- "If ... The Protocols are genuine (which can never
be proven conclusively), it might cause some of us to keep a wary eye on
world affairs. We neither support nor deny its message. We simply make
it available for those who wish a copy." -Wal-Mart
-
- Wal-Mart Values
-
- What does it mean when America's biggest retailer promotes
one of Hitler's favorite books?
-
- If hate literature had a magnum opus, it would probably
be The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion. Concocted
in 1890s Russia by the Czar's personal police, the Okhrana, The Protocols
is a fake account of Jews meeting to plan for world domination. If the
plot sounds familiar, it should: among its most devoted readers was Adolph
Hitler.
-
- Commenting on the book, Hitler once said, "It simply
appalled me. The stealthiness of the enemy, and his ubiquity. I saw at
once that we must copy it - in our own way of course - it is in truth the
critical battle for the fate of the world." He was such an admirer
of the book that he made it required reading for the Hitler Youth.
-
- Though The Protocols still has its adherents, particularly
in the Arab world, it never gained much of a following in the United States.
Despite the early efforts of industrialist Henry Ford and other anti-Semites,
The Protocols' American fans were generally confined to the malarial swamp
of the extreme right.
-
- Enter Wal-Mart. Like many booksellers with a brisk Internet
trade, the world's biggest retailer offered The Protocols for those who
wanted it. However, its competitors usually point out the book's outrageous
premise. For example, Amazon, in a lengthy denunciation, describes The
Protocols as "One of the most infamous, and tragically influential,
examples of racist propaganda ever written."
-
- However, Wal-Mart took a decidedly different tack and
opined:
-
- "If ... The Protocols are genuine (which can never
be proven conclusively), it might cause some of us to keep a wary eye on
world affairs. We neither support nor deny its message. We simply make
it available for those who wish a copy."
-
- Understandably, once the leaders of the Anti-Defamation
League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center learned about Wal-Mart's review
of The Protocols, both groups voiced their outrage.
-
- Writing to Wal-Mart President Lee Scott on Sept. 21,
Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Wiesenthal Center said he was "Quite frankly,
astounded that a reputable company would even give consideration to marketing
this flagrantly hateful text, which libels the Jewish religion and perpetuates
the bizarre notion of a Jewish plot to take over the world."
-
- Offering no explanation why it plugged The Protocols
to begin with, Wal-Mart quietly yanked it off its website the next day.
In an e-mail to the Reuters news agency, a Wal-Mart official would only
say, "Based on significant customer feedback regarding the book titled
'The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,' we have made a business
decision to remove this book."
-
- Perhaps Wal-Mart's tight-lipped response to this episode
ought to come as no surprise. In recent years its image as a family-friendly
merchant has been badly tarnished by conflicts with community groups and
revelations of worker abuse. However, the fact that the world's largest
retailer treated a notorious anti-Semitic rant as a credible examination
of world affairs should not be swept under the rug.
-
- Wal-Mart's characterization of The Protocols gave the
treatise more exposure and respectability than the neo-Nazi websites where
it is routinely celebrated. Almost as disturbing was Wal-Mart's explanation
that removing the book was a values-neutral "business decision"
rather than a moral choice. It's one thing to say that promoting The Protocols
is wrong because it is bad for business, but quite another to admit it
is wrong because the book is morally repugnant.
-
- Wal-Mart's ambiguous response reflects a disturbing and
dangerous new trend in American life: the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism.
-
- As time passes and awareness of the Holocaust fades,
anti-Semitic attitudes that once were considered out of bounds are increasingly
expressed more openly. In France, anti-Semitism, including violence against
Jews, has grown so severe that at one point more than one-quarter of French
Jews polled reported that they have considered leaving the country permanently.
-
- In the United States, anti-Semitism is far less prevalent.
But that is changing. One 2003 poll sponsored by the Institute for Jewish
& Community Research found that Americans aged 18-34 are more likely
to hold anti-Semitic attitudes than their elders. Stunningly, 23 percent
of younger respondents agreed with the statement that Jews were a "threat"
to the country's "moral character." Roughly the same number believed
Jews control the U.S. news media.
-
- The notion that Jews manipulate powerful institutions,
the basic theme of The Protocols, has found a home at the fringes on both
ends of the political spectrum. Both the far left and the far right allege
that powerful Jewish forces are guiding U.S. policy in the Middle East
to the detriment of our national interests. Extremists on the right see
Jews orchestrating much of the nation's economic and cultural life, too.
It is little wonder that among some on the far right (presumably those
who don't also hate Catholics), actor Mel Gibson is regarded as a hero
for defying the "Jewish-controlled" film industry to make The
Passion of the Christ.
-
- However, whether it originates on the far left or the
far right, the danger posed by this anti-Semitism isn't that it will win
a wide following any time soon. Instead, the risk is that a new generation,
unfamiliar with the reality of the Holocaust - let alone the Spanish Inquisition
- will fail to recognize anti-Semitism when they see it. To these Americans,
all anyone who preaches hatred of Jews will be guilty of is violating an
imagined code of "political correctness."
