Denouncing the Dangerous (and Pseudo-Christian) Antisemitism of Nick Fuentes

Every person of conscience should call out this vile, very dangerous antisemitism. Do not underestimate what demented people might do in the name of their twisted cause. And do not underestimate how deeply entrenched this very sick mindset is in the hearts of countless Americans.

Denouncing the Dangerous (and Pseudo-Christian) Antisemitism of Nick Fuentes | Articles | AskDrBrown

It’s the same old story repeated yet again, although this time the call for violence is open and overt. 

The evil, Christ-rejecting Jews control America, and they must be ousted from power. After all, this is a Christian nation, and we don’t want those Christ haters ruling over us. To the contrary, we will crush them in a holy war, and it is they who will die, not us.

So says Nick Fuentes (born 1988), founder of the America First movement, which describes itself as “the synthesis of traditional values, Trumpian populism, and American Nationalism.” 

It also cloaks itself in Christian rhetoric, making it all the more insidious.

Few Americans were familiar with Fuentes before November 2022, when he dined with former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago as a guest of Kanye West, stirring a national controversy. 

How could Trump welcome and dine with a White Supremacist Neo-Nazi?

Trump, for his part, claimed to have no idea who Fuentes was, stating that the dinner was quick and uneventful. In contrast, West claimed that Trump was deeply impressed with the young man. Either way, the visit brought Fuentes into the national spotlight.

Last month, video footage surfaced of Fuentes speaking to his constituents with completely unhinged rhetoric, coupled with a bizarre light show in the background. The whole thing is so extreme that you would not be faulted for thinking it was satire. 

As the July 18, 2023 headline in the Jerusalem Post announced, “White supremacist Nick Fuentes: ‘We will make Jews die in the holy war’.” 

Fuentes said, “Do you think it might be a problem that the people that are running your banks, that are making the movies your children watch... Do you think it’s a problem that they believe that all Christians must die? It’s a big problem. It’s a huge problem.”

Yes, he said (to rousing applause), “We need to eradicate [the] Jewish stranglehold over the United States of America.”

And, while he said that “we love everybody,” he stated that “ideas matter, religion matters, and we need Christians running America, not Jews.”

He continued (to even more rousing applause and shouts of affirmation), “Word is getting out that we got to rid of Jewish power in America,” and despite “them” doing everything in their power to stop it – censoring and canceling and killing – “we are here to say that America is not a Jewish nation. America is a Christian nation.” 

You’ve got to see the video for yourself, but, to paint the picture here in words, at this point in the speech, on the screen behind him, giant angel wings flap on his right and left, as if he was some kind of angelic messenger. 

It really does seem like a sick attempt at satire. But I repeat, it is not.

In fact, in response to his proclamation that America is a Christian nation not a Jewish nation, the crowd begins to chant, “Christ is King! Christ is King!”

Fuentes then says that, yes, of course, this must be the case, since Christ is King of the world and therefore must be King of America too.

And so, Fuentes knows that “we will win, because unlike our opposition, we are willing to die for what we believe in. . . . We’re in a holy war and I will tell you this. Because we’re willing to die in the holy war, we will make them die in the holy war. And they will go down.”

Yet because God is on our side, we will win.

Indeed, he proclaimed, “We have God on our side. They will go down with their Satanic master. They have no future in America. The enemies of Christ have no future in this world.”

This is the very worst form of Christian nationalism that exists. It is not in the least bit American. And it is no more Christian than is Satan himself. To call this despicable is to be too soft.

I posted a short video on YouTube, playing these clips from Fuentes and then denouncing him and his rhetoric in the strongest possible terms, rebuking him plainly and openly. Yet within the first 5,000 views on YouTube, we had to remove scores of comments cheering him on. (Note also that, while most of my videos receive between 96 and 99 percent likes to dislikes, this one, at present, is at 81.9 percent.)

