Fiscal Fascists
Some Republican fat cats are trying to prevent billionaire Jewish philanthropist George Soros from purchasing the Washington National’s baseball team because of his liberal politics.
Sounds like a free market to me.
So uh, how you likin’ galut these days?
interesting reference to george soros as a “jewish” philanthropist. as far as the public records show, soros has given hundreds of millions, perhaps billions to philanthropy, but almost NONE to jewish charities. there is a well known story that after escaping the nazis and being sheltered by the jewish community in britain, he “double dipped” taking money both from the government AND jewish aid money set up for aiding refugees (violative of jewish aid policies which tried to preserve limited aid resources for those who couldn’t get government funding). and has anyone ever seen soros involved in any jewish activities? so the man may have been born with a jewish soul, but he seems to have been spending his life trying to eliminate it. sad
soros is one of the major participants in the jewish funders network. and i’d like to see your well known story published by a single verifiable source.
m, please give an on – line source indicating that soros has made actual $$ contributions to jewish charities (and amounts), i have never seen him listed as a contributor to a jewish charity except for a small amount to a jewish hospital. the english story comes from many of my british relatives, if i can find a public source i will post it.
it appears that Soros, SPEAKS to the jewish funders network since he is a jew who gives $$, just not to jewish causes, the following from the official website of the jewish funders network (available by googling the organization name + the name of george soros: “I wish George Soros gave money to Jewish day schools; a lot of money. I wish he gave money to Jewish camping and to Hillel, that he became a partner in birthright israel and that he made a gift to UJA. But that is not why we invited him to speak with our group. We wanted to learn from his successes and his failures as a philanthropist. What were the lessons that he had to teach us? As he discussed his efforts to create more tolerant, open, democratic societies that ensure liberty for all who dwell in them, it started to sound an awful lot like he was trying to fix the world. Isn’t that what Jewish philanthropy is supposed to be about?
Mark Charendoff is president of the Jewish Funders Network.
Special To The Jewish Week”
sure sound like the jewish funder network was bemoaning soros’s FAILURE to give to jewish charities – im happy to be proven wrong
I spoke at the Jewish Funder’s Network. George Soros is not an active participant in JFN activities or Jewish philanthropy. He spoke at a JFN event and stirred up his share of controversy, and while I won’t speak to the man’s history I can at least say that Mobius is incorrect in stating that Soros is a major participant in JFN (or any other Jewish philanthropy).
That being said, I don’t care if he gives billions to Jewish charities or not. I understand the gut reaction Mobius, but the efforts by some to block a Soros purchase of the Nationals is rooted in pure partisan politics, not anti-Semitism. We’re facing genuine anti-Semitism around the globe. To pull out this instance and highlight it in such a way is to minimize and hinder the very real arguments we have to make elsewhere on the issue of discrimination and bigotry towards Jews.
I also take a certain degree of offense at the remark: “So uh, how you likin’ galut these days?” I like it just fine, and until Israel is free of anti-Semitism, internal Jewish strife, and questionable policies towards its minority populations, I’ll keep on liking it just fine.
How exactly would you feel if I pulled out an instance of strife or hatred in Israel and then asked, “So uh, how you liking return to the homeland now?”
Ridiculous.
I didn’t see anything about anti-Semitism in the original post. Maybe liberal=anti-Semitic even more than I thought.
anti-Semitism, dead in the States as a publicly viable category unto itself, was allowed to survive in the targeting of leftist personalities by a political order interested only in itself. This goes a long way to explaining the way not only spurious anti-Semitism accusations are made against leftists, but how rightists can talk like Coughlin and get a free ride, to how Chomsky or Roth can be bombarded with crap about stretched self-hating tags but a seemingly textbook traitor like Horowitz or Weiner gets a free ride. As far as how we liking the galut, our main fear in boarding a city bus is the occasional stink of old orange juice; how you liking haaretz, sharmuta? Get offended, too — keep your ass in your pants and you won’t get spanked.
I think someone is more of a Jewish philanthropist for giving money to good causes in general, not because they help Jews as a particular entity or give money so jewish kids can play basketball with a bunch of other kids who happen to be jewish. As far as I’m concerned most of what he could give to the Jewish community for particularly jewish things would be worthless. Sure, there are poor Jews in the world, like there are poor every kind of people. And all of them should be helped out. But philanthropy for jewish cultural orgs and student groups or aipac or whathaveyou is a waste. By championing social justice for everyone, by defending and ACTING UPON jewish values one becomes a real Jewish philanthropist. Likely Soros could be said to fit into that category.
Giving to all causes is fine. But since no one is giving anything to ANY Jewish causes other than Jews, the Jewish philanthropist’s first responsibility is to that his own are taken care of.
The Talmud gives an order of priority when giving tzedakah. The first priority is to the people in one’s own community, and it widens out from there.
That community can be the city you live in or the people in your tribe, whereever they are. There are many needy people in the world, but that does not mean no one should help fight assimilation.
