Blumenthal and David Sheen chase Gregor Gysi, the chairman of die Linke, Germany’s left-wing opposition party, down his office’s hallway. The two men hound Gysi with accusations that he called them anti-Semites, which Gysi denies. Gysi flees into a toilet stall, and Sheen and Blumenthal try to force their way in, without success.

German newspapers across the political spectrum denounced the obsessive radicals who had tried to prevent Gysi from urinating in peace, and the German media wasn’t shy about calling Blumenthal and Sheen—who are both Jewish by birth—anti-Semites. But the story behind Toiletgate was a little more complex. Two Linke politicians known for their opposition to Israeli “imperialism,” Inge Höger and Annette Groth—who had also sailed on the Mavi Marmara in 2010 when Israeli commandos disastrously raided the ship bound for Gaza—had invited Blumenthal and Sheen to speak at a conference on Israel in the Bundestag on Nov. 10. Tipped off that the two men were ferocious denouncers of Israel, Gysi canceled the invitation.

The reason was simple politics. The Baader Meinhof era still echoes in Germany: Nothing can tarnish a German politician like charges of anti-Semitism. Gysi has for years now been trying to put a stop to the radical antics that have led most Germans to shrug off die Linke as a sideshow. In June 2011, under Gysi’s leadership, die Linke adopted with a large majority statements affirming Israel’s right to exist and in favor of a two-state solution. Gysi also pushed through a measure stating that Linke representatives would not take part in boycott efforts and Gaza flotillas or advocate for a one-state solution. Höger and Groth, boisterous radicals (and not just about Israel), have been chafing under these restrictions. Toiletgate was their failed attempt to push back.

The day before their Bundestag conference, Nov. 9, Blumenthal and Sheen were supposed to appear at Berlin’s Volksbühne to discuss Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza. That event also got canceled: Nov. 9, the anniversary of Kristallnacht, is a day of solemn commemoration in Germany, not a time for attacks on Israel. An unfazed Blumenthal explained that he had particularly wanted his event to take place on the day of Kristallnacht. “For us,” he said, “it was the perfect time to explain how the legacy of the European genocide had inspired our work, to emphasize that ‘never again’ meant never again to anyone.” Characteristically, Blumenthal cast Israel as a planner of mass murder and on a day consecrated to the memory of the Shoah.


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Another Milestone For the Mainstreaming of Anti Semitism : The New American Foundation and Max Blumenthal's Goliath

http://brandeiscenter.com/?/publications/research_articles/another_milestone_for_the_mainstreaming_of_anti_semitism_the_new_american_f

http://www.brandeiscenter.com/images/uploads/articleuploads/marquardt-Bigman_research_paper.pdf

Abstract

This paper argues that, by providing a platform to Max Blumenthal for the promotion of his book
Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel, the New America Foundation (NAF) bestowed legitimacy on
a book that is, in effect, antisemitic because its author intended to convince readers that Israel should
be equated with Nazi Germany. It will be shown that during the NAF event, Blumenthal was allowed to
justify his comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany without being challenged. Furthermore, it will
be documented that when the event was held, the NAF already knew, or could have known, that the
book had been eagerly embraced by notorious antisemites and that it primarily appealed to activists
campaigning for the delegitimization and elimination of Israel as a Jewish state. It will also be shown
that Blumenthal expected – and indeed received – mainstream recognition in the aftermath of the NAF
event, including an endorsement by a NAF board member. At the same time, however, there were
additional endorsements for his book that illustrate its appeal to groups and individuals opposing Israel’s
existence as a Jewish state and espousing antisemitic views. As will be documented, Blumenthal himself
endorsed reviews that praised his book for making the case that equating Israel and Nazi Germany is
entirely justified.

* * *

Introduction (2) – Praise for Goliath from notorious antisemites and Israel-haters (8) – Criticism of
Goliath (13) – Opposition to NAF’s promotion of Goliath (20) – Goliath at the NAF (23) – Mainstream
exposure for Goliath in the aftermath of the NAF event (34) – Roger Waters praises Goliath (41) – How
anti-Israel activists define anti-Semitism (44) – Conclusion: The NAF and the power of the poison pen

Note: All links provided in the references have been accessed between December 25, 2013, and January 18, 2014.
About the author

Petra Marquardt-Bigman is a German-Israeli writer and researcher with a Ph.D. in contemporary history.
She has written a book on American intelligence analyses on Germany in the 1940s (Amerikanische
Geheimdienstanalysen über Deutschland 1942-1949. Munich, 1995: Oldenbourg) and a number of
related academic articles. Her blog, The Warped Mirror, focusing on how Israel is covered by the
international media, has been published by The Jerusalem Post since late 2006, and her writings on
Israel and the Middle East have appeared at The Guardian’s Comment is Free, World Politics Review,
The Commentator, The Algemeiner and other sites.

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Wiesenthal releases 'Top Ten 2013 anti-Semitic, anti-Israel slurs' list

http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/Wiesenthal-releases-Top-Ten-2013-anti-Semiticanti-Israel-slurs-list-336564


Also notable on this year’s list was the presence of two anti-Israel Jewish Americans whose language contributes to anti-Semitism, according to Hier. Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, occupied the third spot and the journalist Max Blumenthal scored ninth place.

Rabbi Hier told the Post that he considers Falk and Blumenthal to “absolutely” fall in the category of Jewish anti-Semites.

“It is not the first time in the history of the Jewish people” that Jews have made anti-Jewish rants, Hier said. He stressed that one has to “judge people by their words. You can be an anti-Semite if you talk like anti-Semites.”

Hier continued, “Richard Falk should not be given a free pass because he is Jewish. We think he, Richard Falk, is an outright anti-Semite.” Likewise, Hier said of Blumental, “we judge him by what he wrote. He crossed the line into outright anti-Semitism.”

According to the Wiesenthal list, Blumenthal uses chapter titles in his book Goliath to equate Israel with the Nazi regime. Chapters in his book are entitled “Summer Camp of Destruction,” “Date with the Devil,” “There Is No Dream,” “The Concentration Camp,” “The Night of Broken Glass” and “How to Kill Goyim and Influence People.” The center noted that “he quotes approvingly characterizations of Israelis soldiers as ‘Judeo-Nazis.’”

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