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Rouhani: Some 25 million Iranians infected with coronavirus, 35 million more at risk

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Rouhani: Some 25 million Iranians infected with coronavirus, 35 million more at risk

The new figures represent a much higher assessment than the previous count of 269,440

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that 25 million Iranians had been infected with the coronavirus and that an additional 35 million people were at risk of catching the disease.

“Our estimate is that as of now 25 million Iranians have been infected with this virus and about 14,000 have lost their dear lives,” Rouhani was quoted by Reuters as saying in a speech.

“There is the possibility that between 30 and 35 million other people will be at risk,” he continued, adding “In total, more than 200,000 people have been hospitalized.”

The figures, based on a new report from the Health Ministry, represent a much higher assessment than the previous official count of 269,440.

According to Reuters, Rouhani did not address the discrepancy in numbers during his speech.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Health Ministry said on Friday 13,791 people had died from COVID-19.

But the Iranian opposition in exile, supported by American and European political figures, reported “at least 72,000 dead” and accused the authorities of “calamitous” management of the situation.

The comments were made during a virtual gathering of the National Council of Iranian Resistance (NCRI) by Maryam Rajavi, president of the organization.

“We, the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance, we are going to overthrow this regime and take back Iran (…) we will build a free Iran (…) and establish a democratic, secular and non-nuclear Republic,”  Rajavi said.

(i24 News)

Israel seeking to force Iran into confrontation before November vote in US: Report

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Israel seeking to force Iran into confrontation before November vote in US: Report
EU spy is cited as saying Israel looks to ‘provoke an Iranian response’ while ‘Trump remains in office’.

Israel is seeking to pressure Iran into a confrontation before the November elections in the US, an EU intelligence official told the Business Insider Thursday.

Referring to a chain of recent fires and explosions in Iran, the official described the Israeli approach as “maximum pressure, minimal strategy,” a more kinetic version of US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy.

“I fear the Israeli plan here is to provoke an Iranian response that can turn into a military escalation while Trump remains in office,” the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the outlet.

The source estimated that should Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, succeed in his challenge to Trump, “there would be a lot less appetite for adventures and secret missions to blow up nuclear facilities.”

The outlet also cited a former Israeli security official as saying that some of the recent events in Iran were caused by Israeli operations, aimed at settling in a paranoid atmosphere, with sabotage suspected behind everyday accidents.

In official remarks and comments, Israeli officials have been ambiguous regarding the country’s alleged involvement with the recent incidents in Iran.

Israel’s Defense Minister and Alternative Prime Minister Benny Gantz said that not everything happening in Iran has to do with Israel.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, in his turn, said that as far as Iran was concerned, “we take actions that are better left unsaid.”

(i24 News).

UN Official Slammed for Ignoring Human Rights Abuses by Palestinians

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UN Official Slammed for Ignoring Human Rights Abuses by Palestinians
The Geneva-based monitoring group UN Watch issued a stinging rebuttal on Thursday to an anti-Israel report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) by Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk.

UN Watch accused Lynk of “ignoring Hamas and Palestinian Authority human rights abuses,” while obsessing over Israel.

“The criticism of the PA and Hamas, who commit multiple serious violations including arbitrary detention, torture, killings, and violations against LGBTI person and women was mild, and took up only two short paragraphs in a 24-page report,” UN Watch noted.

“The other 99% of the report focused exclusively on alleged Israeli violations and called for harsh measures against Israel including economic and other sanctions, international prosecutions of Israeli military and government officials, and an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on Israel’s legal obligations to end the ‘occupation.’ ”

“The report also continued to completely ignore PA and Hamas incitement and terrorism against Israelis,” UN Watch continued.

UN Watch reminded Lynk that “if universal human rights standards are applied selectively — and systematically denied to other classes of people — they cease to be universal standards at all.”

A chill wind from Poland

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A chill wind from Poland
The legacy of two forms of totalitarianism—Nazism and communism—continue to impact Poland, alongside its long, grim tradition of domestic anti-Semitism.

 

I’ve known Rafal Pankowski, the Polish academic and campaigner against anti-Semitism and racism, for almost 20 years, but I don’t think I’ve heard him sound as worried about the political situation in his country as I did when he addressed a seminar last week on Polish anti-Semitism.