The comments ranged from people having no problem with what he said to alleged quotes from rabbinic writings, proving how evil the Jews really are, and from people claiming, “Nick Fuentes is the most pro-Christ leader in America” to others who claimed support for his vile antisemitism in the teaching of the Church Fathers and official statements from the Catholic Church. (One even cited the Catholic antisemite Dr. E. Michael Jones in support. For a Catholic rebuke to Jones, see here.)

Other, comments, all of which, we must remember, were posted in response to Fuentes calling for the death of Jewish people in a “Christian” holy war, included: 

“America is a Christian nation! I agree with Nick.” 

“Nick’s show brought me back to Christ and to His Church. Without Nick, I would’ve been lost in the fog of agnosticism. God bless Nick and America first!” 

“I love everyone, but some beliefs are not to be tolerated [with specific reference to Jewish beliefs]. Tolerance is not a Christian virtue.” 

“Wait, is being in a stranglehold to people who deny Jesus Christ's divinity a good thing for America?”

“Stop playing the victim Michael. He's talking about the fake Jews of Revelation [meaning, the book of Revelation 2:9; 3:9]. Snap out of the witchcraft. Peace.”

“Dr. Brown is a vicious anti-white Jewish supremacist! Jew deserve all they get for the war on whites they started!”

“We support Nick Fuentes against the synagogue of Satan.”

“This country should be governed by confessors of Christ, not by blasphemers!”

For years I (and others) have been warning about this fresh, rising tide of “Christian” antisemitism, often intertwined with an overt White supremacism. 

Not surprisingly, it is paralleled by the overt Jewish hatred of Black supremacist groups like the Black Hebrew Israelites. Both have in common their open hatred for American Jews, whom they call “the synagogue of Satan” and whose violent doom they predict – at their own hands, of course.

Every person of conscience should call out this vile, very dangerous antisemitism. Do not underestimate what demented people might do in the name of their twisted cause. 

And do not underestimate how deeply entrenched this very sick mindset is in the hearts of countless thousands, if not millions, of Americans.

We must not let this plague spread on our watch. 

Antisemitism is Alive and (Un)well All Over the Internet Today

A scholar once pointed out that antisemitism was “the longest and deepest hatred of human history.” He asked, “What other hatred has endured some twenty-three centuries and survived a genocide of 6,000,000 of its victims in its twenty-third century of existence only to find itself still intact and rich in potential for many years of life?” Today, there’s a surge in antisemitism from extremist cults like the Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) and largely White, “Christian” circles influenced by antisemites such as Dr. E. Michael Jones...

Antisemitism is Alive and (Un)well All Over the Internet Today | Articles | AskDrBrown

It was the Catholic scholar Edward Flannery who pointed out that antisemitism was “the longest and deepest hatred of human history.” He asked, 

“What other hatred has endured some twenty-three centuries and survived a genocide of 6,000,000 of its victims in its twenty-third century of existence only to find itself still intact and rich in potential for many years of life?”

Flannery wrote these words in his 1985 book The Anguish of the Jews. Today, almost 40 years later, that long and deep hatred shows no signs of abating. 

This is especially true online, where the worst aspects of humanity get free expression, where conspiracy theories of the ugliest kind abound, and where the most uncredentialed, unqualified person can gain a following. 

I was reminded of this when looking at comments to one of our videos on YouTube. It’s just three minutes long and was posted about three years ago, titled, “Why Have Jews Been Kicked Out of So Many Countries?” As is the norm, this video refuting common antisemitic libels drew out the antisemites just as a light draws out bugs.

Still, it was jarring to read one vicious, ridiculous, patently false comment after another. 

(As much as I would love to read every comment posted to our YouTube channel, it’s obviously not feasible, especially with more than 3,000 videos on the channel. That’s why it was enlightening to read all the comments to this one video.)

The clear majority of the comments that were posted violated our guidelines, which include rules against personal attacks, libeling others, posting on totally unrelated topics, and using profanity. Accordingly, once I read those comments, they were deleted.

But, just as my team and I have taken screenshots of such comments before deleting them, we have mountains of similar comments already in our archives.

Why, then, were the Jewish people (in particular, non-baptized Jews) expelled from  different countries throughout history, including England in 1290 and Spain in 1492? (The internet meme, claiming that Jews have been expelled from 109 countries, is greatly exaggerated.)

