**An insightful critique of identity politics, which has swept up most
of the gay/lesbian "movement" as well as some on the left.
David
=================================================================================
*
The ADL's Hate Crimes Legislation
By: Jeff Gates
August 3, 2009
*http://intifada-palestine.com/2009/08/03/the-adls-hate-crimes-legislation/
The Anti-Defamation League boasts that its model hate crimes statute
inspired changes to law in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The
ADL claimed another victory in July when the U.S. Senate approved a hate
crime statute similar to one approved in April by the House of
Representatives. The slight differences will be resolved in the fall
when President Barack Obama promised he will sign the ADL-crafted
legislation into law.
In Congressional testimony on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Attorney
General Eric Holder conceded the lack of evidence that hate crimes are
not being prosecuted by the states. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
opposed the legislation, describing ADL's model statute "a menace to
civil liberties." So what gives here? What, really, is the ADL's agenda?
ADL was founded in 1913 by B'nai B'rith ("children of the covenant") to
oppose anti-Semitism. According to its website, the ADL now opposes any
bias that may "tear at the fabric of our society and fragment
communities." Its model statute includes bias based not just on race,
color, religion, national origin and gender but also, with this bill,
disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
With each new category, the ranks of potential ADL allies expands. Yet
even while mobilizing opposition to anti-Jewish bias, ADL argues that
anti-Semitism must also include criticism of Israel.
In describing this sleight-of-hand, Senator Carl Levin explained that
the ADL-inspired statute targets "bias-motivated crimes" where there is
"evidence of speech, beliefs or expressive conduct." Where a defendant
claims an absence of bias, the House bill allows impeachment of that
claim with evidence of "expressions or associations."
Bias alone is not a federal crime. At least not yet. While free speech
is protected (sort of), bias-motivated crimes will soon be authorized
for federal prosecution. Americans henceforth had best beware of their
speech, beliefs, associations and "expressive conduct." While there's no
sign as yet of the federal Thought Police, the statute authorizes the
hiring of additional personnel to "prevent and respond to alleged
violations."
If a state jury acquits, federal prosecutors can try defendants again
for the same offense. While not technically Constitution-prohibited
double jeopardy---due to the presence of dual sovereigns (state and
federal)---the chilling effect, as intended, is palpable and real.
The Department of Justice can intervene when "necessary to secure
substantial justice." In practical effect, the ADL statute transforms
the perception of bias into a "currency" that can be deployed to silence
critics of Israel.
The intimidation campaign mounted against University of California
professor William Robinson showed the lengths to which the ADL will go
to stifle critics even when---as in Gaza---Israeli conduct would be
considered racist and imperialist anywhere but in the U.S. [See "Treason
in Plain Sight?" and "The ADL Thought Police."]
With this legislation, critics of the Zionist state (or Zionism) could
find themselves victims of an ADL intimidation initiative sold to
Congress and the White House as a means to protect victims of prejudice.
Declaring in its testimony "we are unimpressed," the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights warned that the legislation "will do little good and a
great deal of harm" under cover of an ADL-lobbied statute that, as the
Commission says: "purports to protect civil rights."
*Identity Politics and the ADL
*
Hate crimes legislation is the latest face on the identity group
politics that has fragmented U.S. society since the 1960s. Its roots are
found in the "Frankfurt School" of the 1920s, a transnational network of
social critics frustrated that class warfare failed to gain global
traction after the Russian revolution of 1917. Drawing on the class
oppression of Karl Marx and the emotional repression of Sigmund Freud,
victim group identity became a means to catalyze social solidarity
that---like class identity---would supersede national identity.
As identity politics became a stand-in for class politics, prejudice
displaced class as the focal point for reform. With enactment of the
ADL's model statute, reform means federal monitoring of "expressive
conduct" backed by the threat of a lengthy prison term.