Less than one day after Poland’s presidential election produced a narrow win for the conservative incumbent Andzrej Duda, Pankowski addressed an online gathering of scholars and journalists assembled by the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (ISCA) at Indiana University, Bloomington. As he explained, the election—delayed from its original date in May because of the coronavirus pandemic—was a fearsome battle that pitted Duda against a liberal challenger, Rafal Trzaskowski,
the mayor of Warsaw.

As election day neared, the identity politics that has roiled Poland over the last decade came to the fore, with the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party and its populist cohorts spying all sorts of nefarious schemes to undermine the nation. Among them: the insistence that Poland bow down to an alien ideology otherwise known as respecting the rights of the LGBT community; the demand that Poland should pass and implement Holocaust-era restitution laws; the constant stream of supposedly anti-Polish propaganda broadcast by privately owned media companies.

As Pankowski pointed out, whereas in previous elections the country’s leadership would have left dog-whistles such as these to their party activists, this time around they exercised no such caution. Five days before voters went to the polls, Duda told a Bloomberg News interviewer that he was unmoved by appeals for Poland to legislate Holocaust restitution—apparently content with his country’s status as the only member state of the European Union not to have done so.

“There won’t be any damages paid for heirless property,” he said. “I will never sign a law that will privilege any ethnic group vis-à-vis others. Damages should be paid by the one that started the war.”

It doesn’t take a forensic-language analyst to figure out that the “ethnic group” reference here is a euphemism for Poland’s Jews—3 million of whom were exterminated during the Nazi Holocaust. According to the Polish president, the responsibility for restitution lies solely with Germany (“the one that started the war.”)

There are a number of legal objections to Duda’s view, among them the fact that Poland is a signatory to the 2009 Terezin Declaration, in which 47 countries agreed to pass and implement laws for the restitution of property seized during the Holocaust.

One could also point out that Holocaust restitution is a key concern for the United States, Poland’s indispensable ally; legislation passed by Congress in 2017 mandates the State Department to monitor and report on progress in this area.

But such technicalities cut little ice in Warsaw these days, chiefly because Duda’s government has “nationalized” the memory of the Holocaust. By that, I mean that the official depiction of the Holocaust by the state-run Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) would have us believe that Poles and Jews were equal partners in victimhood, and that the Holocaust was as much a Polish tragedy as a Jewish one.

Within the confines of this distorted narrative, there is no room to discuss the thorny issue of collaboration—the very word elicits fury in the corridors of the IPN—of ordinary Poles with the occupying German authorities. Any notion that Poles contributed directly to the slaughter of their country’s historic Jewish community is regarded not as historical fact, but as defamation.

For Poland’s current crop of leaders, it isn’t enough that the most serious Holocaust historians, along with Jewish and Israeli leaders, have recognized that the Poles suffered profoundly as a nation under the Nazis, and that many of the mechanisms for collaboration that existed elsewhere in Eastern Europe—like, for example, joining local units of the SS—were absent in Poland. It seems that nothing less than a title deed to the word “Holocaust” will suffice.

At the same time as “sharing” the Holocaust with the Jews, the Polish government is apparently content to let anti-Semitic hate speech flourish on state-owned media outlets and private social-media platforms. One of the more high-profile targets has been the U.S. Ambassador to Warsaw, Georgette Mosbacher, whose support for Holocaust restitution and publicly expressed distaste for nationalist extremism and homophobia has transformed her into a hate figure for the far-right. That loathing extends far beyond the American envoy, however, to encompass Jewish organizations, the Israeli government and indeed anyone who argues that Poland should abide by its moral and legal obligations.

The depth of anti-Semitism in contemporary Poland was neatly captured by Pankowski in his address to the Indiana gathering. “I never thought that [17th-century philosopher Baruch] Spinoza would become an election issue, but I was wrong,” he observed, as he recalled the response to opposition candidate Trzaskowski’s off-the-cuff comment that he “believed in the god of Spinoza.” This remark was enough for the state-owned TVP broadcaster to denounce Trzaskowski as anti-Catholic, chiding him for following the teachings of a “Jewish philosopher.”

For the majority of viewers, it’s safe to say that without this TV report, they would never have come across Spinoza’s name. And were it not for the fact that Spinoza was a Jew—albeit one cast out by the conservative community in his native Amsterdam—they would have remained ignorant of it.

