Rabbi Jill Zimmerman: ‘I got hate mail: Anti-Semitism on Twitter’

Wow, rabbi dedicated to destroying white cohesion gets a backlash. Who would have thought? Shocking, isn’t it. She thought she could seek to diversify gentiles countries with no consequences.

Rabbi Zimmerman along with a thousand other rabbis signed a petition for America to bring in more Muslim refugees. Are these refugees in my best interests or are these rabbis seeking to fill my home with poisonous snakes? I don’t like people who seek to fill my home with poisonous snakes. I don’t get mad at the snakes. I get mad at the people who want to fill my home with poisonous snakes.

I love how she thinks that because she was triggered into tears by Trump’s speech that that’s a powerful argument.

I wonder if she has ever read the Torah. Plenty of anti-Amalek sentiment in there. Is that hate speech? Has she ever studied Talmud and its rabbinic commentaries? Plenty of anti-Gentile, anti-Christian sentiment in there. Does that bother her? Just as Jews naturally incline to negative views of gentiles, so too gentiles naturally incline to negative views of Jews. All in-groups naturally incline to fear and dislike out-groups.

It seems like some white people in America are starting to notice that they have group interests that are sometimes in conflict with the interests of other groups. Stunning!

I don’t get upset by the rise of ocean tides and I don’t get upset by the rise of gentile nationalisms. I say, good for them for standing up for themselves. They have interests that are often different from the interests of my group. We all have to compete for scarce resources.

If this rabbi calls Trump’s speech as filled with “racist xenophobic slurs and fear-mongering,” then she would have to say the same thing about Torah which seeks the death penalty for any Jewish-gentile sex and has no concept of gentile citizenship in the Jewish state.

Rabbi Jill Zimmerman says she does not accept Twitter friends who are “racist or sexist or lurid.” I guess she can’t accept Torah as her friend.

And there’s no such category as “Twitter friends.” Maybe this rabbi’s got whatever is ailing Hillary Clinton.

This rabbi hates white supremacists. Isn’t that hate? Does she hate Jewish supremacists? Does she ever tweet against Jewish supremacy? Judaism is Jewish supremacy. It holds that the Jews are God’s Chosen People. How can you get more supremacist than that? Judaism holds that the Jewish soul is completely different and far superior to the gentile soul. Is that Jewish supremacy? Is it bad?

COMMENTS AT JEWISHJOURNAL:

* Jill Berkson Zimmerman, that is your emotional problem! Don’t project that on us. There are no female rabbis. You are about as Jewish as bacon! If you are feeling so generous spend only your own money, not ours. Take a few families into your own home. We don’t want any more invaders here.

* Try thinking like an American instead. As a Jew, I’m with Trump!

* My understanding is that the Torah teaches us to be kind to the strangers among us, not that it demands that we welcome anyone who seeks to come in. We have a right to have borders just as the ancient Israelites had national borders. Surely borders and immigration laws do not violate halachic law.

* To be fair, you are assuming that Trump’s candidacy has made the racist psycho freaks of the world more bold. Trump is just one potential reason for the rise of anti-semitism. Israel’s policies. Overt militarism in the “occupation”, Jewish economic sucess, etc., etc., etc. all are contributors. His rhetoric is far less inflamatory than any true hate group. You take his statements out of context and you trivalize Hitler (yemach shemo) when you compare or connect Trump to a Nazi. There is no comparison between the things Trump says and Hitler’s attitudes, both before and during the Shoah. I am sorry, but it is like crying wolf. What do you expect will happen if a true Nazi would attract public interest? I dislike Trump intensely, but I listen to all of what he says, not just the stuff the Democrats repeat. I will not connect him with the Nazis or any true hate groups. When he actually endorses a hate group, I will be the first to publicize it. Calm down already. Doesn’t anybody want to talk about the actual policies he advances?