-
- Some institutions are working to combat this trend. Each
year, the American Federation of Teachers teams up with the Jewish Labor
Committee to send educators to Poland and Israel to learn about the Holocaust
and how to bring its lessons into their classrooms. It is a program that
works and there are many other effective Holocaust education initiatives,
as well. But today they are reaching only a small share of the youngsters
who need to understand what happens when racism and bigotry go unchallenged.
-
- Americans of all faiths share a stake in pushing back
against anti-Semitism. Holocaust education is an important place to start.
If we fail to meet the challenge, we may one day discover that Wal-Mart's
values have become America's.
-
-
- Jim Grossfeld is the director of Speechwriting and Editorial
Services at the Center for American Progress.
-
-
-
-
- Comment
- From Henry Ayre
- 10-10-4
-
- Here is a commentary on Wal-Mart's 'amoral acceptance'
of the Protocols...
-
- "If ... The Protocols are genuine (which can never
be proven conclusively), it might cause some of us to keep a wary eye on
world affairs. We neither support nor deny its message. We simply make
it available for those who wish a copy." -Wal-Mart
-
- Wal-Mart Values
-
- What does it mean when America's biggest retailer promotes
one of Hitler's favorite books?
-
- If hate literature had a magnum opus, it would probably
be The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion. Concocted
in 1890s Russia by the Czar's personal police, the Okhrana, The Protocols
is a fake account of Jews meeting to plan for world domination. If the
plot sounds familiar, it should: among its most devoted readers was Adolph
Hitler.
-
- (Henry's Comment: Grossfeld's "facts" are,
of course, inaccurate. (What would one expect?) No one knows who wrote
the Protocols. But that has become a mute point inasmuch as the Protocols
have accurately predicted just what has happened since their writing. If
they are a "fake," i.e., not written by a Jewish cabal, then
they are all the more amazing for having been so prescient...)
-
- Commenting on the book, Hitler once said, "It simply
appalled me. The stealthiness of the enemy, and his ubiquity. I saw at
once that we must copy it - in our own way of course - it is in truth the
critical battle for the fate of the world." He was such an admirer
of the book that he made it required reading for the Hitler Youth.
-
- Though The Protocols still has its adherents, particularly
in the Arab world, it never gained much of a following in the United States.
Despite the early efforts of industrialist Henry Ford and other anti-Semites,
The Protocols' American fans were generally confined to the malarial swamp
of the extreme right.
-
- Enter Wal-Mart. Like many booksellers with a brisk Internet
trade, the world's biggest retailer offered The Protocols for those who
wanted it. However, its competitors usually point out the book's outrageous
premise. For example, Amazon, in a lengthy denunciation, describes The
Protocols as "One of the most infamous, and tragically influential,
examples of racist propaganda ever written."
-
- However, Wal-Mart took a decidedly different tack and
opined:
-
- "If ... The Protocols are genuine (which can never
be proven conclusively), it might cause some of us to keep a wary eye on
world affairs. We neither support nor deny its message. We simply make
it available for those who wish a copy."
-
- (Henry's Comment: This seems to be an honest and level-headed
way of looking at the subject.)
-
- Understandably, once the leaders of the Anti-Defamation
League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center learned about Wal-Mart's review
of The Protocols, both groups voiced their outrage.
-
- Writing to Wal-Mart President Lee Scott on Sept. 21,
Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Wiesenthal Center said he was "Quite frankly,
astounded that a reputable company would even give consideration to marketing
this flagrantly hateful text, which libels the Jewish religion and perpetuates
the bizarre notion of a Jewish plot to take over the world."
-
- (Henry's Comment: The Zionist Jews have a clever way
of defanging their predations even while they are in progress... simply
speak about them as being ridiculous and bizarre... and then continue on
doing just those things!)
-
- Offering no explanation why it plugged The Protocols
to begin with, Wal-Mart quietly yanked it off its website the next day.
In an e-mail to the Reuters news agency, a Wal-Mart official would only
say, "Based on significant customer feedback regarding the book titled
'The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,' we have made a business
decision to remove this book."
-
- Perhaps Wal-Mart's tight-lipped response to this episode
ought to come as no surprise. In recent years its image as a family-friendly
merchant has been badly tarnished by conflicts with community groups and
revelations of worker abuse. However, the fact that the world's largest
retailer treated a notorious anti-Semitic rant as a credible examination
of world affairs should not be swept under the rug.
-
- (Henry's Comment: Wal-Mart... and the ADL, also... might
be surprised to discover that communites accepting a Wal-Mart outlet in
their area would be very pleased if this giant retailer paid more attention
to community values and less to Jewish complaints...)
-
- Wal-Mart's characterization of The Protocols gave the
treatise more exposure and respectability than the neo-Nazi websites where
it is routinely celebrated. Almost as disturbing was Wal-Mart's explanation
that removing the book was a values-neutral "business decision"
rather than a moral choice. It's one thing to say that promoting The Protocols
is wrong because it is bad for business, but quite another to admit it
is wrong because the book is morally repugnant.