The answer is quite simple, as I explained in the video: for the most part, it was simply because they were Jews. They refused to convert to the dominant religion (specifically, Christianity; under Islam they were primarily subjugated), and they were different and distinct because of their religious practices and customs. 

This, in turn, led to them being demonized, becoming scapegoats for the latest calamity or tragedy. Blame it on the Jews!

Last century, Jews had to flee Muslim countries with the establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948. They were no longer welcome and risked their livelihoods and their very lives if they stayed.

But this is not what the antisemites believe. 

Instead, the reason for these expulsions is because the Jewish people are the most evil of people. Because they are parasites (or, more recently, as expressed by Louis Farrakhan, termites), guilty of the most atrocious sins imaginable, driven out because of the high morals of the Christian countries which had so graciously hosted them. Those terrible, evil Jews!

The comments I read, one after another, repeated the standard libels. 

The Jews were expelled because they were pedophiles, as sanctioned by their religious literature. 

The Jews were expelled because they were greedy and corrupt. 

The Jews were expelled because they controlled the banks and were getting rich off high interest rates, hurting their innocent, hardworking neighbors. 

The Jews were expelled because they cursed Christians in prayer three times per day.

And then, of course, this juicy, self-contradicting lie: the Jews were expelled because they were not really Jews and were exposed as being impostors.

So, they were hated as Jews because they were not really Jews. How logical! Had they been genuine Jews, they would have been loved. But of course! (So, in one country, the Jews were hated because they were Jews; in another country, they were hated because they weren’t really Jews. All clear!)

As for Israel today, according to the antisemites, it is not just an apartheid country but a country that is built on and that continues to practice genocide. The Israelis are the contemporary equivalent of the Nazis. (Someone just posted this to another, related video as I was finishing this article.)

In the video, I freely acknowledge that, as a people (and I am Jewish myself), we have fallen under divine judgment at different times in our history, having rejected Moses, the prophets, and Jesus the Messiah.

In that regard, we are like everyone else: a mixed bunch with lots of good qualities and lots of bad qualities, ultimately falling short of God’s mark and needing redemption.

But, as I also point out in the video, the Lord sternly rebuked those nations that treated the Jewish people harshly, saying that they overdid the punishment.

That means that much of our suffering has been due to the hatred of our enemies and not simply due to our sins. And that hatred is manifest in vicious words that pave the way for vicious actions.

That’s why we must confront the lies of antisemitism aggressively, clearly, and tirelessly, no matter how often they raise their head.

Today, there’s a surge in antisemitism from extremist cults like the Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) and largely White, “Christian” circles influenced by antisemites such as Dr. E. Michael Jones (for my interview with Dr. Jones, see here). In other words, as per the norm, the lies continue to come from all sides and from every angle.

To give a sampling of the hateful rhetoric, note the joyful, affirming expression on the face of the Black Hebrew Israelite leader I was debating when I quoted his own words to him (at the Second Coming, Jesus “wants to step on you people’s heads until your brains come out”; the video is queued to start at 1:52:54; he reacted in a similar way moments later when I read a comment from another BHI member who claimed that the Holocaust never happened and that Hitler was a “white Idumean [= Edomite] heathen devil” like me).

As for Dr. Jones, Memri TV recently posted video highlights of an interview he did for Iranian TV: 

"American writer E. Michael Jones said in an interview that was aired on Channel 4 (Iran) on January 21-22, 2023 that the narrative that the Jews were gassed in the Holocaust is a "conflation" of facts. He explained that in reality, the typhus-infested Jews who emigrated from "unhygienic" shtetls in Eastern Europe to America through Germany "had no idea what a shower was" and were made to take a shower and had their clothes deloused with Zyklon-B. He elaborated that as a consequence, Zyklon-B has been conflated with showers by the Jews. He said that Auschwitz had amenities such as a swimming pool, and that Hollywood is the "regime that rules America" and sustains the Holocaust "narrative". He also said that saying the word "Jew" is taboo in America, but that this taboo is now being broken, and that the overturning of Roe vs. Wade is the beginning of the end of Jewish "hegemony" over American culture. He also said that the "fundamental problem" with American politics is that the Jews control both political parties."