* Your characterization of Trump’s speech in Phoenix, on the other hand, ignores the relatively simply substance of his speech. What is wrong with securing our borders and implementing e-verify? So we really want open borders and visa overstays by the millions? What could any responsible citizen have against quickly deporting criminal aliens, be they legal or illegal? Kate Steinle’s family has something to say about that, as did the many parents of children killed by illegal aliens who Trump brought up on stage. They certainly deserved your tears. Why should be allow “sanctuary cities” to thumb their noses at the Federal government? Again, just ask Kate Steinle’s family. And if you were paying attention near the end of the speech, Trump has backed of the call for massive deportation. Instead, it is clear that he wants to find appropriate solutions for “dreamers”, illegal aliens who wish to serve in the military and illegal aliens who have been here without engaging in criminal activity or living off the dole. Makes sense to me.

* I didn’t hear what you heard because he’s trying to protect our people Jew, Asian, Hispanic, and Heinz 57, like my family (black, jew, and caucasion.) What you are referring to is protecting who we already have the responsibility to protect first. Your version is so off base. Please open your mind and heart to what France, one of the more liberal countries has now had to do. How much death do people need on our home soil to realize, like France and Great Britain have learned the hard way. Are you willing to risk your home and family members? Words from those who want to through them like bombs, are NOT BOMBS. I would much rather deal with words than terrorists on our home turf.

* I, like many of my associates , am a Christian Zionist.

This administration is particularly hostile to officers who they believe may be sympathetic, in any way, to the problems of the state of Israel.

Our training is that our oath is to the nation and that we are duty-bound to tell the truth as we see it. Thus, in the briefing to Donald Trump the military and intelligence professionals first gave the official administration line, then when asked they gave their personal opinions as to facts and policies.

in regard to Hillary Clinton’s self “pro-Israel credentials”, her condemnation of Donald Trump as an anti-semite, and as to Clinton’s and Trump’s relative support of Israel I am attaching an article :”Politicizing Anti-Semitism on the campaign trail” by Matthew M. Hausman, 05/09/16 —. “Where does the truth lie with regard to Clinton and Trump’s attitudes towards Jews and Israel?”

Recently, 88 outstanding retired American military officers endorsed Donald Trump. Every member ofn this list is impressive. [There are approximately 400 additional names in process.] In particular I’m impressed by the wholehearted endorsement of Donald Trump by Major General Sidney Shachnow, US Army, Retired.

Shachnow, is a Holocaust survivor, faced the horrors of the Soviet Union as an occupying power and then had a distinguished career including combat in Vietnam; special forces leadership; and confronting the Soviet military in Europe.

He was the one who first alerted the office of net assessment as to the plans of the supreme leader and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Shachnow’s support and the support of the others on this list of Donald Trump neutralizes doubts as to Trumps credentials to be commander in chief of the United States Armed Forces.

Campaigns raise fear of bigotry and anti-Semitism. Where does the truth lie with regard to Clinton and Trump’s attitudes towards Jews and Israel?By Matthew Hausman, INN

As the 2016 presidential season heats up, Jewish Democrats are elevating partisan politics over concern for Israel and distorting their party’s and Hillary Clinton’s record on the Jewish State. They dismiss Donald Trump as unqualified, and in order to dissuade Jews from voting Republican have accused him of arousing populist anti-Semitism.

Trump’s bombast and lack of experience may be legitimate concerns, but Democrats who accuse him of anti-Semitism conveniently ignore the hatred for Jews and Israel that has become common on the left and in their own party. Those who defend BDS activism as political speech and indulge false accusations of Israeli apartheid should look in the mirror before wielding the fear of anti-Semitism as a political weapon.

Progressive Jews are oblivious to anti-Semitism when it comes from the left, and sometimes they are complicit. During the Democratic National Convention they tolerated the presence of BDS supporters – including Cornell West and James Zogby – on the platform committee, ignored chants of “the intifada lives” by hostile crowds who burned Israeli flags just outside the convention center, and overlooked anti-Israel comments by Palestinian flag-wavers.