As wrenching as it is to say this, episodes such as these demonstrate that the legacy of two forms of totalitarianism—Nazism and communism—continue to impact Poland, alongside its long, grim tradition of domestic anti-Semitism. Therein lies the paradox: Poland remains a key Western ally in terms of geopolitics, but any sense of shared values is rapidly shrinking.

(JNS).

Justice Ginsburg: Cancer Is Back, But No Plans To Retire

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Justice Ginsburg: Cancer Is Back, But No Plans To Retire

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg has said that her cancer has returned, but ruled out retirement from the nation’s highest court.

Ginsburg, 87, said in a statement released by the Supreme Court on Friday that she has been receiving chemotherapy every two weeks since May 19, which has reduced lesions on her liver.

“I have often said I would remain a member of the court as long as I can do the job full-steam,” she said. “I remain fully able to do that.”

Ginsburg noted, “Immunotherapy first essayed proved unsuccessful. The chemotherapy course, however, is yielding positive results. Satisfied that my treatment course is now clear, I am providing this information.”

Ginsburg’s statement was released one day after she was released from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for the treatment of a possible infection.

Earlier this year, Ginsburg was hospitalized with an infection in her gallbladder, though she still participated in oral arguments. She said her recent hospitalizations were unrelated to cancer.

Ginsburg, who has sat on America’s highest court since 1993, has experienced a number of health issues over the past few years.

In August 2019, she underwent radiation for a tumor on her pancreas.

In December 2018, Ginsburg had surgery to remove cancerous nodules from her lungs.

(JNS)

{Matzav.com}

Kansas dog makes 50-mile trek to her old home in Missouri

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Kansas dog makes 50-mile trek to her old home in Missouri

‘She finds her way home, and there’s some strangers living in it. That would be scary for anybody’

LAWSON, Mo. (AP) — A dog named Cleo who disappeared from her home in Kansas earlier this month turned up a few days later at her old home in Missouri, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.

Colton Michael told television station KMBC that the 4-year-old Labrador retriever-border collie mix showed up on the front porch of his family’s home in Lawson, which is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Kansas City.

At first, she wouldn’t let anyone get near her, said Michael, who has lived in the home for nearly two years.

“She finds her way home, and there’s some strangers living in it. That would be scary for anybody,” he said.

Eventually, he was able to gain Cleo’s trust and to get her checked for a microchip, which showed that she belonged to the former owners of his house.

Cleo’s owners, who had moved to Olathe, Kansas, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Lawson, couldn’t believe it when Michael called and said the dog had turned up at their old home. They had posted on Facebook a week earlier about the missing dog. Neither family knows how Cleo made the trip, which would have required her to cross at least one river.

(Fox News / AP).

Elli Schwarcz – The Three Weeks – Part II

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Elli Schwarcz – The Three Weeks – Part II

Before we go further into the topic of the Three Weeks, here’s a quick review of what we’ve learned so far:

The destruction of our temples and many other national tragedies occurred in the three weeks between the seventeenth of Tamuz and the ninth of Av.


Bil’am, a powerful sorcerer, searched for sins in the Jewish people so that he could successfully curse them. He looked at their tents, but saw that they were arranged modestly.


After failing on his mission, Bil’am advised that B’nei Israel be seduced by girls from Midian and Mo’av. Although they also led Jewish men to the greater sin of idol worship, Bil’am understood that public immoral behavior would result in a more immediate punishment for the Jews- “Their God hates illicit behavior.”


Pinchas defended Hashem’s honor by spearing Zimri and the woman he was with; the plague that had come upon the nation stopped.


Parashat Balak, the Three Weeks, and the summer coincide because a lack of modesty- especially common in this season- holds us back from rebuilding the Beit Hamikdash.


These connections also explain why, in addition to B’nei Israel’s dwelling places, Bil’am also praised the Mishkan and Batei Mikdash- for their ability to bring atonement, and their destiny to be rebuilt after being destroyed.

