|
2022-12-11 -Great Cultural Revolution
|
|
Despite push, Jewish leaders can’t keep Farrakhan follower off Florida city council
|
[IsraelTimes] Pressed on his views at a council vote in which he was ultimately approved 4-3, Brother John Muhammed refuses to condemn the Nation of Islam leader’s antisemitism.
When Brother John Muhammad emerged this fall as the leading candidate for a vacant city council seat in St. Petersburg, Florida, local Jews were distressed.
Muhammad is well known in the city as the president of a local neighborhood association and as a frequent advocate for minority groups. But Jewish leaders learned that he was also a follower of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who has a long history of antisemitism, and that he had made comments dismissing concerns about Farrakhan’s record.
Jewish leaders tried to stave off Muhammad’s appointment, pushing for more extensive vetting of the seven candidates and, in the case of the local Holocaust museum, actively lobbying against him. But the council confirmed him in a 4-3 vote, leaving local Jews frustrated — before they considered ways to make the situation a learning experience for their city.
"When I see a situation like this, it screams ’opportunity’ to me," Michael Igel, chair of the Florida Holocaust Museum, located in St. Petersburg, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The saga playing out in St. Petersburg, Florida’s fifth-largest city, unfolded during the same period that a handful of Black celebrities, including Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, first became enmeshed in controversy over their own antisemitic comments and social media posts. The coincidence meant a dicey environment for broaching a conversation about the antisemitism of the Nation of Islam, whose rhetoric disparaging Jews overlaps with that of Hebrew Israelites, the ideology that Irving promoted by sharing a link to an antisemitic film.
It also turned St. Petersburg into a window for understanding how ties forged between Jewish groups and others can be tested.
Local Jewish leaders initially sought to stop Muhammad from gaining the city council seat, which was vacated after its previous holder resigned following redistricting and accusations she no longer lived in her district. They learned about Muhammad’s city council application only a week before the council’s vote, leaving them with little time to mobilize. The information came from a political rival of Muhammad, former mayoral candidate Vince Nowicki, who shared information about Muhammad’s Nation of Islam affiliation with local Jewish groups.
Nowicki also shared a comment Muhammad had made about Jews in a 2016 video in which Muhammad interviewed local Black LGBTQ activist muppets. In the video titled "A Conversation About Growing Up Black And LGBT," which JTA viewed, Muhammad said, "Minister Farrakhan got accused of being antisemitic for a long time because he pointed out and made some corrections about the activity of Jews. And anybody who says anything critical of the Jewish community is labeled as being antisemitic. Good, bad, right or wrong, it doesn’t matter what you say. If you criticize them that’s what you are."
He continued, saying, "And I’m finding that it happens when you are critical of the gay community, when you say anything critical or anything that doesn’t align with that ideology, now all of a sudden you’re homophobic." Muhammad’s comments about gay people received some light but friendly pushback from his interview guests.
Muhammad did not reply to multiple requests for comment by JTA, including to questions emailed to him at his request. He said during a public meeting ahead of the council vote that he thought scrutiny of him by Jewish groups had been unfair.
To Jewish leaders, the comments in the video coupled with Muhammad’s Nation of Islam affiliation were clear signs that he should not be appointed to the city council.
"I would sure hope that being antisemitic would be a red line, that you could not be a candidate," said Rabbi Philip Weintraub of Congregation B’nai Israel, a Conservative synagogue in the city.
|
Posted by trailing wife 2022-12-11 03:06||
||
Front Page|| [21 views ]
Top
|
|
Posted by Spike the Hairy6811 2022-12-11 04:31||
2022-12-11 04:31||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by M. Murcek 2022-12-11 04:32||
2022-12-11 04:32||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Frank G 2022-12-11 04:41||
2022-12-11 04:41||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Punky Elmigum9411 2022-12-11 09:39||
2022-12-11 09:39||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by trailing wife 2022-12-11 12:03||
2022-12-11 12:03||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Dron66046 2022-12-11 12:44||
2022-12-11 12:44||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Dron66046 2022-12-11 12:45||
2022-12-11 12:45||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Dron66046 2022-12-11 12:55||
2022-12-11 12:55||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Dron66046 2022-12-11 12:55||
2022-12-11 12:55||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Super Hose 2022-12-11 14:59||
2022-12-11 14:59||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Punky Elmigum9411 2022-12-11 17:13||
2022-12-11 17:13||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Canuckistan sniper 2022-12-11 20:07||
2022-12-11 20:07||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by trailing wife 2022-12-11 21:10||
2022-12-11 21:10||
Front Page
Top
|
|
13:28 M. Murcek
13:27 M. Murcek
13:26 swksvolFF
13:24 NoMoreBS
13:21 swksvolFF
13:18 mossomo
13:13 Frank G
13:11 Super Hose
13:09 Frank G
13:04 mossomo
12:58 M. Murcek
12:56 mossomo
12:55 Besoeker
12:55 swksvolFF
12:50 Lord Garth
12:48 mossomo
12:46 swksvolFF
12:46 trailing wife
12:32 mossomo
12:15 M. Murcek
12:11 swksvolFF
11:39 Lord Garth
11:20 Airandee
11:20 Beavis
|