None of this should be surprising given their unwavering support for Barack Obama – a president who’s had longstanding relationships with anti-Semites, who has shamelessly demonized Prime Minister Netanyahu using classical tropes, and whose policies have empowered Islamists, undermined Israel and enabled Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Partisan blindness has compromised their moral authority to accuse anyone of anti-Semitism by association.

Yes, some outlying Trump supporters have posted anti-Semitic drivel on social media, and it’s despicable and inexcusable. But is it any more so than the malevolent comments found over the years on progressive websites like the Daily Kos or the anti-Israel fanaticism displayed at the DNC? Or the Jew-hatred fueling the BDS and Israel Apartheid Week movements? Or the Democrats’ embrace of a revisionist Palestinian narrative that repudiates Jewish history and denies the Temple ever stood in Jerusalem?

It seems ironic that liberals who accuse Trump of bigotry would overlook the rampant, sometimes violent anti-Semitism roiling the progressive movement. They are certainly free to attack Trump’s candidacy, but it is disingenuous to claim they are motivated by fear of anti-Semitism or concern for Israel.

Progressives who assert their Jewishness tout the Democratic Party as a friend of Israel despite the hateful ranting and flag burning at the DNC. And they claim to be guardians against all forms of prejudice while validating the Palestinian Authority, which promotes racist Jew-hatred, and activist groups like Black Lives Matter, which have proclaimed anti-Semitic views.

Democratic support for Israel, according to a recent Gallup poll stands at only 48%. The same poll shows an 80% approval rating for Israel among Republicans and 70% among Americans generally. Pew Research shows similar trends, with 75% of conservative Republicans supporting Israel over Palestinians compared to only 33% of liberal Democrats.

In presidential politics, liberal Jews reflexively tend to support Democratic candidates . They did so with Obama, despite his long history of consorting with anti-Semites and Israel-bashers, and they do so now with Hillary Clinton, whose record on Israel is dubious at best.

Clinton’s Jewish backers claim to be guided by traditional values However, those that justify their support by claiming she has an affinity for Israel or Jewish tradition, cannot explain away her record, which is very troubling.

Although Hillary often says, especially to Jewish audiences ,what liberal Jewish audiences want to hear, her statements do not match her actions or the company she keeps.

For four years she served as Secretary of State for a president who is openly hostile to Israel. She exacerbated the 2010 Ramat Shlomo crisis by claiming that historically Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem are “settlements” and then condemning the issuance of building permits there. And she wrongfully chastised Israel for the breakdown in negotiations when the Palestinians walked away from the table.

She and Obama have ignored the PA’s anti-Semitic incitement, as well as its policies of making payments to terrorist families, naming public squares after dead terrorists, and publicly opposing the concept of permanent peace with a Jewish nation. Likewise, they ignore language in the Palestinian National Charter that delegitimizes Israel, denies Jewish national character, and claims all land between the Jordan River and Mediterranean as “Palestine.”

Clinton has ignored Israel’s unrequited concessions, publicly claiming instead that Israel lacks “generosity” and “empathy” towards Palestinians, and morally equating the murders of Israelis with the deaths of terrorists. Such comments are disingenuous, but consistent with Obama’s revisionist endorsement of Palestinian historicity and portrayal of the PA as moderate.

Clinton has also misrepresented Obama’s supposed commitment to preventing the nuclearization of Iran. As Secretary of State, she helped lay the groundwork for a deal under which Iran is continuing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and using billions of dollars in unfrozen funds to subsidize terrorism – much of it directed at Israel through Hezbollah and Hamas.

During her tenure, Clinton also shouldered Obama’s policy of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and its proxies in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Her conduct in Libya enabled the overthrow of Qaddafi and the assumption of power by the very Islamists who overran the Benghazi consulate and killed four Americans.

