Progressives and Anti-Semitism, Brooklyn Edition

The Brooklyn Commons is a center for progressive community activists, hosting numerous events and providing office space to organizations such as Jacobin Magazine, WBAI-FM, and the Marxist Education Project.  Tonight, however, the building will play host to a notorious 9/11 truther and outright anti-Semite named Christopher Bollyn, who has written that 9/11 was "a massive Zionist Jewish crime" and that “It seems like being a Jew is a lot like being a wolf.”   Despite community-wide protests, the center has refused to cancel the event, explaining that its "has been to foster discussion among disparate groups across a wide political spectrum."

My friend David Schraub -- a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center of UC Berkeley -- has written an excellent article about the situation for Tablet.  Here are the first two paragraphs:

The Brooklyn Commons, according to its Facebook page, “is a community & educational center dedicated to healthy communities, individuals, [and] environment.” It provides office space and venue support to a number of progressive organizations, including Jacobin magazine and the Right to the City Alliance. And today, by virtue of who it is hosting, the neighborhood hangout is also dedicated to exposing 9/11 as a “deception imposed on our nation by the Israeli/Zionist and Neo-Conservative cabal that controls our government and media.”

The speaker the Commons is hosting to promote this bit of slander is one Christopher Bollyn, a prominent anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist whose website finds a Jewish connection behind everything from 9/11 to the Kennedy assassination. This event was spotted by Daniel Sieradski, founder of the progressive Jewish website Jewschool.com, who has been organizing other members of the progressive community to condemn Bollyn and urge the Commons to cancel his event. But the Commons has spurned these calls—possibly because, as Sieradski uncovered, the proprietor is herself a 9/11 truther.

You can read the entire article here.

 

Comments

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Mr. Bollyn and Professor Joy Karega will be wedded in a ceremony officiated by the Rev. Farrakhan. Kim Davis will issue the marriage license.

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Does this guy have a real job or is spouting baloney his gig? On his website, I counted at least 10 places where one could click on a hyperlink to DONATE money. Guess he needs money for RESEARCH. This stuff is laughable in an eye rolling way...

[Dear Captain]

Oh really Captain, you must be a Mossad agent along with Prof. Lubet. Afterall, we all know that JFK was whacked by the jews...oops zionists, (im no anti semite), Nixon was a double agent, the Bush family are jews and of course Bill clinton even had a bar mitzvah at a large temple in arkansas. He is amember of the large jewish ark community. As to Obama, he is an Ethiopian jew. So you see, the jews, oops i meant zionists, control everything.
Oh so is Putin and Kim Jon i read he bought his nukes from the jews oops i mean zionists im really not an antisemite, really, promise.

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Listen Dear Captain at 2:47,

Don't say too much. This guy will cite you as his primary research. He will posit that Academics and noted scholars at the renowned Faculty Lounge Legal Blog,,,,, His research is that good. It is peer reviewed too... On the other hand, Bill Clinton being bar mitzvah is entirely foreseeable.

[Dear Captain]

I will follow your directive Captain. As to Bill's Bar Mitzvah party, I hear the VIP lounge was quite the scene. In fact, it is my understanding that all of this dislike for jewish people (oops I mean zionists) started because Bollyn was a complete flop at the VIP lounge and was not properly serviced by the models in attendance. The models who attended all stated that it was something about his personality.

[anon]

Steve
A while back, you posted a comment policy.
As I read the above, every one of these comments should be taken down.

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Dear Captain at 3:44,

I think you have it wrong. Us Zionists, Hebrews (whatever) don't drink. There was no VIP lounge at Bill's Bar Mitzvah party. There was a huge desert spread. Bollyn was angry that someone polished off the almond roca before his table was called.

Know what I heard today? If you drive a modern car with those tire pressure valve stems that "communicate" with the dash board on a discrete frequency, the gub'mint can monitor your movements.

[anon]

These comments are, as usual from one of the commenters (not enough from the other to say it is a pattern) disgusting.

Steve, are you permitting this sort of disgusting drivel, disguised as "humor."

What's next: the Rollicking Grand Dragon, doing his lounge act? What if these disgusting comments, in a different context, were referring to watermelon? Perhaps you think this gutter level disgusting discourse is just fine.

If so, retract your comment policy.

TAKE THEM DOWN!