Thankfully, in the end, truth will overcome lies and light will overcome darkness. 

But we do well in the here and now not to underestimate the power of those dark lies. They have led to shedding of an ocean of Jewish blood over the centuries.

‘Lashawan Qwadash’: One of the Craziest Beliefs of the Black Hebrew Israelite Cult

Languages scholar Dr. Michael Brown explains how the Black Hebrew Israelites version of the Hebrew language is as concocted as Klingon. Among a host of crazy Black Hebrew Israelite beliefs, one of the most bizarre is the idea that they have preserved the real pronunciation of the Hebrew language, which they call Lashawan Qwadash. This is similar to claiming that Pig Latin is the true form of English or that William Shakespeare was famous for shaking a spear. It is that patently and blatantly absurd...

‘Lashawan Qwadash’: One of the Craziest Beliefs of the Black Hebrew Israelite Cult | Articles | AskDrBrown

Among a host of crazy Black Hebrew Israelite beliefs, one of the most bizarre is the idea that they have preserved the real pronunciation of the Hebrew language, which they call Lashawan Qwadash. 

This is similar to claiming that Pig Latin is the true form of English or that William Shakespeare was famous for shaking a spear. It is that patently and blatantly absurd.

In their completely made-up version of Hebrew (allegedly given by revelation to one of their early leaders), the Hebrew name for Jesus becomes Yahawashi (seriously), and “shalom” becomes “shalawam” (I kid you not).

The truth be told, Yahawashi is no more a Hebrew name than Toyota is a German car brand, and shalawam is no more a Hebrew word than is shazam. 

The reason this matters (and is even worthy of being mentioned) is that these BHI’s claim to be the original Israelites, the true Jews. Yet they absolutely butcher the Hebrew language and display a fundamental ignorance of Hebrew orthography and morphology. This alone undermines their claims to authenticity. (As I have said many times before, no one is disputing that there are Black Jews, along with and Hispanic Jews and White Jews and Asian Jews, etc. The issue is the unique, fictional claims of the BHI’s, claims fueled by intense racial hatred.)

In stark contrast, the real Jewish people have preserved the Hebrew Scriptures and Hebrew language through the centuries, with the primary divergences being matters of dialect and custom.

This is of special interest to me, since my Bachelor’s degree was earned in Hebrew language and both my Master’s and Ph.D. were in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures. 

All the more, then, does the ridiculous, impossible nature of Lashawan Qwadash (henceforth LQ) shout to me from the rooftops.

To summarize, if the pronunciation of LQ is true (which is it not), then every speaker of every Semitic language today, including the entire Arabic speaking world, along with every speaker of Tigre and Amharic in Africa, every speaker of Aramaic, every Israeli (including Arab Israelis), every Assyrian Christian, is mispronouncing their language as well, since similar grammatical and morphological and phonetic principles apply across these languages.

If the pronunciation of LQ is accurate (which it is not), then every ancient Semitic inscription, in particular every Babylonian and Assyrian inscription, which contain explicit vocalization, is in error. 

In short, LQ violates every grammatical and morphological and phonetic principle of every Semitic language recorded in any recognized grammatical text and lexicon because it is a complete myth created by a Hebrew Israelite who did not really know Hebrew. 

LQ makes biblical texts completely unintelligible (such as the explanation for the name Reuben in Gen 29:32, based on “see a son”) and is proven wrong by the Septuagint’s (and other ancient versions’) transcription of certain Hebrew names and by the New Testament’s transcription of Hebrew names in Greek (such as the names of the 12 Tribes in Revelation 7). 

In other words, we have ancient Greek transcriptions of Hebrew names and words in the Septuagint and the New Testament, confirming our understanding of the language and further exposing the linguistic bankruptcy of LQ.

In short, either the pronunciation of LQ is right (which is it not), in which case the whole world is wrong, all ancient history is wrong, all Semitic speakers in world history and to this day are wrong, every Semitic name on every map and every name of every Hebrew city and town (such as Bethlehem or Jerusalem) is wrong, all ancient versions of the Bible are wrong, the New Testament itself is wrong, all Semitic scholars throughout history and until today are wrong, or LQ is wrong (which it is). 

To repeat: this throws all claims of BHI authenticity out the window.

To give one specific example, LQ fails to understand that the Hebrew letter waw (also known as vav) commonly functions as a vowel letter (in Latin, a mater lectionis). This is similar to the English letter w, which can function as a normal consonant (as in the word “water”) or as a vowel letter (as in the word “town,” where it modifies the pronunciation of the o).

So, in the Hebrew word for “language, tongue,” which is lashon (spelled l-sh-w-n in Hebrew and pronounced with a long o, as in the word “phone”), LQ misunderstands the w, thinking it is a normal consonant, hence the made-up word lashawan. (This is identical to the LQ error of converting shalom into shalawam.)

Instead, we know for a fact (by comparison with other Semitic languages such as Arabic and Aramaic, and based on the morphological principle of what is known as the Canaanite shift) that the w is a vowel letter here, pronounced as o, and that the word is pronounced lashon. (The same principle applies to the word shalom.) So much for BHI authenticity!

Sadly, this made-up version of Hebrew only reinforces the internal solidarity of the cult members, since they speak the same language and regard those who speak real Hebrew as the impostors. 

Hopefully, though those in this destructive cult who are serious about pursuing truth will be led to repentance and freedom. May the Lord hasten their redemption!

Was Esau-Edom White? Demolishing Hebrew Israelite Lies (Part 1)

One of the most common (and pernicious) Hebrew Israelite lies is that Isaac and Rebekah’s son Esau (also known as Edom) was White and that Whites today are his descendants, vilified as “White Edomite Devils.” Not only is there absolutely no historical or genetic connection between Esau and contemporary White Americans and Europeans, but it is absolutely absurd to argue that Edom himself was White.

Was Esau-Edom White? Demolishing Hebrew Israelite Lies (Part 1) | Articles | AskDrBrown

One of the most common (and pernicious) 'Hebrew Israelite' lies is that Isaac and Rebekah’s son Esau (also known as Edom) was White and that Whites today are his descendants, vilified as “White Edomite Devils.”

Not only is there absolutely no historical or genetic connection between Esau and contemporary White Americans and Europeans, but it is absolutely absurd to argue that Edom himself was White. 

Where do Hebrew Israelites come up with such nonsense?

Bear in mind that according to Hebrew Israelites, the ancient Jewish people, from Abraham and Moses to Jesus and Paul, were all Black. 

To be sure, they were not White. But were they Black?

Most likely, they were brown-skinned people, perhaps similar to the Semites pictured on the famous Beni Hasan Tomb paintings in Egypt which date back almost 4,000  years. There, the Semitic men entering Egypt are brown-skinned, but somewhat lighter than the Egyptians. A Jewish legal text from roughly 200 years after the time of Jesus would seem to confirm this (Mishnah Negaim 2:1).

One thing, though, is sure: Esau’s parents, Isaac and Rebekah, were not White. (Again, according to Hebrew Israelite beliefs, they were Black.)

It’s also clear that Jacob, Esau’s younger twin brother, was not White either. (Once again, in Hebrew Israelite lore, he was Black as well.)

By what magical or mystical circumstances, then, did Esau somehow become White when his mother, father, and twin brother were all Black? How on earth did that happen?

Not only is that an impossible scenario, but according to Genesis 36:2, Esau’s two wives were Canaanite women, and therefore not White either.

How, then, were Esau’s descendants White if his mother, father, twin brother, and two wives, were all people of color? 

The only possible way that anyone could believe is by suspending all logic because of a racist (or related) radical ideology.

But all this begs a more fundamental question: Where on earth did these Hebrew Israelites get the idea that Esau was White?

They point to Genesis 25:25 which reads, “The first to come out was red [Hebrew ’admoni], and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau” (NIV).

In that case, King David must have been White as well, since he is also referred to as being ’admoni, red (see 1 Samuel 16:12; 17:42). But according to the Hebrew Israelites, David was Black. 

So, based on this logic, Esau is White because he is described as ’admoni, red, but David is Black, even though he is called ’admoni, red. Who can possibly believe this and keep a straight face?

Not only so, but the male lover (Solomon, according to many) in Song of Solomon 5:10 is described as being tsakh (radiant, or, in the KJV, White!) and ’adom (ruddy). This would make him the same color as Esau, even though Hebrew Israelites believe that Solomon was also Black. You can see where this is going.

How do Hebrew Israelites respond to this?

When I asked one of their leaders this very question during a recent debate, he responded, 

“When we take a look at the color spectrum we know that red has various different shades, over 50 shades of the color red. So we would have to look at the context of each one of those scriptures to determine which shade of the red that was being referred to.”

The context? Go ahead and look up all the verses just cited. 

There is nothing whatsoever in any of the contexts that would tell you that ’admoni means one thing in one verse and another thing entirely in another verse. 

Remarkably, this Hebrew Israelite leader tried to argue that: 

In antiquity, this was understood to be “blood red” based on a particular dye that was used; therefore 

Esau was Caucasian. (If you can’t believe this argument was actually made, listen for yourself; the video is queued up for you here.)

Red garments “in antiquity” – to quote this leader directly – were not made from one particular dye and therefore all blood red; 

Describing someone as “blood red” does not make them Caucasian (and, to repeat, nothing in the text speaks of “blood red” anyway); 

The verse does not say that Esau was red like a hairy garment but rather that he was red and hairy like a garment all over.

You can survey scores of English translations here, all of them saying the same thing, from the KJV to modern English versions: “And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau” (KJV); “The first son came out reddish—his entire body was covered with hair—so they named him Esau” (ISV).

The only real debate among scholars was whether Esau’s skin was red or his hair was red. That he is described as a hairy man is not in dispute; see also Genesis 27:11, where Jacob tells his mother Rebekah that his brother Esau is “a hairy man.”

So, genetics tells us that Esau was not White (since his parents and twin brother were people of color, along with all the other peoples of that region at that time), and obviously, his children were not White, since his two wives were people of color.

More importantly, the biblical text explicitly states that he was of the same complexion as King David (and, probably, Solomon). If, based on Hebrew Israelite logic, Esau was White, then so were David and, probably, Solomon.

Finally, the Hebrew states that Esau was red and like a hairy garment all over, not red like a (specially dyed) hairy garment that somehow gave him the appearance of being Caucasian. Perhaps Esau was actually Santa Claus pre-incarnate, wearing a red suit?

In reality, though, this is no laughing matter. 

These Hebrew Israelites (especially the most radical sects among them) equate Esau-Edom with the oppressor of the true Israelites, therefore the White man oppressing Blacks and Hispanics. 

And in their view, these “White Edomite devils” will be destroyed or enslaved when Jesus returns.

May God deliver these Hebrew Israelites from deception and bring them into the life-transforming, soul-cleansing love of God.

What motivates such attitudes and actions? Why is that, “Among all racial and religious groups, Jews remain the greatest hate crime target”? And why is it that Jews are targeted by both White Supremacists and Black Supremacists?

Why So Much Anti-Jewish Hatred? | Articles | AskDrBrown

In the words of New York City Jewish leader Eric Dinowitz, “hate is on the rise — and the high-profile cases on the news are often the endpoint of hate.” 

What motivates such attitudes and actions? Why is that, “Among all racial and religious groups, Jews remain the greatest hate crime target”? 

And why is it that Jews are targeted by both White Supremacists and Black Supremacists? (I began documenting this more than 30 years ago. It is even worse today.)

One group that received attention in the report was the Black Hebrew Israelites (or, just Hebrew Israelites as they call themselves today), whose views have been popularized by high-profile figures like Kanye West and Kyrie Irving.