Over four decades, a failed theory of political alienation was replaced
with a psychological theory of social and sexual alienation. As
repression shifted from the economy to society and sexuality, a litany
of liberation movements emerged. With each new group's claim of bias,
prejudice and repression, the ADL gained more potential recruits for its
opposition to "anti-Semitism."
Out of this fusion of disaffection, activism and academia emerged
"Critical Theory" whose goals remain obscure though its advocates
spawned "special studies programs" on campuses nationwide: African
American, Native American, Latino, Jewish, feminist, gay and so forth.
Akin to the endless debate typical of a yeshiva, ceaseless social
critique emerged as both means and end while identity group theorizing
became a career path for academics.
From this intellectual lineage emerged charges of an "Imperial America"
ever eager for another conquest and led by a succession of Oil War
fascists in need of sensitivity training. As the ranks of the repressed
grew, the commitment to identity groups deepened while allegiance to the
U.S.---and to democratic values---began a steady decline
With identity politics came not only a fragmented society but also a
fractured national psyche. Rather than devotion to community and
country, loyalty shifted to parts less than the whole. Allegiance flowed
to like-minded sub-groups that often reflected a shared personal bias.
Group-reinforced dedication to that identity bred intolerance and
arrogance. Why endure the views of others when you are certain your
views are correct?
National self-criticism was catalyzed by a series of
confidence-shattering assassinations. Those iconic murders undercut an
entire nation's self-assurance as the American psyche deteriorated into
self-doubt and an erosion of faith in self-governance. The loss of a
costly and unnecessary war in Southeast Asia further sapped the 'Can Do'
spirit of a post-WWII populace.
*Duplicity, Hate and the Criminal State*
Fast-forward four decades and Americans again find themselves waging a
costly and unnecessary war induced by false intelligence "fixed" around
the expansionist goals of Greater Israel. As the common source of that
deception comes clearly into focus, critics of Israel are forced to
contend with a federal statute that's a recipe for
repression---traceable to the same source those critics now cite at
their peril.
Rather than a campus-by-campus silencing campaign, ADL and affiliates of
this covenant can mobilize the Department of Justice to quell criticism
nationwide. Or, as stated in the ADL model statute approved by the
House: "to prevent and respond to alleged violations."
Hate has long been a currency used by those who proposed this statute.
Many Jews are critical of Israeli policy. Those who dare to speak out
are routinely described as "self-hating." Non-Jewish critics are
dismissed by the ADL with one or more toxic smears: anti-Semite,
Jew-hater, neo-Nazi or Holocaust-denier---each category deserving of hate.
ADL extremists no more represent the broader Jewish community than
Christian Zionists John Hagee and Pat Robertson represent the Christian
community or radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr represents the
broader Muslim community. Extremism is a trait that merits the hatred of
freedom seekers worldwide.
With its deceitful statute, the ADL seeks to induce identity groups to
empathize with anti-Semitism while evoking hate to obscure Zionism's
true goals. Much as the politics of class warfare failed to gain
traction nine decades ago, the politics of hate will also fail.
With transparency, a long-deceived global public will grasp how
Americans were deceived six decades ago by an enclave of religious
fanatics they naively sought to befriend and defend only to see their
behavior tear at the social fabric and fragment communities.
To betray, you must first befriend. To defraud, you must first create
trust. Accountability for this trans-generational duplicity will
commence as the ADL's true motives become transparent and its supporters
apparent. The restoration of national security requires that those
complicit in this covenant---including cooperative lawmakers and their
staffs---are held accountable for their support of this statute.
*Jeff Gates*: A widely acclaimed author, attorney, investment banker,
educator and consultant to government, corporate and union leaders
worldwide, Jeff Gates' latest book is Guilt By Association---How
Deception and Self-Deceit Took America to War (2008). His previous books
include Democracy at Risk: Rescuing Main Street From Wall Street and The
Ownership Solution: Toward a Shared Capitalism for the 21st Century. For
two decades, an adviser to policy-makers worldwide. Counsel to the U.S.
Senate Finance Committee (1980-87) .
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