[Dear Captain]

Mr or ms Anon, these beluefs are routinely and increasinglt being expresses in the msm in talkbacks at the wsj, hpost and in between. You cannot be that totally in the dark. As to my comments, i am being sarcastic, i think people who believe in theae crazy conspiracy theories are either crazy or use them as excuses to dislike jewish people. However, let me be perfectly clear, while i personally do not believe the claims, be assured, that a growing minority of Americans do believe them. Take this fact to the bank.

[Dear Captain]

Dear Captain, Sir,
Be careful about mr and ms anon above, he ir she is trying to stop the truth by censoring our discussion. I met he or she is...(fill in).
As to the party, well sir, it depends, you are correct about them people not drinking but their cousins, those Israelis certainly do. Them Israelis are not like those American relatives, they grow big like in Texas and they fight good like from Texas.
The VIP lounge was real Captain. In fact, according to Bollyn, it was not his personality that led the dancers to reject him, it was the fact he bought his clothes in a local Arkansas clothing store and not in some big ny east coast dept store.
As to the tire eavesdropping, yeh, I heard about that our Guvmint is following orders of the..uh...jews...i meant zionists, i promise im no antisemite.

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Dear Dear Captain,

We will not be intimidated. We will draw a line in the sand. Extremism in the defense of our right to say whatever humors us on this blog, is no vice. We are in charge here. Mission Accomplished. I think Anon is upset he wasn't invited to Bill's Bar Mitzvah.

That thing about the tire pressure monitor frequencies is true. Rancher Bundy told me.

[anon]

"As to the party, well sir, it depends, you are correct about them people not drinking but their cousins, those Israelis certainly do. Them Israelis are not like those American relatives, they grow big like in Texas and they fight good like from Texas."

Steve? They are defying you to act. Do you think your comment policy is not risible now?

[Dear Captain]

Dear Captain,

Sir, You are correct. Anon is trying to silence legitimate freedom of expression. His claims are frivolous and entirely deserving of Rule 11. I was way too nice opposing his motion to Judge Lubet to censor our discussion (but see my response in the next post).

As to the lack of his invite thats because he just doesnt measure up (with respect to rights and freedom of speech that is :).

[Dear Captain]

I will now address you - Anon - in opposition to your motion to redact the conversation between myself and the Captain.

You state: "Steve? They are defying you to act. Do you think your comment policy is not risible now?"

Listen up buddy, we have not insulted anybody (other than Bollyn) and our satire is entirely within the realm of legitimate expression and speech. We have not called for violence, nor have we asked Steve to censor you. Your claiming that we are "defying" Steve to act is childish. You have very thin skin. Grow up.

And BTW what is "risible" maybe you meant "relevant". I could of course absurdly claim that "risible" is "disgusting". You do know that "risible" can be understood as "rising" as those in attendance at Bill's Bar Mitzvah party experienced when the models went topless. Of course I would not claim your use of "risible" is disgusting so do not interefere with our discourse.

[anon]

Well, Steve, I guess it is now permissible to allow a vexing annoyance to post a dialogue with what appears to be himself (same style, word choices, etc.), driving away all others. Read your comment policy, Steve. If you don't enforce it, then retract it.

[anon]

Add

A vexing annoyance posting a dialogue with himself containing vile ethnic slurs masquerading as "satire."

I, for one, don't appreciate the "humor" is these comments, and again demand that you take them down.

You wouldn't tolerate this if it was another group being slurred.

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

The only way to counter folks like Bollyn is through spoof and humor. Why? To provide an academic or literate response, that nearly all subjects/posts on this blog warrant, would legitimatize Bollyn. Maybe there is something to what he is espousing goes the thinking. I recall a column by Tribune writer Eric Zorn on Matthew Hale of East Peoria, the White Supremasist law school graduate who threatened a Judge. Zorn called him Pontifius Maximus Doofus... Why are there no professors or other intellectuals writing long essays loaded with citations and arguments on this thread? There is no reason to. Nothing to say really... Dear Captain and me, the Honorable Captain Hruska, and a couple of others who sat a the same table and enjoyed the Chicken Kiev at Bill's Bar Mitzvah are not the same posters...

[Steve L.]

Well said, Captain. I would not tolerate slurs of any sort, whether directed at Jews or another group. While your humor (and Dear Captain's) is not exactly to my taste, it is obvious that your intention is to ridicule anti-Semites such as Bollyn.

Satire has its limits, however, so let's call it quits for this threat.