Not only do they claim to be the true Israelites, even supplying a chart that purports to connect the 12 Tribes of Israel to various people groups in North and South America (seriously!), but they also deny that the Jewish people (which would include me) are true Jews.

In their eyes, we are the “synagogue of Satan” (based on a misinterpretation of Revelation 2:9 and 3:9) and “white Edomite devils..." 

NO, the Holocaust is Not Just One of Many Tragic Events of Human History

No, the Holocaust is not just one of many tragic events which have taken place in human history, nor does remembering the Holocaust take away from the memory of other tragedies, some of which were also unspeakably evil. Instead, it is essential that we keep the memory of the Holocaust alive because the unique hatred that inspired it is alive and well and thriving today.

NO, the Holocaust is Not Just One of Many Tragic Events of Human History | Articles | AskDrBrown

According to a tone-deaf editorial published on Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Kentucky Courier Journal, “Jews do not have a monopoly on persecution and atrocities” and “Hitler was just one of many dictators.” 

“International Holocaust Day is not just a mantra about one Jewish holocaust, but about every genocide, every mass tyranny that is carried out upon any group based on skin color, religion, gender identity and ethnic background. We must not forget, nor suppress, the truths of all those crimes that happened and are still happening.”

No wonder that Noam Blum commented on Twitter, “Brain addled progressives cannot ever condemn antisemitism without burying it in a mountain of general identity grievance.”

On a practical level, this would be like saying after the murder of George Floyd, “This is not the time to focus on the issue of police brutality, since brutality occurs in all kinds of settings around the world every day.”

Or, when teaching children about the harsh realities of the American slave trade, we say, “African Americans do not have a monopoly on being enslaved. Many people from many other backgrounds have been enslaved as well.”

It is right and fitting to commemorate the singular sufferings of particular people or nations, just as it is right and fitting to commemorate the singular accomplishments of particular people or nations.

This is beyond obvious – unless, rather than celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we simply remember all those who stood up for justice. Or, rather than celebrate the American Revolution on July 4th, we celebrate all freedom movements in history. Or, rather than remember the Armenian Genocide, we simply remember lots of people who faced ethnic cleansing through history.

But when it comes to the Jews and the Holocaust, how dare we draw specific attention to this horrific event. After all, other innocent people died in World War II, let alone in other wars. And other people have been hated and despised as ethnic and religious minorities. As for Hitler, he’s just another run of the mill, dime a dozen bad guy. Nothing special there. Why all the fuss?

“For one group, for one person, to claim that the hate and violence towards them is more important than another’s, only encourages more acts of violence against others, including Black people, Asians, Hispanics, Muslims, LGBTQ+, trans-gender and Native Americans. This list is not all-inclusive.”

Seriously? If we emphasize the horrors of Jewish suffering under the Holocaust without mentioning all these other groups, this will encourage more violence against them? This is beyond nonsensical. 

The reality is that there are three crucial reasons that the Holocaust must be remembered.

First, it is a unique evil among historic world evils, and Hitler was a uniquely evil leader.

How many other historic events involved the intentional mass execution of 6 million people in cold blood, representing two-thirds of Europe’s 9 million Jews? And how many other historic events involved the murderous, meticulous, and systematic collaboration of several nations?

How many people groups saw the extermination of 90 percent of their population, as happened in Poland, where Jews had lived for more than 1,000 years and where 3 million out of Poland’s 3.3 million Jews were slaughtered? And shall I mention that among the 6 million were 1.5 million children and babies?

Second, as monstrous as the Holocaust was, there have been systematic attempts to deny (or, at the least, minimize) its existence, right until this very moment. In certain countries (in particular Islamic or Communist), generations of children have grown up without any real knowledge of the Holocaust, other than it is a Zionist myth or the like.

As for other countries, Holocaust ignorance abounds. A 2019 survey in the UK found that, “Five per cent of UK adults do not believe the Holocaust took place and one in 12 believes its scale has been exaggerated, a survey has found.”