Furthermore, as shown in some recently released emails, Clinton endorsed public assaults against Israel by Max Blumenthal (son of Clinton advisor Sidney Blumenthal and known opponent of Israel). Blumenthal wrote referencing the Jewish State as a country “…that privileges its ethnic majority above all others to the point that it systematically humiliates and dispossesses the swarthy racial outclass.” Rather than contest this outrageous characterization, Clinton’s comment “A very smart piece – as usual.”

Clinton has also been known to politically embrace individuals with extreme views. In 2000, for example, she kissed Suha Arafat after a speech in which Arafat accused Israel of polluting Palestinian-Arab land and water with poison gas.

And the Clinton Foundation, which is being scrutinized amid claims of corruption, has reportedly taken large donations from Mideast regimes with poor human rights records.

Perhaps more troubling, she has in the past voiced support for UN Resolution 16/18, a proposed law that would render criticism of Islam illegal (in contravention of the First Amendment).

Clinton’s campaign misdirects by painting Trump as a bigot, aided by a supportive media that portrays every wave as a Nazi salute and pushes the false narrative of Republican anti-Semitism. While reporters should investigate any claims of anti-Semitism, they should be equally vested in exposing the hyperbole in allegations disseminated by a candidate whose actions and associations implicate her own biases.

Prospective voters may have legitimate concerns about Trump, but fear for Israel and anxiety over his supposed anti-Semitism should not be among them – particularly as Hillary and the Democrats have more troubling records on both counts.

Those who end up voting for Hillary should at least admit they are doing so out of party loyalty, not genuine concern for Israel.

Rabbi Jill Zimmerman: “I have no problem at all with disagreeing about politics or candidates. I do have a problem with the disrespect and shaming fellow Jews have aimed at me for speaking about my OWN experience. Telling me I’m not a rabbi? Having spent 5 years in one of the most prestigious seminaries in the world? Telling me to keep my mouth shut? That is what makes me sad for our people. That kind of disgusting vitriol is what is now making up so many comment feeds in the jewish world – it’s shocking. It has to stop colleagues of mine have received death threats from fellow Jews!”

* I had hoped this curse had been eliminated when it was exposed in WWII. May the almighty do so now. Never again.

* It will most likely happen again and on a much greater scale. The same tensions between Nationalism (secure borders, limited immigration) and Globalism (open borders, unrestricted and even encouraged Third World immigration) still exist. Natives tend to favor Nationalism, and diasporas Globalism. Had the entire Jewish diaspora migrated to Israel and developed an independent economy there, all tensions would have been relieved. But that didn’t happen. Many Jews remained in Western countries, and many of them got involved in activism favorable to immigrants and minorities.

The problem is, now a great number of immigrants (from Muslim or sub-Saharan countries) are making Europe extremely unsafe, with rapes and murder becoming a daily phenomenon, and thus Europeans are starting to resent those pro-immigration activists who, they find out, are often Jewish.

I see it happening again and again, here in Europe: individuals are first pissed off about Islamic terrorism, but then after some time get pissed off about open border activism as well, and through that become “anti-Semitic”.

I wish it was different, but the very mantra of “Never again” is making it happen again.

Jews and Jewish organizations would do well vocally supporting Trump’s very moderate approach, and also support those supposedly “far right” (but actually very moderate) anti-immigration parties in Europe. Make it clear that not all Jews support the rape and displacement of White Europeans.

LATIMES-Israel-refugees1

TOI-DNA4

Haaretz-banned

alon-purity

Huff-Post-Jews-Marriage-Law1

TOI-Chief-Rabbi-Jews-Israel

Rabbi Jill Zimmerman writes:

