Zionist zealot Kenneth Marcus heads the Trump regime’s Education Department Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
Militantly hardline, he supports Israeli policies no matter how ruthless and lawless, shamefully calling anti-Semitism anti-Israel. They’re unrelated to each other.
Claiming otherwise is a long ago discredited canard, still around, disgracefully denigrating Israeli critics, ignoring enormous Jewish state harm to Palestinians and others.
If enacted into law, he aims to use the 2018 Anti-Semitism Act to intimidate, inhibit, bully and censor Israeli critics, including BDS activists, especially on college campuses. The global movement is the most effective initiative to hold Israel accountable for its high crimes.
He supports the Ziofascist notion that students for fundamental Palestinian rights violate Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act—a bald-face lie.
He wants the law used as a weapon against Israeli criticism—falsely claiming Palestinian solidarity activism infringes on the rights of Jewish students—another bald-faced lie.
He’s using the OCR to attack legitimate political speech, supporting Palestinian rights. Shortly after assuming his post in June, he turned truth on its head, equating legitimate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism—on his own with no agency or public input, his staff knowing nothing about it until publicly revealed.
Over 40 Jewish groups worldwide oppose equating anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel. They’re alarmed about actions against individuals and groups supporting Palestinian rights, notably the BDS movement and others—falsely accusing them of anti-Semitism for opposing Israeli ruthlessness.
A joint statement by these groups criticized a non-legally binding International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the State Department, stating:
It’s a “perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Examples include targeting Israel, accusing Jews with conspiring against humanity, blaming Jews for “why things go wrong,” criticism expressed in speech, writing, and actions, using derogatory stereotypes and negative character traits—other than criticism of Israel similar to what’s made against other countries.
Where is the line crossed from acceptable to unacceptable criticism? Nothing should be off the table if supported by cold, hard, indisputable facts.
According to the Jewish groups, the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism “is worded in such a way as to be easily adopted or considered by Western governments to intentionally equate legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism, as a means to suppress the former.”
“This conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against anti-Semitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law.”
“We urge our governments, municipalities, universities and other institutions to reject the IHRA definition and instead take effective measures to defeat white supremacist nationalist hate and violence and to end complicity in Israel’s.”
Marcus wants Palestinian solidarity student activists prosecuted. He wants them denied their fundamental First Amendment rights. He wants tyranny replacing rule of law principles.
He wants Israel able to pursue its ruthless imperial aims, free from international law compliance and other constraints.
He wants legitimate criticism of Israel silenced, First Amendment rights of activists denied, especially on college campuses.
He and likeminded Ziofascist extremists infesting Washington want full-blown US tyranny replacing fundamental freedoms too precious to lose.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
I sometimes wonder if my Jewish fellow Americans are concerned that these endless spurious charges of Anti-Semitism will eventually produce the genuine article. Apparently, organizations like AIPAC and ADL need Anti-Semitism like the “defense” industries and intelligence agencies need war.
Anti-Semitism definition: Anti-Semitism is hostility to and prejudice against Jewish people. | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples