In recent news headlines:

  • San Francisco will have a ballot initiative to ban circumcision.  While one could make an argument for this on other grounds those who support this initiative have used a comic book format featuring a blond muscled caped superhero named Foreskin Man fighting the evil moyels (the one who performs the circumcision) and rabbis who are displayed in graphic evil Jewish stereotypes entirely reminiscent of the most offensive anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazis in the 1930’s.
  • In Scotland,  West Durbantonshire banned books by Israeli authors. To their credit The Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party have spoken out against this action by one of their towns.
  • In the Netherlands the Dutch parliament is debating a bill that would ban kosher slaughter on humanitarian grounds.
  • Delta Airlines has signed a deal with Saudi Arabia partnering with their airline. This move would require Delta to ban Jews or those holding Israeli passports from entering Saudi Arabia on their planes.

I am reluctant to adhere to the paranoid Jewish stereotype that sees anti-Semitism lingering on every word, and an anti-Semite around every corner.  Yet  I must wonder what other people, what other country or what other religion is faced with such blatant affronts.  Can we imagine the outcry if a Muslim was banned from entering a country, if a gay was banned from getting on a plane going anywhere, or if books were banned from any other country or religious group?

The irony that Israel is the most tolerant of women, gays, and religious minorities of any country in the Middle East seems lost on those who seem to be unable to tolerate such a tolerant country.  If the point is to disassociate from oppressors, have any of them noticed what has been going on in Darfur for the last several years, or Libya and Syria in the last few months?  Have they noticed which direction the missiles are flying between Gaza and Siderot?

In a world that has become stiflingly politically correct there is only one bigotry still permitted without a public outcry.  It is time for that to change.

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