On Aug. 31, I sat and listened to Donald Trump’s eagerly anticipated immigration speech in Phoenix. And tears began streaming down my face.
Trump’s speech was filled with racist, xenophobic slurs and fear-mongering. It was counter to the founding values of our country. It was also contrary to the primary teachings and values of Judaism. Providing welcome to the stranger (because we were once strangers) is mentioned more than 36 times in the Torah.
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself” (Leviticus 19:34).
I needed to speak out as a human being, as an American and as a Jew.
I went to Twitter, where I began to “live tweet.”
For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, a “tweet” is a comment of a maximum of 140 characters. To “live tweet” means that you are commenting on an event currently in progress. It’s like having a huge group of people discussing together from all over the world. It’s usually awesome.
Your tweets show on your Twitter friends’ “feed” and evidently, they are also public. I am uncertain about the algorithms of Twitter.
I’m conscious about who I accept as “Twitter friends.” I check to make sure someone is not racist or sexist or lurid. If so, I decline.
By the end of the night, I had begun to receive, from people I do not know, and with whom I am not “Twitter friends,” hateful messages that stunned me. I tweeted, sarcastically:
“Well that was fun. Just blocked 10 ppl with Hitler/racist/white supremacist/ views.”
I went to bed after posting a beautiful photo with the words, “I can’t go to bed without putting love & beauty out into the world,” because I didn’t want the ugliness of the evening to be how I ended the day.
By the next morning, my Twitter wall was littered with hundreds of messages, many accompanied by photos of Hitler, crematoriums, swastikas, caricatures of Jews, and transport trains.
These messages were not from friends. I don’t know these people.

op-tattoos

op-hitler

op-jew-tears

gas-white_539_332_c1

It was landslide of enormous hatred. Even though I was tweeting about immigrants and refugees from around the world, what was directed at me was about being a Jew. Maybe because my twitter handle is @RabbiJill. Maybe because Donald Trump’s candidacy has emboldened a sick undercurrent of hatred to emerge.
In my entire life, I have never experienced this volume of anti-Semitism. I grew up in a predominantly Jewish suburb of Chicago. However, as an adult, we lived in places where we were the only Jews on the block.
At first, I literally felt sick to my stomach.
And then, I got angry.
These people, who don’t even know me, wanted to silence me.
And it’s not going to happen.
My husband and family were concerned. My grown kids checked my privacy settings to be sure our home address or phone numbers were not public. A few of the messages were absolutely threatening (like the one where someone took my profile photo and superimposed “Jewish Propaganda” on it.)
After some research, I had a plan. I took screenshots of each tweet. I blocked people and I reported many to Twitter. If a tweet is offensive or harmful, you can ask Twitter to investigate. If the user is found to be violating Twitter decency rules, the account can be closed.
I reported more than 60 people. I haven’t heard a word from Twitter (yet.) Its employees might be busy. There is an uptick in the amount of hate speech being reported. I’m not alone.
Some friends advised me to ignore the tweets and to not give them any attention.
I don’t agree.
I believe it is our duty to expose this hate.
People need to know that Donald Trump’s candidacy has made it legitimate to spew this vileness. He has made it acceptable to be “politically incorrect.” The dike has broken and it’s ugly. Better that it be out in the open.
We say in Jewish circles, “Never again.”
It’s not only “never again” for the slaughter of millions.
It is also “never again” to let this kind of hate spill over without comment.
Here are a few other gleanings from this experience: 1) Facebook is a love-fest compared with Twitter. When I posted about this situation on Facebook, I received so much loving support it made me cry (with gratitude).
I’m not quitting Twitter. I have made friends — Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists from all over the world. Good, kind, funny people. I’m not going to be chased away from relationships that give me hope and make me laugh. I also learn things on Twitter that I don’t elsewhere. Why let them win?
Except for Native Americans, we are all immigrants. The prosperity we enjoy in this country is only possible because our ancestors were able to come here and thrive.
When I see the pictures of the children of Aleppo, Syria, and other refugees wandering, looking for a safe place, my heart opens. It is my deep belief that we are better because of our diversity.
Our job on planet Earth is to build bridges, not walls. The country that I want to be in, is one that welcomes all, and where love is stronger than fear.

About Luke Ford

I've written five books (see Amazon.com). My work has been covered in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and on 60 Minutes. I teach Alexander Technique in Beverly Hills (Alexander90210.com).
This entry was posted in Anti-Semitism, Immigration. Bookmark the permalink.