Q&A: Lapid
Lapid
Question
What does the Rabbi think about Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s post regarding antisemitism? https://m.facebook.com/story.php I would appreciate the Rabbi’s response. ?story_fbid=4333995899992061&id=107836625941364&__tn__=%2As%2As-R
Answer
I can’t open it (I don’t have Facebook, and the link is dead). But in general, I always ask that instead of sending me off to read something, you post here the claim you want to discuss.
Discussion on Answer
What is there to think? The literal meaning of antisemitism is the persecution of Semites. Most of these people are not doing that. Presumably he means to say that all persecution is reprehensible, not only antisemitism. It’s a strange and stupid way to say it, but it’s not the first stupid thing that has come out of his mouth.
Is this really worth a discussion or a response? Does every bit of nonsense a person utters require clarification?
Foreign Minister Lapid argues that:
“Antisemites were not only in the Budapest ghetto. Antisemites were the slave traders who threw chained slaves from slave ships into the waters of the ocean. Antisemites are the members of the Hutu tribe in Rwanda who massacred members of the Tutsi tribe. Antisemites are Muslim zealots who in the last decade killed more than 20 million other Muslims. Antisemites are ISIS and Boko Haram. Antisemites are people who beat young people from the LGBT community to death. Antisemites are anyone who persecutes people not because of what they did, but because of what they are.” What does the Rabbi think of these remarks?