Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Trump decries 'cancel culture,' but does he participate in it? He's called for boycotts and punishment for critics

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/03/trump-decries-cancel-culture-but-he-has-participated/3451223001/

 The exact definition of "cancel culture" is amorphous, and there is debate over whether it actually exists or is just the act of holding someone accountable for their actions.

Those who call for a boycott of a certain product or service because of beliefs or actions are sometimes accused of "cancelling." In other instances, public criticism against a person by someone with a large social media platform is considered cancelling.

 

Why Attacking ‘Cancel Culture’ And ‘Woke’ People Is Becoming The GOP’s New Political Strategy

 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-attacking-cancel-culture-and-woke-people-is-becoming-the-gops-new-political-strategy/

 But there is no agreed-upon definition of “woke” or a formal political organization or movement associated with it. Nor is there an exact definition of what constitutes being “canceled” or a victim of “cancel culture.” However, despite their vagueness, you now see conservative activists and Republican politicians constantly using these terms. That’s because that vagueness is a feature, not a bug. Casting a really wide range of ideas and policies as too woke and anyone who is critical of them as being canceled by out-of-control liberals is becoming an important strategy and tool on the right — in fact, this cancel culture/woke discourse could become the organizing idea of the post-Trump-presidency Republican Party.

Monday, May 10, 2021

Rockets fired at Jerusalem as Hamas ultimatum expires

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305919

The Red Alert siren which warns of rocket attacks sounded in Jerusalem shortly after 6 PM Monday evening, right as the ultimatum issued by the Hamas terrorist organization expired.

 

If we ‘canceled’ anti-Semitism

 https://religionnews.com/2021/03/04/jews-cancel-culture-dr-suess-antisemitism/

 The right, of course, has its own version of cancel culture. On Jan. 6, had Nancy Pelosi or Michael Pence been “canceled,” it would have been a permanent, lethal cancellation. As in the gallows that the miscreants had already erected.

Cancel Culture: Is Banning the Bible Next?

 https://www.aish.com/ci/s/Cancel-Culture-Is-Banning-the-Bible-Next.html

After all, isn't there slavery in the Bible, alongside discrimination against women, the handicapped, and non-Jews? Isn't there intolerance of gender-fluid identities and racism regarding certain nations? The Bible even calls for genocide against the seven Canaanite nations, and Amalek!

So why shouldn't the small group of "intellectuals," "progressives," and radical kings-and-queens who rule today's "cancel culture" approach the Bible censoriously too? What would better amplify their (illusion of) power than twitter-shaming all Bible-believers, or even burning entire chapters of that "culturally offensive" book?

 

 

When it's ok to be part of cancel culture

 https://www.thejc.com/judaism/features/when-it-s-ok-to-be-part-of-cancel-culture-1.512155

Jews too “cancel” our nemesis, but only once a year. The Torah commands us to “wipe out the memory of Amalek” referring to the biblical tribe who launched unprovoked attacks against us, preying on the weakest Jews who were trailing at the back of the line leaving Egypt (Deuteronomy 25: 19).

Similarly, we’re told that “the memory of the wicked will rot” (Proverbs 10:7). This, we apply to Amalek’s descendant Haman , whose failed attempt at genocide against Jews is recalled on Purim. We purge ourselves of Haman’s name by drowning it out with twirling gragger-rattles, booing and banging each time it’s read from the Scroll of Esther (Esther Rabbah 9: 10).

 

Jewish Word | What Is Cancel Culture—and What Does Judaism Say About It?

 https://momentmag.com/jewish-word-what-is-cancel-culture-and-what-does-judaism-say-about-it/

The term is new, but the questions surrounding canceling are not. They have surfaced in Judaism just as they have in other religions. “The most drastic type of canceling is when we say Yemach Shemo—blot out their name,” says Brandeis University sociologist Sylvia Barack Fishman. “Jews traditionally use that phrase for the Nazis. So when something is a moral monstrosity, that’s when one cancels [it].” Even then, Jewish tradition usually stops just shy of complete cancelation, she adds. Deuteronomy commands us to “blot out the memory of Amalek,” yet the same verse instructs us to “not forget.” That’s why every Shabbat before Purim, Jewish communities read the Torah portion reminding them of Amalek’s sins against the Israelites.

The second wave of “cancel culture”

 https://www.vox.com/22384308/cancel-culture-free-speech-accountability-debate

 But over the past few years, many right-wing conservatives, as well as liberals who object to more strident progressive rhetoric, have developed the view that “cancel culture” is a form of harassment intended to silence anyone who sets a foot out of line under the nebulous tenets of “woke” politics. So the idea now represents a vast assortment of objectives and can hold wildly different connotations, depending on whom you’re talking to.

