A Jewish cemetery near St. Louis saw over 100 gravestones overturned.
The criticism of this act is deserved, regardless of whether it was the result of non-anti-Semitic hooliganism or an act of intended anti-Semitism. Either way, it is an act of religious intimidation.
What is not deserved is the attempt to blame it on Trump, which is the suggestion of much media and social media attention, and Democratic Party spin.
Unfortunately, there is a long history of toppling Jewish gravestones and otherwise desecrating Jewish cemeteries.
One of the most egregious examples is one never mentioned in the media, the Arab ransacking of the ancient Jewish Mount of Olives cemetery after Jordan captured the area during Israel’s War of Independence:
On the Mount of Olives, the Jordanian Arabs removed 38,000 tombstones from the ancient cemetery and used them as paving stones for roads and as construction material in Jordanian Army camps, including use as latrines. When the area was recaptured by Israel in 1967, graves were found open with the bones scattered. Parts of the cemetery were converted into parking lots, a filling station, and an asphalt road was built to cut through it. The Intercontinental Hotel was built at the top of the cemetery. Sadar Khalil, appointed by the Jordanian government as the official caretaker of the cemetery, built his home on the grounds using the stones robbed from graves. In 1967, the press published extensive photos documenting that Jewish gravestones were found in Jordanian Army camps, such as El Azariya, as well as in Palestinian walkways, steps, bathrooms, and pavement.
The Arab desecration of the Mount of Olives cemetery, including smashing gravestones, continues to this day.
There also is a long history in Europe of Jewish cemetery desecration, including in just the past few years in France and even Belfast, which has a tiny Jewish community.
But it’s not just the Middle East and Europe. Prior to Trump there was a sordid history of desecration of Jewish cemeteries in the U.S. during Obama’s administration as well.
Yet there was no uproar. No mass media attention. No social media frenzy.
Given this long history, why is it only now that the problem is all over the media? We know the answer to that question.
Trump didn’t cause the problem, but Trump is the cause of the media attention. It’s exploitation of anti-Semitism by people who never cared about anti-Semitism but now see political opportunity.
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