The exile we are currently in, Galut Edom, refers to the nation that descended from Esav…


These are the descendants of Esav- which is Edom.
-Vayetzei, 36:1

Esav/ Edom evolved into what would become Rome. This nation eventually destroyed the second Beit Hamikdash and forced the exile from Israel of the Jews it did not kill. The Roman Empire later dissolved into Europe, which later spawned other countries- most notably, the United States of America. In short, Edom is still known today by two features: it represents the West, and is mighty- both militarily and culturally.
Let us look at some historical background on the struggle between B’nei Israel and Edom…

One night, Yaakov Avinu was confronted by Edom’s angel:


And Yaakov remained alone- and a man (i.e. an angel) wrestled with him until daybreak.
-Vayishlach, 32:25

We know instinctively that this showdown was not a mere test of fighting skills; why would such a wrestling match be important, and who’s to say Yaakov could match an angel in strength? The reality is deeper: the physical fight reflected a spiritual struggle on the highest levels (“The dust from their feet reached the Throne of Glory”). Whatever exactly was taking place in the heavenly spheres, Yaakov was made to defend himself from the attacks and accusations of Edom. And what was the result of this fight? The verse attests that Yaakov stood his ground- but that the angel managed to injure him:

He (the angel) saw that he could not overcome him, and so he touched him on the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Yaakov’s thigh was strained when he wrestled with him.
-ibid. 32:26

Like the struggle itself and Yaakov’s success, the blow that the angel dealt must also hold deep significance. Why was Yaakov damaged specifically on that part of his body?

One explanation given by the holy Zohar is that the thigh symbolizes the place of physical desire (as it houses the reproductive system). As such, Edom’s last gasp effort was to hurt Yaakov’s descendants in the area of immoral relations and intermarriage; if Yaakov’s tremendous righteousness could not be breached in a direct confrontation with evil, perhaps his children could be swayed to follow their desires.

This approach, the rabbis teach, was actually reflected in the angel’s initial attack. Instead of simply ‘fighting’, the Torah stresses that the angel “wrestled with” Yaakov… because it is an allusion to hugging. When wrestling does not work, Edom introduces illicit behavior and intermarriage.

It should not surprise us to learn that Esav himself employed this same dual strategy immediately afterward:

And Esav ran toward him, and he hugged him and kissed him…
-Vayishlach, 33:4 (abridged)

The Torah makes it clear that Esav constantly desired more and more physical pleasure (Vayishlach, 33:9; Rashi)- as shown by his sins for lust and power (Toldot, 25:29; Rashi), and his commitment to eating and drinking because he was “anyway going to die” (Toldot, 25:32). Yaakov was forced to hide his daughter Dina lest Esav see her, and Esav attempted to set his eyes upon Rachel (Vayishlach, 33:5; Rashi, ibid:7). Esav is thus said to epitomize the trait of the “Evil Eye.”

Whom are we reminded of? Bil’am. Bil’am chased after his desires, and was convinced to curse the Jews in exchange for honor and wealth (Balak, 22: 17-18; Rashi)- and tried to turn his own evil eye upon B’nei Israel. And when that didn’t work… he brought B’nei Israel to sin through illicit relations. Understandably, Bil’am is said to epitmoize the Evil Eye:

[One who has] an evil eye, haughtiness, and is obsessed with desires is of the students of the wicked Bil’am.
-Pirkei Avot, 5:29

The Torah tells us that Yitzchak Avinu favored Esav over his other son Yaakov (Toldot, 25:28). Yitzchak misjudged Esav partly because he was blind, which made it difficult to recognize the nuances of Esav’s misbehavior. This mistake brought Yitzchak to want to bless Esav, forcing Yaakov to ‘take’ the blessings after buying the firstborn status from Esav, and therefore to later defend himself from the accusations of wrongdoing by Esav and his angel.

Perhaps we can now better understand a Kaballah teaching. The Chida (Chacham Yosef David Azoulay) quotes the holy Arizal:

Pinchas was instilled with the soul of Yitzchak Avinu at the time of his zealousness- and Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Shimon whom he killed- was the reincarnation of… Esav. 

With his act, then, Pinchas effectively repaired Yitzchak’s misplaced love of Esav.

We can also appreciate that Bil’am’s advice to seduce B’nei Israel was promoted by Zimri- otherwise known as Esav. We can also add that Yitzchak’s inability to see Esav’s faults was rectified in one moment of clear vision:


And Pinchas… saw, and got up from among the congregation, and took a spear in his hand.
-Balak, 25:7 (abridged)

[We can also point to the role of sight and eyes in Bil’am’s narrative- as evidenced by Balak 23:13; ibid. 24:1-4; ibid. 15-16, among others- as examples of Bil’am using the evil eye.]

Now we should have a better picture of the history and significance of those who try to undermine our spirituality through improper sights and behavior. I hope that in the coming days we can supplement this with a few more points about the importance of ‘proper sight’ and its role in our mourning and prayers.

