In follow up to Jonathan’s important message below about Al Jazeera… Some who are familiar with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protocols_of_the_Elders_of_Zion>may recognize how closely some of the language used in that hateful antisemitic forgery resembles what we see in the film publicity posting below and in other previous such postings on Lincoln Talk: Zionism as an illicit and sinister tool of imperialism; Zionists as conspirators, taking over the media and the government.
The 2012 book: “The Paranoid Apocalypse: A Hundred-Year Retrospective on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, <https://nyupress.org/9780814748923/the-paranoid-apocalypse/>among other things, describes how influential the Protocols remains, and how it continues to infuse the sort of contemporary language being propagated in these Lincoln Talk messages and related activities. Once again, I will offer to sit and chat with anyone who would like to discuss the book. Also happy to send it as a pdf to any individuals who are interested, though I don’t want to run afoul of copyright issues. An example of the influence of the Elders of Zion on popular Arabic culture is discussed in this NYT piece <https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/26/world/anti-semitic-elders-of-zion-gets-new-life-on-egypt-tv.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qk4.RCSA.aCfqrB9S7X1j&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare>from 2002. In it, one interviewee asks: ''In a way, don't they dominate? ….Of course, what we read from the 'Protocols,' it says it's a kind of conspiracy. They want to control; they want to dominate. In short, if we ask, regarding the historically malicious rhetoric germinating so deeply from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, "Could this happen in Lincoln?” The answer, it seems, is yes…. Some illustrative passages from the book below. Steve Introduction: This volume of essays results from a conference held at the Elie Weisel Center for Jewish Studies at Boston University with the collaboration of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University a century after the publication of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Protocols stands out as both one of the most malicious forgeries in history—“an atrocity-producing narrative”—and the most widely distributed forgery in the world. Soon after publication, believers translated its “revelations” about an international Jewish conspiracy to enslave mankind into dozens of languages and spread the text from its Russian foyer to the rest of Europe, the Americas, and as far as Japan. At the height of its first wave of influence (1905–1945), it played a key role in inspiring and justifying the Nazi attempt at genocide of the Jews. A careful analysis of the way the paranoid apocalyptic themes found in the Protocols operate in Palestinian and, more broadly, in Arab-Muslim culture suggests that the scrupulous, often rhetorically inflated self-criticism that some Jewish “progressives” engage in—Israel is imperialist, colonialist, racist, fascist—has a noxious dual impact. First, rather than encouraging dialogue, it fuels hatreds by confirming the paranoid fantasies on the other side. Second, it produces an epistemological crisis among outside observers who do not know how to factor in both Jewish tendencies toward self-criticism and Arab tendencies toward scapegoating in assessing the information they receive about what has happened. Chapter 11: ...references to the Protocols appear regularly in the PA media, presented as authentic by academics, educators, political leaders, and journalists. A dominant preoccupation of PA academia is the repeated and varied denials of Israel’s historical right to exist. These denials entail the erasure of Jewish history in the land, the creation of a Palestinian Islamic history in the land, and, finally, a motivation for the establishment of Zionism—other than its being an authentic national renaissance movement. Thus, a history is invented in which the Land of Israel has always been Arab Islamic “Palestine,” with no Jewish roots, and Palestinian historians created reasons to explain Zionism’s occurrence. The essential narrative created by Arab and Palestinian educators teaches that Zionism in Israel was a European idea with two goals: To set up a bridgehead for European imperialism to control the Middle East; To serve as a form of self-defense for Christian Europeans, who sought to be rid of the danger and burden of having Jews living among them. Chapter 14: What is particularly striking is the way in which conspiracy theories have become a common feature of public discourse and the way in which criticism of Jewish power and Israeli influence in the United States sometimes echoes the calumnies in the forged hoax document known as the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. What is depressing is the failure of most societal leaders to confront these destructive tendencies. > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Jonathan Sheffi <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] Reminder: GRALTA's Israel-Palestine Film Series > continues on Sunday (Jan 19) > Date: January 18, 2025 at 10:54:32 PM EST > To: Lincoln Talk <[email protected]> > > Fun fact: Al Jazeera, the state-sponsored media of Qatar as well as the > creator of this conspiracy theory movie, is banned from operating in parts of > the Middle East due to Al Jazeera's promotion of extremism and terrorism. > They're banned in Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Bahrain, and... (drum > roll please) Palestine. Two weeks ago, the Palestinian Authority shut down Al > Jazeera indefinitely on the basis that it is "sowing division in our Arab > homeland in general and in Palestine in particular > <https://5a55e4ca.streaklinks.com/CR5gEWqkZH2tqwj-LQosQaeN/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fworld%2Fmiddle-east%2Fpalestinian-authority-suspends-broadcast-qatars-al-jazeera-tv-temporarily-2025-01-01%2F>." > > Al Jazeera propaganda is too extreme, hateful, and divisive for both Israelis > and Palestinians, and yet it somehow fits perfectly into GRALTA's programming > lineup. > ᐧ > > On Sat, Jan 18, 2025 at 8:56 PM Stephen R. Low <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> Your second chance to see The Lobby-USA: >> >> Sunday, January 19 at 2 PM at the Lincoln Public Library, 3 Bedford Road >> >> >> >> The Lobby-USA will open your eyes to the scope and tactics used by the >> Israel Lobby to manipulate public opinion. Come see for yourself. >> >> The second film in our winter film series >> >> The Lobby-USA (Part 1), a 2017 documentary produced by Al Jazeera >> Investigations. >> >> >> >> “A superb undercover investigation” >> >> ~ Middle East Monitor ~ >> >> >> >> >> <https://zoa.org/2018/04/10377872-zoa-mort-klein-convinced-qatar-to-cancel-anti-semitic-al-jazeera-jewish-lobby-series/> >> >> >> >> Regards, >> Steve Low >> >> >> >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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