"As he has done with just about every other issue, former President Donald Trump is sucking the oxygen out of any discussion on the antisemitism of rap star/fashion mogul Kanye West and his far-right allies. Rather than express remorse for his unfathomable dinner meeting at Mar-a-Lago with West, Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes and fellow alt-right hater Milo Yiannopoulos, he characteristically refused to apologize.
The event, which provided the trio with publicity and a degree of legitimacy in circles where his whims are treated as indisputably rational, was itself deeply problematic. It was made worse, however, by the fact that the focus of the debate it engendered about the rising tide of antisemitism turned into one about Trump himself."
*
Ye x Milo x Fuentes
A has-been, a never-been, and a never-will-been walk into a bar…
Stop me if you've ever heard this one before:
Fueled by his hatred of Jews, one of the most recognizable black man of his era decided to forge an alliance with one of its most high-profile white nationalist, or, at the very least, the one whose juvenile stunts attract the most attention. One of the men behind the scenes who worked on arranging the meeting is himself Jewish, though he has long repudiated his heritage, is known to have engaged in antisemitism, as well as for being a grifter, and is distrusted by many in the movement. On the other hand, he has shown an uncanny ability to ingratiate himself with its leaders and keep the spotlight on himself. All of this revolving around grand political ambitions on both sides.
Obviously, I'm referring to the infamous 1961 entente of George Lincoln Rockwell, Malcolm X, and Daniel Burros which culminated in years of friendly relationships between the American Nazi Party and the Nation of Islam.
On June 25th, 1961, ten members of the American Nazi Party quietly arrived at the Nation of Islam rally in Washington, DC. In the Uline arena, they were surrounded by more than 8000 members of the Nation of Islam. They were not there to disrupt, attack the attendants, to protest the speech; instead, they were front-row guests. That night, Elijah Muhammad had called in sick, so Malcolm X took the stage to give the keynote speech in his stead. Rockwell contributed $20 to the cause and, while having his picture snapped by Jewish photographer Eve Arnold, he barked at her, 'I'll make a bar of soap out of you.' (She answered, "As long as it isn't a lampshade”).
At first glance, it would seem highly bizarre that members of the American Nazi Party, in full regalia and occasionally Sieg Heiling, would be tolerated amongst the Black Nationalist movement. Still, it more than made sense once you realized that they shared the same antisemitism and views on racial separatism. There was also a historical precedent; the units described as the most vicious, brutal, and antisemitic of the SS were the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar, composed almost entirely of Muslims.
Eight months after their first public meeting, George Lincoln Rockwell addressed more than 12,000 black audience members at the Chicago International Amphitheatre, urging them to ally with Nazis to be truly uplifted. "You know we call you niggers," he addressed the crowd. "But wouldn't you rather be confronted by honest white men who tell you to your face what the others all say behind your back?". He later praised the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad as the 'Adolf Hitler of the black man.'
Black And White Don’t Always Make Gray
It might be ludicrous to think that a White and Black Nationalists alliance might work, even for a short time. Yet they managed to create a political symbiosis that held firm, at least until the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975. Though the alliance is not today quite what it was back then, it is well known that Louis Farrakhan and Tom Metzger, of White Aryan Resistance fame, have formed a friendship and alliance of their own.
Though it's true that in the late 1950s the American Nazi Party and Klan had fought Black Nationalists through different (and often violent) means, by 1960 they had a ceasefire, and by 1962 worked hand in hand. Just days before his death at the hand of Nation of Islam shooters, Malcom X said he had personally brokered a truce between the two organizations and that "from this day forward the Klan had never interfered with the Black Muslim movement in the South."
It was not a fake alliance or purely practical, either. Rockwell genuinely admired Elijah Muhammad and his followers, declaring that they were "admirable human beings in spite of their color." He also wanted to launch a joint 'Back to Africa' speaking tour with Elijah Muhammad. He wrote to his followers, "Can you imagine a rally of the American Nazis in Union Square, protected from Jewish hecklers by a solid phalanx of Elijah Muhammad's stalwart black stormtroopers?" In today's alt-right lingo, he might as well have called them based black men and offered them a place on their streaming platform.
The resemblances don't stop there. In fact, the antics of the Goyim Defense League or the Atomwaffens of today are very similar to the ANP antics of yesterday. Rockwell and his boys made a point of being juvenile and crass, publishing material such as The Diary of Anne Fink mocking the Holocaust, had a Volkswagen van they dubbed 'The Hate Bus,' wore rubber noses and Groucho Marx glasses during protests to mock Jews. Rockwell even attempted to stop Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech with 10,000 pro-segregationist protesters, although ultimately only 90 showed up, and Rockwell couldn't even obtain a permit for his protest.