Have a great Shabbat!

Elli Schwarcz

 

 

Elli is an alumnus of the Toras Moshe, Ner Israel, and Carteret Yeshivos, and has been involved in Jewish outreach for almost 15 years. He is a Hebrew School and English Language Arts teacher, and has a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. Of all his pursuits, Elli most enjoys teaching high-level Jewish thought and Talmud to teenage boys, exposing them to the beauty and wisdom of their heritage while highlighting their own ability to engage in advanced Torah learning. Elli lives in Lakewood, New Jersey, with his wife and children.

Anti-Semitic Groups Calling on Followers to ‘Deliberately Infect’ Jews with COVID-19

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Anti-Semitic Groups Calling on Followers to ‘Deliberately Infect’ Jews with COVID-19

Far-right, Neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic groups are encouraging their followers to “deliberately infect” Jews with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and are utilizing the pandemic to spread conspiracy theories, new research on the subject show.

In its report, the United-Kingdom’s Commission for Countering Extremism said that a variety of groups have been seeking to “breed hate” and promote conspiracy theories, including that the pandemic is part of a Jewish plot.

“Through the use of conspiracy theories and fake news, the Commission has found that hateful extremists have used divisive, xenophobic and racist narratives to sow division and undermine the social fabric of our country,” the report said.

“We have heard reports of British far-right activists and neo-Nazi groups promoting anti-minority narratives by encouraging users to deliberately infect groups, including Jewish communities; and of Islamists propagating anti-democratic and anti-western narratives, claiming that Covid-19 is divine punishment from Allah on the west for their alleged ‘degeneracy’,” the report, published earlier this month, warned.

Lead Commissioner Sara Khan said that the research shows that there are five primary categories of conspiracy theory targeting Jews, namely that “the virus is fake and part of a Jewish plot to mislead the public, or that it’s real and was deliberately created for malevolent purposes, or that Jews are the primary spreaders of the virus, or that Jewish people are dying in disproportionately higher numbers and posts that incite others to deliberately spread the virus to Jews.”

The research also notes how Islamists are using the pandemic to radicalize followers and promote anti-Western narratives.

One study shows that during the pandemic, over 90% of social media posts containing misinformation were not taken down by social media companies when flagged by volunteers.

Another study found hundreds of thousands of Far-Right posts around COVID-19 and millions of engagements with known disinformation sites.

Khan called for action against the conspiracy theories and the groups that promote them.

One in five of the British believe to some degree that Jews created the Coronavirus (COVID-19) to collapse the economy for financial gain, an Oxford University poll that was discussed in the Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs earlier this month shows.

The research, titled “Oxford Coronavirus Explanations, Attitudes, and Narratives Survey,” polled a representative sample of 2,500 English adults from May 4 to May 11, 2020.

Presented with the statement “Jews have created the virus to collapse the economy for financial gain,” 5.3% of the respondents “agreed a little,” 6.8% “agreed moderately,” 4.6% “agreed a lot,” and 2.4% “agreed completely,” while some 80.8% did not agree with it at all.

The Coronavirus has brought a sharp rise in online anti-Semitic content, and Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief, has recently warned the rise in anti-Semitism surrounding the Coronavirus raises the need for “tougher” measures against the phenomenon.

An internal report by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) revealed in March that anti-Semitism is rising around the world as a direct result of the spread of the Coronavirus.

A sharp rise was detected globally, with the US, Germany, and France seeing the largest increase.

Twitter has been a hub for Corona-based conspiracy theories, with Israel’s ongoing efforts to develop a vaccine also seen as “proof” for the “Zionist plot” by several users.

(TPS).

Californians turn on one another as coronavirus shuts down the state for a second time

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Californians turn on one another as coronavirus shuts down the state for a second time

Anger mounted this week amid Gov. Gavin Newsom’s closure of indoor activities across more than 30 counties.

A surge of coronavirus cases in California is pitting residents of the Golden State against one another, with one side frustrated that not enough people are taking the virus seriously, while others are angered by the state’s response and its impact on small businesses.

For months, that anger had been directed toward Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state health officials for shutting down businesses to curb the spread of the virus. Pockets of protests emerged throughout the state as the financial effects began to be felt.

frustration temporarily subsided as businesses were given the green light last month to gradually reopen with restrictions in place. Many people, restless from months of shut-ins, flouted social distancing rules and refused to wear masks as they attended family dinners and outdoor parties.