If Jews gave properly, maybe K&Y would have received the help he needs. Lets consider him exhibit A in why Jews should give to Jewish causes.
What’s with the galut comment, Mobius? Are you developing a holier-than-thou Israeli attitude already after your little one year in Israel?
k&y, time to take your fisking:anti-Semitism, dead in the States as a publicly viable category unto itself,THIS STATEMENT IS FAIRLY UNINTELLIGIBLE BUT IF KY ARE TRYING TO SAY THERES NO PULIC CONSTITUENCY FOR ANTI SEMITISM, EXPLAIN WHY CYNTHIA MCKINLEY, AL SHARPTON, JOHN CONYERS ETC ETC ENGAGE IN IT PUBLICLY was allowed to survive BY WHOM, THE JEWS; THE ZIONIST CONSPIRACY; THE BLACK HAND; SKULL AND BONES?in the targeting of leftist personalities AH, THE WORLDWIDE JEWISH CONSPIRACY DECIDED TO KEEP ANTISEMITISM ALIVE TO APPLY AGAINST LEFTISTS, RIGHTby a political order interested only in itselfMORE SHADES OF THE BLACK HAND. This goes a long way to explaining the way not only spurious anti-Semitism accusations are made against leftistsSPURIOUS, GUESS YOU HAVENT ATTENDED ANY ANTI WAR ANTI BUSH RALLYS LATELY, HAD YOU YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED THE ANTI ISRAELI FACTIONS OUT IN FULL FORCE, but how rightists can talk like Coughlin OBSCURE HISTORICAL REFERENCE TO A 70 YEAR AGO FIGURE, THINGS JUST MIGHT HAVE CHANGED MEANWHILEand get a free ride, to how Chomsky or Roth can be bombarded with crap about stretched self-hating tags AINT CRAP IF ITS TRUEbut a seemingly textbook traitor like Horowitz ARE WE REFERRING TO THE CONSERVATIVE DAVID HOROWITZ; OR SMECKEL HOROWITZ MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR, AND WHY ARE YOU CALLING SMECKEL A TRAITORor Weiner gets a free ride. As far as how we liking the galut, our main fear in boarding a city bus is the occasional stink of old orange juiceWONDER WHEN YOU LAST TOOK A BUS; how you liking haaretz, sharmuta? Get offended, too — keep your ass in your pants and you won’t get spankedIS THIS A SADOMASOCHISTIC SEXUAL REFERENCE, KY EXAMINE THYSELF. KY, SOUNDS ANGRY, MAYBE THE BLACKHAND CAN RECOMMEND SOME RELAXATION PROCEDURES
I stand with k&y, but with some dofferences.
My point wasn’t that one shouldn’t give to jewish charities in principal, but that most of it seems pretty much wasted there. Sure, absolutely feed and house poor jews and those within your own community. I just think the battle for retention of numbers on part of the jewish establishment is damaging to judaism and counterproductive. I would recommend Douglas Rushkoff’s webpage and his book Nothing Sacred for anyone interested in this point of view.
More on the Jewish aspect here:
http://www.slate.com/id/212179…
regarding the objections to giving $$ to jewish charities, once again we see the results of cutting off jews from their judaism: after all, if our religion is meaningless, and what we are trying to perpetuate is a love of lox and bagels, why bother? brothers and sisters, if your judaism is meaningful and you want to see it perpetuated, you better marry jews and get those kids of yours some jewish education (and i aint talking culinary skills)
i stand corrected on soros’ participation in jewish philanthropy; however i didn’t claim that this had anything to do with antisemitism, at all, and that galut remark wasn’t an inferrence towards that implication. rather it was a remark on what it’s like to live in christian fascist america.
btw, avi green — i banned you from this site. what gives you the impression that you’ve been welcomed back.
I don’t know what the intent of the galut comment was, but I know how it came across, and I don’t think I was alone in taking it that way. That being said, I’ll accept your statement that it was not meant in the spirit of superiority for those Jews living in Israel and we can all it day.
Mo, I think you know that I don’t often speak up here and I don’t often take a critique to your comments in this forum. But the issue of how Diaspora Jewry sees Israelis and vice-versa is a volatile one that should be discussed here. It should also be handled with a little more sensitivity than I think was displayed, knowingly or unknowingly, by that galut comment.
In any event, I still greatly appreciate what you’re doing in Eretz Yisrael. Don’t take my criticism too personally.
actually, m, you unbanned me, but i nevertheless chose not to participate any further but to occassionaly look at the site on occassion. since you and the other posters seem to have moderated your tone in the intervening months, i decided it was a place i could once again participate in without having to deal with personal invective. as always, he who has the marbles gets to chose the participants, feel free to reban me if you wish, whatever.
avigreen, you forgot Jim Moran, who is one of the most slimy practitioners of bona fide Judenhass in the US Congress. This is the guy who has said that Jews are behind the Iraq war and US foreign policy in general, taken money from a convicted Islamic terrorist, and has blamed Israel for Palestinian suicide attacks. He was the guy who directly solicited the comments of Ray McGovern a few days ago.
http://democratsagainstmoran.b…
“rather it was a remark on what it’s like to live in christian fascist america.”