Daniel Burros was a crucial man in Rockwell's entourage, his right-hand man until a political disagreement drove him to quit the ANP and eventually join the Klan, becoming the leader of its New York chapter. Daniel was also a (not-so-)nice Jewish boy from Queens. He had held the title of 'extermination planner' after they took over the government "by 1972 at the latest," according to Rockwell. In his youth, Danny had attended the Talmud Torah of Richmond Hills, and this is where he had celebrated his bar mitzvah surrounded by friends, family and others in the community. A star pupil, brilliant in his studies, the Rabbis believed he would join their ranks one day. Yet he became radicalized until hatred consumed his life down a few years later.
Rockwell adored Danny while the others in the movement looked at him askew. He had bizarre ideas, like suggesting that Rockwell and his stormtroopers parachute over New Jersey, waving Nazi flags, and routinely picketed the White House on his own, dressed in full Nazi uniform. Burros also loved to bring Jewish culinary treats like knishes to Nazi meetings, but somehow they only thought of him as quirky as a result but did not suspect him of being Jewish.
Once he became known as the NYS Grand Dragon of the KKK, however, someone leaked his Jewish background to the former newspaper of record, the Times, who published an article entitled 'State Klan Leader Hides Secret of Jewish Origins' on October 31st, 1965. Almost immediately after seeing the headline, he returned to the friend's apartment where he had been staying and shot himself to death.
His Jewishness was apparently no problem to Rockwell, who praised him in his death and railed about how his Jewish genes had caused his "unfortunate Jewish psychosis." Honoring his "based black men" and "based Jewish men," George Lincoln Rockwell was indeed the roadmap to today's Alt-Right leaders like Nick Fuentes.
This is the Remix
Today, we may be witness history in the making, or at the very least, a fascinating cover. One of the most influential black men of his era has joined forces with the most prominent Gen Z white supremacist of his generation, and there's a very shrewd and quirky Jewish man lurking in the background.
The Torah explains that there's a concept of ירידת הדורות, the decline of generations. It means, colloquially, that every successive generation is weaker than the one previously. Weaker physically, mentally, spiritually, and intellectually. When comparing the trio of Kanye West, Nick Fuentes, and Milo Yannopolous to Malcolm X, George Lincoln Rockwell, and Daniel Burros, one must bow to the eternality and exactitude of the Torah’s truth. It also spells some excellent news for Jews.
While some might regard Kanye as a musical genius, no one would consider him a thought leader. At best, his usefulness for the Farrakhans of this world is to serve as a spokesperson, and considering how fickle he has been, we can always hope he will simply have another 'epiphany' and move to a new subject very soon or that he will have a post-Mecca Malcolm X-type change of heart. To this day, many still advocate and push for Malcolm X's visions for the world. The one before his trip to Mecca and the one afterward. Either way, his words still resonate. In 60 years, it's doubtful even Kanye's albums still will.
Nick Fuentes, while he might undoubtedly be the public face of white supremacy in his generation, is unlikely to gain any real traction with the rest of his own movement, much less the population at large. His problems are threefold: his Mexican origins, his traditional catholicism, and his proclivities. Despite his Holocaust denial and zany rants, the fact is that Nick will forever be seen as a profoundly self-hating homosexual non-white by other white nationalists, and if Fuentes can't convince the people of his own movement that he should lead them, how could he ever convince a significant portion of the population? George Lincoln Rockwall was 6'3", had a square Jaw, was the descendent of a long WASP bloodline, and was a decorated Navy veteran. He still ended a failure who never attracted more than a fringe following. At 5'6", Nick will literally never even be able to fill Rockwell's shoes, much less push the movement further.
No one would claim that Kanye West's new campaign manager Milo Yannopopoulos is stupid. He might not have a 150 IQ like Burros reportedly had, but there's no denying he has the uncanny ability to rise up every time people think he's down for the count. And once this new venture inevitably fails, he will most likely be around long after Kanye and Fuentes inevitably fade into obscurity. He probably sees himself as the puppetmaster; seeing as he towers both intellectually and physically, it's not hard to see why. But what made Daniel Burros operate so successfully is precisely what Milo lacks: obscurity and anonymity. When news of Danny's Jewishness became public, he knew it was over for him. Milo might have more than nine lives, but there's the issue of diminishing returns. With so many scandals and a history of leaking both to both press and alphabet agencies, who is still willing to trust him? [Update: Milo lied about being Jewish]
So, here we have three self-appointed leaders, but the question remains: Is there going to be a movement for them to lead?
History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme
There is truly nothing new under the sun, and it really does feel like history is close to, but not quite, repeating itself. The only difference is that today’s rhymes are set to an overproduced beat.