By early July, cases began to rise in California, leading to Gov. Newsom’s announcement
on Monday that all bars across the state must close up shop and that restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums, and card rooms must suspend indoor activities.

The Democratic governor also announced that all gyms, places of worship, malls, personal care services, barbershops, salons, and non-critical offices in counties on the state’s “monitoring list” had to shut down under the new order.

The order affects more than 30 counties which are home to about 80 percent of California’s population.

The order sparked a flurry of anger from residents, many of whom accused their fellow Californians’ supposed carelessness of creating shutdown 2.0.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom visits the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's McClellan Reload Base in Sacramento, Calif.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom visits the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s McClellan Reload Base in Sacramento, Calif. (AP)

“It really, in my opinion, shines a light on the amount of entitlement we have as a society,” tweeted actor Coby Ryan McLaughlin. “Wear a mask, don’t go to [expletive] house parties. Just chill out. Follow the rules for once, and don’t make it this huge political issue.”

Others were quick to point out the “wear-a-mask” crowds’ hypocrisy for remaining silent on the issue when protesters came out in droves – many without masks or social distancing – in the wake of the police custody death of George Floyd in late May.

“But the dems said we can’t get it at a protest,” wrote a user cited by the Los Angeles Times, in response to a protest video. “Just the beach or a bar or restaurant. Home Depot and Walmart are safe.”

The matter of reopening school campuses has also become a focal point of conyention.
This week both Los Angeles and San Diego – the two largest school districts in California – announced that they would continue online classrooms in the fall, while Orange County – run largely by conservative policymakers – voted that schools will reopen without requiring masks or social distancing.

(Fox News).

Rapper Ice Cube Attacks NBA Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Calling Out Lack of Outrage Over Antisemitism in Sports, Hollywood

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Rapper Ice Cube Attacks NBA Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Calling Out Lack of Outrage Over Antisemitism in Sports, Hollywood
Rapper Ice Cube on Wednesday blasted NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who had expressed frustration over the lack of outrage in the sports and entertainment industries over recent incidents of antisemitism, including those involving Ice Cube himself.

In a column published by The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, Abdul-Jabbar called out recent antisemitic tweets and social media posts against Jews by Ice Cube and NFL star DeSean Jackson, among others, and explained how silence from sports and entertainment figures “perpetuates racism” and contributed to an overall “Apatholypse.”

Abdul-Jabbar wrote, “Given the New Woke-fulness in Hollywood and the sports world, we expected more passionate public outrage. What we got was a shrug of meh-rage” in Hollywood and in sports.

He also castigated ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson, who defended DeSean Jackson, further spread anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and voiced support for Nation of Islam founder and notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan.

“These famous, outspoken people share the same scapegoat logic as all oppressive groups from Nazis to the KKK: all our troubles are because of bad-apple groups that worship wrong, have the wrong complexion, come from the wrong country, are the wrong gender or love the wrong gender,” Abdul-Jabbar explained. “It’s so disheartening to see people from groups that have been violently marginalized do the same thing to others without realizing that perpetuating this kind of bad logic is what perpetuates racism.”

Abdul-Jabbar’s article angered Ice Cube, who tweeted, “Shame on the Hollywood Reporter who obviously gave my brother Kareem 30 pieces of silver to cut us down without even a phone call.” The rapper’s mention of “30 pieces of silver” is a clear reference to the amount that Judas Iscariot sold out Jesus for, according to the New Testament.

The “Good Cop Bad Cop” rapper was accused last month of “inciting racism” for sharing on Twitter a series of antisemitic images and praising Farrakhan.

In one instance, Ice Cube — whose real name is O’Shea Jackson — shared on Twitter a caricature that resembled antisemitic propaganda used by Hitler and the Nazis to incite hatred against Jews.

He has refused to remove any of the offensive images, even after repeated requests from social media followers.

Ice Cube has an extensive history of exhibiting a hostile attitude toward the Jewish community. In 1991, the Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned his album “Death Certificate” for including racist lyrics, including one part in which he called for the murder of a Jewish music industry figure.

In 2015, he allegedly had his entourage physically attack a rabbi who he bumped into in Detroit. Ice Cube, the rabbi said, “unleashed a string of antisemitic epithets at him for wearing a yarmulke.”

(Algemeiner).

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