Is that a literal remark – do you really believe the USA is Christian Fascist America? Or are you just randomly slandering the country that’s been largely benevolent toward the Jews, fought and beat Nazism and Communism, and allowed you to grow up in freedom and safety of the kind our ancestors could hardly dream of?
Don’t just bite the hand that feeds. Jump up and down on it and set it on fire.
And this from the same guy who’s oh-so-sensitive when someone makes a negative remark about a Palestinian (or should I say “September 11th Celebrants”?).
You can take the boy out of the galut, but…
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^
Cosign. For real, Mobius, come off the high horse. What is it exactly that makes this Soros thing a “galut” event anyway? I know you’ve only been in Israel for a year or whatever, but let me tell you: It ain’t all enlighted-body-politic roses. Right wingers slandering left wingers? Questioning a citizen’s loyalty for political gain? Making political hay out of ethnicity or religion? Don’t front: Change the names and this Soros thing could just have easily have happened in Israel.
YOU YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED THE ANTI ISRAELI FACTIONS OUT IN FULL FORCE
See, it would probably go a long way for you to understand that we see as huge a difference between hatred of Israel and hatred of Jews as we see between hatred of the German, Japanese or Chinese peoples and their respective lovely mass-murdering and torturing governments. A hypothetical person can criticize the Israeli state up and down and still not be an anti-Semite in our books. Say, you do know that “fisking” means snarky, superficial peanut gallerizing, right? This sounds like a self-parodying post.
For example, we never said “the Jews” or anything secret at all decided to retain that Jew hatred which served its purposes; we were talking about White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. In fact Winston Churchill wrote quite honestly about this idea, that there are useful Jews who are either religious or Zionist and then harmful Jews who are creeping bomb-planting Bolshies and anarchists, and that England should embrace and protect the former and take the gloves off for the latter, in a newspaper column! So secret! This idea goes a long way to explaining why so much of anti-Jewish thinking can be seen to have been preserved (Commies!) at the same time that a new rightist Jewish chic emerged with say Podhoretz.
As for how you figured out our decades-long surveillance of Smeckel, now we’ll have to deal with you…
See, it would probably go a long way for you to understand that we see as huge a difference between hatred of Israel and hatred of Jews as we see between hatred of the German, Japanese or Chinese peoples and their respective lovely mass-murdering and torturing governments.
That’s pretty ignorant. Suggest you start digging behind what motivates the hatred of Israel. Might be surprised.
See, it would probably go a long way for you to understand that we see as huge a difference between hatred of Israel and hatred of Jews as we see between hatred of the German, Japanese or Chinese peoples and their respective lovely mass-murdering and torturing governments.
That’s pretty ignorant. Suggest you start digging behind what motivates the hatred of Israel. Might be surprised.
Suggest you start digging behind what motivates the hatred of Israel.
Let’s see: sniping Red Cross volunteers. Hey, what do you know, visceral hatred of Israel as a natual and automatic response! That took a while. Or another one: after running over Rachel Corrie with a heavily armored D-4 bulldozer (ding! ding! ding! hey! what do you know, there it is again!), a plethora of lies straight out of a southern US police department explaining how a black man in custody managed to shoot himself!
You know guys, maybe governments lie just inherently and as part of being a government, and maybe it really doesn’t mean anything that a particular government is Jewish or moral or held to a higher standard or whatever.
And since this is still going on, it should be observed that “fascism” itself is not necessarily anti-Semitic (Nazism, obviously, is). Italy actually rejected Mussolini’s attempts to use anti-Semitism without rejecting his other ideas. There are like so many ways of imputing fascist tendencies to the Busheviki, especially around the use of corporate models in government, the use of war as a source of political momentum, hatred of democracy and the shameless exploitation of fear, and this isn’t properly speaking one of them. Anti-Semitism possibly. But that leaves us with a president who bends over backwards for Sharon and Israel (which the ADL assures us with every breath is the same thing as the Jews) but apparent old-fashioned smearing for a particular allegedly liberal (and definitely politically inconvenient) Jew. How to explain? Could it be that most racists and haters love Israel in part because they’ve learnt it is a “get out of anti-Semitism accusations free” card?
And this, this is the end, we’re sorry, we could not resist it,
but perhaps you are being flip.
we’re sorry again.
Let’s see: sniping Red Cross volunteers. Erm… Hey, what do you know, visceral hatred of Israel as a natual and automatic response! Yep. Anti-Zionism is essentially motivated between the interaction between the IDF and a girl who stood bravely in front of a tank. (But, then, why shouldn’t it be? This is uniquely evil — just another episode from the Least Moral Army in the World.)
Could it be that most racists and haters love Israel in part because… Um, I hate to let you in on this, but …
but perhaps you are being flip. Hey. I am not not, nor have I ever been, a member of … flip. That’s Mobius speaking for me again. He likes to do that for his guests, one must conclude.