-
- (Henry's Comment: In the matter of books, pornography
excepted, the bookseller should not act as the censor to the public.)
-
- Wal-Mart's ambiguous response reflects a disturbing and
dangerous new trend in American life: the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism.
-
- As time passes and awareness of the Holocaust fades,
anti-Semitic attitudes that once were considered out of bounds are increasingly
expressed more openly. In France, anti-Semitism, including violence against
Jews, has grown so severe that at one point more than one-quarter of French
Jews polled reported that they have considered leaving the country permanently.
-
- (Henry's Comment: Grossfeld wears special eyeglasses
that filter out all publicly-available material that leads to "anti-Semitism."
The terrorism against unarmed Palestinians, shooting Palestinian children,
destroying their homes and orchards, Jewish high involvement in the drug
trade, in pornography, and in sex slavery, Zionist spying by the Mossad,
stealing passports, at times killing the passport holder in the process...)
-
- In the United States, anti-Semitism is far less prevalent.
But that is changing. One 2003 poll sponsored by the Institute for Jewish
& Community Research found that Americans aged 18-34 are more likely
to hold anti-Semitic attitudes than their elders. Stunningly, 23 percent
of younger respondents agreed with the statement that Jews were a "threat"
to the country's "moral character." Roughly the same number believed
Jews control the U.S. news media.
-
- (Henry's Comment: Grossfeld seems to think that normal
fact-finding and decision-making when applied to Jewish anti-social behavior
is a sign of moral deficiency. Much to the contrary, it is a sign of moral
enlightenment. One can only hope that young people continue to gather facts,
analyze situations, and draw their own conclusions.)
-
- The notion that Jews manipulate powerful institutions,
the basic theme of The Protocols, has found a home at the fringes on both
ends of the political spectrum. Both the far left and the far right allege
that powerful Jewish forces are guiding U.S. policy in the Middle East
to the detriment of our national interests. Extremists on the right see
Jews orchestrating much of the nation's economic and cultural life, too.
It is little wonder that among some on the far right (presumably those
who don't also hate Catholics), actor Mel Gibson is regarded as a hero
for defying the "Jewish-controlled" film industry to make The
Passion of the Christ.
-
- (Henry's Comment: Anyone who thinks clearly and effectively
is an extremist to Grossfeld! This is the typical Jewish game of sounding
like a partriarch and judging everyone by their usefulness to the Jewish
agenda. In so doing, Grossfeld becomes a world-class liar and hypocrite,
totally wrapped up in his Jewishness... and demanding that the planet take
his viewpoint seriously. Sorry, Jim...)
-
- However, whether it originates on the far left or the
far right, the danger posed by this anti-Semitism isn't that it will win
a wide following any time soon. Instead, the risk is that a new generation,
unfamiliar with the reality of the Holocaust - let alone the Spanish Inquisition
- will fail to recognize anti-Semitism when they see it. To these Americans,
all anyone who preaches hatred of Jews will be guilty of is violating an
imagined code of "political correctness."
-
- Grossfeld begins now to whistle in the dark. The danger
to the Jews is precisely that a new wave of planetary clear-headedness
concerning the Jews in society IS probable... and much sooner than thought.
Instant electronic communication by the people is changing the way ---and
the speed--- people discover each other's minds and thoughts...
-
- Some institutions are working to combat this trend. Each
year, the American Federation of Teachers teams up with the Jewish Labor
Committee to send educators to Poland and Israel to learn about the Holocaust
and how to bring its lessons into their classrooms. It is a program that
works and there are many other effective Holocaust education initiatives,
as well. But today they are reaching only a small share of the youngsters
who need to understand what happens when racism and bigotry go unchallenged.
-
- (Henry's Comment: Lost to the Grossfelds of the Great
Cabal is the fact that millions of children worldwide daily are connecting
the Web and learning facts that will permanently open their eyes...)
-
- Americans of all faiths share a stake in pushing back
against anti-Semitism. Holocaust education is an important place to start.
If we fail to meet the challenge, we may one day discover that Wal-Mart's
values have become America's.
-
- (Henry's Comment: If the choice were either Wal-Mart
or the ADL we know which way Americans would go, don't we?)
-
- Jim Grossfeld is the director of Speechwriting and Editorial
Services at the Center for American Progress.
-
- ***********************
- LET'S STOP KIDDING OURSELVES! 9-11 was an Zionist Israeli-backed
spanking on our collective American bottom! A Boeing 757 DIDN'T pierce
through six walls of the
- Pentagon (impossible + no aircraft debris), a late model
cruise missile did the job; the Twin Towers DIDN'T collapse due to heat
(impossible), demolition charges did the job; there were NO Arab hijackers
(the jets were guided electronically); and the Zionists/Judeo-Christians
now in control of the United States are traitors to the U.S. Constitution...
as well as being mass murderers.This has been a Zionist WAG THE DOG operation
from the start, deadly serious for our elected leaders WHO KNOW WHO'S GUILTY,
and an Arabian Nights charade for Mom and Pop in Littletown, U.S.A.! It's
an info war! Forward this to the world! henri@alaska.net
|