Though I might be wrong, I have come to believe that antisemitism is not truly on the rise. Rather:
The proliferation of social media is simply amplifying the voices of those who would have otherwise kept their comments to themselves or for their close friends.
The current polarization of society is making it more acceptable to say out loud what people already believed but kept quiet about.
Are we really supposed to think that people liked Jews, were more tolerant, and did not hold the same kind of views about us in the 60s, 70s, or 80s? That the 90s or 00s were such a golden age of tolerance, but somehow antisemitism just re-appeared out of nowhere?
The counterpoint to this would be to say, ‘What about the historical hate crime rates in New York City? Jews are being assaulted in record numbers!’ To which I ask: Are Jews being assaulted in record numbers because antisemitism is rising, or is it because the atmosphere of lawlessness and cashless bail is empowering antisemites to act on their impulses, whereas in the days of law and order ushered by the Giuliani administration, they knew there would be swift consequences? In the 60s and then in the 80s, when lawlessness in New York was at its worst, the Maccabees and the JDL were formed because of the many violent assaults against Jews being committed. No such group exists today (yet, at least).
It’s true that thanks to social media, antisemites can spread their message of hate further and to a newer audience, but aren’t you required to at least be predisposed to hate a particular group to fall for it? Isn’t that precisely what the town square, the church pews, and taverns of yesteryear were for? People in Petersburg did not need memes from a guy in Santa Cruz to hate Jews 500 years ago; they had plenty of homegrown ways to develop their hatred.
Looking back at history, and witnessing our enemies' low quality, there is much to rejoice. From mediocrity rarely comes anything but more of the same. If the long alliance between the American Nazi Party and Nation of Islam fizzled out into nothingness, we have no reason to assume anything will come out of its poor contemporary repeat. We still have to deal with the reality of antisemitic attacks and comments, but knowing that things aren't much worse or different than they have been in the past few decades can at least give us hope that things are not about to get much worse, either.
So Where Do We Stand?
We have to comfort ourselves with the words of our Sages, realize that there is G-d in this world, and that ultimately we see throughout our history what happened to our enemies. Case in point:
Malcolm X was shot to death in 1965.
Daniel Burros shot himself to death in 1965.
George Lincoln Rockwell was shot to death in 1967.
Hillel's maxim about this in the 60s rings as true as ever. Sure, it was the 60s BCE, but eternally true nonetheless.
Pirke Avot 2:6
אַף הוּא רָאָה גֻּלְגֹּֽלֶת אַחַת שֶׁצָּֽפָה עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּֽיִם, אָמַר לָהּ: עַל דְּאַטֵּפְתְּ אַטְּפוּךְ, וְסוֹף מְטַיְפָֽיִךְ יְטוּפוּן.
[Hillel] also saw a skull floating upon the water. Said he to it: Because you drowned others, you were drowned; and those who drowned you, will themselves be drowned.
The Rambam, commenting on this, wrote
There are consequences to our actions — consequences that reflect those actions. If you commit murder and drown others in a river to hide your crime, you will receive your punishment in the form of your crime. If you invent an unjust thing to benefit yourself at the expense of others, that unjust thing will ultimately be used against you. On the positive side, if you introduce something that benefits others, that thing will ultimately come to benefit you as well. It is called: midah k'neged midah — measure for measure.
Based on a long Rabbinical tradition, the Arizal explained that the skull Hillel saw floating was Pharoh's. The second part of his statement was addressed to the Jewish people, that we would ultimately see all of the Jewish people's enemies and persecutors drowned.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, commenting on this statement of the Arizal, declared that these words were meant to comfort the tired souls of the exiled Jew, to the soul of one who feels that he or she is up against an insurmountable challenge, an impenetrable cloud of darkness. Much like the times we live in right now.
Hillel, the great leader of Israel, turns to this person and says: "If Pharaoh, the embodiment of evil, the man who cast fear even into the heart of Moses, so much so that G‑d had to reassure him and say, 'Come to Pharaoh — I will accompany you,' ended up drowned in a river, certainly all the Pharaohs of history, all the great serpents that tried and will try to drown you through physical and spiritual persecution —they will be drowned as well. For evil has no leg to stand on. Like smoke, it obscures our vision for a time but must ultimately disappear." - The Rebbe
Pharoah died, yet we survived.
Haman died, yet we survived.
Hitler died, yet we survived.
Stalin died, yet we survived.
Nasser, Assad, Saddam, Arafat, and most of the world leaders who have tried to kill us since 1948 have died, yet we thrive.
All of our greatest persecutors died, and we are still here. And there is still time for the Kanyes, Fuentes, and Milos of this world to make their choice: are you going to give up the baseless hatred rotting your heart, or are you gonna let it consume you until it drowns you?
Just know that, whatever you choose, we will survive and we will thrive.
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