GOP cancel culture targets Georgia: Republicans want to silence critics of their war on voting

 https://www.salon.com/2021/04/05/gop-cancel-culture-targets-georgia-republicans-want-to-silence-critics-of-their-war-on-voting/

 Many a tear has been shed over wealthy actors losing plum gigs for embarrassing movie studios with their bigoted tweets, or obscure books by famous authors being delisted voluntarily by their own publishing companies, or people making fun of a paranoid right-wing couple in St. Louis who pulled guns on peaceful protesters, or the librarian whose boss prevented her from humiliating herself by doing a rap presentation to onboard college freshmen. Free speech, they argue, is dependent not just on the absence of censorship, but the absence of any consequences whatsoever, including criticism from others who are using their free speech rights. It turns out there was one caveat to this right to speech unfettered by opposition, criticism, or consequences, however: It is a "right" enjoyed only by those on the right. For those who oppose bigotry, vote for Democrats, or express discomfort at overt racism, there is no limit to what can and should be done to silence them. This was always evident — see how Trump unleashed tear gas on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square — and is only becoming more clear in the fight over voting rights in the state of Georgia. 

 Fox News host Laura Ingraham — who shamelessly switches back and forth between telling progressive athletes to "shut up and dribble" and whining about how liberal criticism "cancels" conservativesmade a robust pro-cancellation argument Thursday night. "We're going to punish you," she threatened, raging against anti-racist statements from corporations, and arguing, "these corporations are going to face the wrath of GOP officials as well as the tens of millions of American consumers." Rachel Campos-Duffy of Fox News didn't even bother to pretend there was no contradiction here, suggesting on Friday that it's time for "American conservatives to cancel sports" in order to force them to "respect" conservatives, i.e. by being silent in the face of racist voter suppression.

The Great Hypocrisy of Right-Wingers Claiming ‘Cancel Culture’

 https://www.thenation.com/article/society/republicans-cancel-culture-kaepernick/

 Greene and the entire right wing are currently using “cancel culture” in the same way Rudy Giuliani used to deploy “a noun, verb and 9/11”—as a handy-dandy phrase to inoculate themselves from wholly valid criticism. (Rhetorically, “political correctness” is its more direct predecessor, but then Black Twitter invented the term “cancel” and white conservatives decided that, like everything else, they just had to have it.) The current ubiquity of the phrase belies its central thesis, since all the airtime and column space conservatives are given to talk about cancellation proves they were never cancelled in the first place.

My Solution To The Get Crisis (V20)

From Christian Missionary to Observant Jew

https://www.aish.com/sp/so/From-Christian-Missionary-to-Observant-Jew.html?s=mpbot 

 The recent story of Michael Elkcohen, the undercover Christian missionary who masqueraded as an Orthodox Jew and infiltrated an Orthodox community in Jerusalem, sent shockwaves around the world. The father admitted his missionary intentions in 2014 but managed to avoid further scrutiny by relocating to the Anglo community of French Hill. A year ago, a journalist familiar with his confession notified Shannon Nuszen, the director of Beyneynu, a new watchdog organization that exposes missionary activity in Israel, about the couple. They had been spotted using two separate Facebook profiles – one with Jewish identities and one with Christian identities.

'A fairy tale gone wrong': Acosta on right's railing against 'cancel culture'

Members of Congress condemn evictions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah

 https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/members-of-congress-condemn-evictions-of-palestinians-in-sheikh-jarrah-667727

 “The forced removal of long-time Palestinian residents in Sheikh Jarrah is abhorrent and unacceptable. The Administration should make clear to the Israeli government that these evictions are illegal and must stop immediately,” Elizabeth Warren, senator from Massachusetts, said in a tweet Saturday.

The property under dispute was owned by a Jewish organization before 1948 until it was captured by Jordan in Israel’s War of Independence. The land was taken back by Israel during the 1967 war, and a law was passed in 1970 allowing Israeli Jews to reclaim property in East Jerusalem that was held before the 1948 war. The property has been the subject of a legal battle ever since.
Israel’s Supreme Court is set to meet Monday to review the Palestinian residents’ appeal of a court-ordered eviction.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the representative from New York, also weighed in. “We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces are forcing families from their homes during Ramadan and inflicting violence. It is inhumane and the US must show leadership in safeguarding the human rights of Palestinians,” she said in a tweet Saturday.