Nation

NAACP Leader Posts Antisemitic Meme, Calls For His Firing Follow

Published

3 years ago

July 27, 2020

Head of the local Philadelphia NAACP chapter, Rodney Muhammad, is facing blowback for a Facebook post with a quote, pictures of celebrities recently under fire for anti-Semitic comments, and a widely used meme making fun of Jewish individuals.

The quote on the post read, “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize,” and a meme — called the Happy Merchant — was placed next to it. The picture exaggerated stereotypes and is widely used by racists across the internet to alienate Jewish people.

The celebrities featured were Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson and Nick Cannon — all recently in headlines for anti-Semitic postings and comments. Cannon was fired from his network for comments on his podcast.

Muhammad is a local Nation of Islam leader and frequent vocal supporter of Louis Farrakhan, who has called Jews “bloodsuckers” and “termites,” according to the Times of Israel.

The blowback has been fierce. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia called for Muhammad to be removed “immediately” in a statement and that he “intentionally initiated the spread of anti-Semitism on his Facebook page. This vile behavior from a civic leader is incredibly dangerous for Jewish communities across the world.”

The Anti-Defamation League has characterized the image as a hate symbol. Also noted, the quote is misattributed to Voltaire when it really came from an American neo-Nazi.

Muhammad responded to the criticism saying “to be real honest with you, I didn’t even pay attention to the picture.” He said he was unaware the image was disrespectful towards Jewish people and took it down.

Related Topics:anti-Semitism jewish Louis Farrakhan naacp

Israel

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar kicked off House Foreign Affairs Committee

Published

1 day ago

February 2, 2023

Alexander Carter

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was voted off the House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday. The action was expected, as Republican members of Congress had criticized Omar’s antisemetic and anti-American rhetoric.

After intense debating on the House floor, the resolution passed with a 218-211 vote. Democrats attempted to pull the race card, accusing Republican House members of racism for removing Omar from the committee.

Omar also accused House Republicans of racism, saying, “I am Muslim, I am an immigrant, and interestingly, from Africa…Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy, or that they see me as a powerful voice that needs to be silenced?”

“There is this idea that you are a suspect if you are an immigrant or if you are from certain parts of the world or certain skin tone or a muslim.” Omar said during the heated debate. A fiery Alexandria Ocasia Cortez also chimed in shouting, “This is an attack on women of color!”

Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, from New York, said she had personally witnessed Omar spew anti-American rhetoric. Malliotakis said, “I have been in that committee room where, the representative, equates Israel and the United States to Hamas and the Taliban. Absolutely unacceptable for a member of that committee.”

A four-page resolution was written for the justification of removing Omar from the house Foreign Affairs Committee. The resolution states that in 2019, Omar suggested that Jewish people were buying U.S. political support when she posted on Twitter, “it’s all about the Benjamins, baby.”

Omar also commented on the September 11th attacks saying, “some people did something.” This type of comment is unacceptable for any representative who is sitting on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, lawmakers said.

In the resolution it states that members of this committee should all be held to an “equal standard of conduct due to the international sensitivities and national security concerns under the jurisdiction of this committee.”