A 2020 article from the Pew Research Center stated that, 

“Most U.S. adults know what the Holocaust was and approximately when it happened, but fewer than half can correctly answer multiple-choice questions about the number of Jews who were murdered or the way Adolf Hitler came to power, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.”

Even back in 2014, an article in The Atlantic reported that, “A new survey suggests that many Asians, Africans, Middle Easterners, young people, Muslims, and Hindus believe that facts about the genocide have been distorted.”

And this ignorance exists despite the mountains of photographs, videos, artifacts, and eyewitness accounts, even from eyewitnesses still alive today.

If we do not actively keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, with each passing year, its unspeakable atrocities will be sanitized or erased.

Third, antisemitism is on the rise today, including acts of both verbal and physical violence. 

As noted on Yahoo News October 28, 2022, 

“an audit by the Anti-Defamation League published this past April found that incidences of antisemitism ‘reached an all-time high in the United States in 2021, with a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism reported.’ According to the ADL, this was the highest number of incidents reported in over 40 years, averaging out to nearly seven per day. It also marked a 34 percent increase from 2020.”

In countries like France, it was noted already in 2016 that, “Jews are leaving France in record numbers amid rising anti-Semitism and fears of more Isis-inspired terror attacks.”

And in the ultimate rebuke to the Courier Journal editorial, a Muslim terrorist killed 7 Jews in Jerusalem as they left their synagogue on the very evening of Holocaust Remembrance Day. And, according to the Jerusalem Post, “the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist groups praised Friday’s attack.”

No, the Holocaust is not just one of many tragic events which have taken place in human history, nor does remembering the Holocaust take away from the memory of other tragedies, some of which were also unspeakably evil.

Instead, it is essential that we keep the memory of the Holocaust alive because the unique hatred that inspired it is alive and well and thriving today.

Kanye (“Ye”), Kyrie, and the Black Hebrew Israelite Elephant in the Room

If you live in a major city of America, then you have probably been well aware of the Black Hebrew Israelites for a few decades. But for many other Americans, their numbers, their influence, and their beliefs are coming as quite a revelation – and a shocking one at that.

In the early 1990s, while walking the streets of Manhattan before an outreach service one Saturday afternoon, I heard a loud voice booming through a PA system.

When I got closer to the sound, I was surprised to see a small crowd of listeners, all of them Black, listening carefully to the speaker who was standing on a platform, with bodyguards standing on the street in front of him.

Their outfits were striking – I remember thinking they looked like a cross between Star Wars and some type of angelic garb – but their words were even more striking. They were quoting the Bible and some other books, even using occasional Hebrew words. At once I realized who they were.

They taught that they were the original (and true) Israelites and that white Jews (like me) were not real Jews. Rather, we were the manifestation of Satan.

I politely challenged the speaker, asking him why Hitler wanted to kill us if we weren’t real Jews, to which he gave a very weak reply, instead trying to provoke the crowd against me.

I then shouted to everyone, “These men are preaching a religion of hate! Jesus preached a religion of love! One day, we will both be at the bottom of the barrel and we will need each other.”

The response from the crowd was quick: “Death to the White man! Death to America!” (For my more recent encounter with these men, this time in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I called out their racism and bigotry and told them they needed Jesus, see here.)

Over the years, however, these Black Hebrew Israelites (who have many different groups and divisions among them), have continued to grow and expand their influence, to the point that they appear to have well over one million adherents nationwide. More tellingly, millions more Black Americans are sympathetic to their viewpoints.

As noted in a November 25, 2022 article published by the JTA, “The 2020 U.S. Census put the Black population at 41.1 million, so extrapolating from the Lifeway [polling] data, there are approximately 1.6 million Hebrew Israelites in the U.S. — not counting the small numbers of Latinos and Native Americans who also belong to Israelite groups — and 7.8 million people who may not identify as Israelites but who agree with the spiritual movement’s main teachings.”

Now, with Kanye (“Ye”) West and Kyrie Irving disseminating their teaching, and with videos of hundreds of their adherents marching through Brooklyn chanting that, “We are the real Jews” and it’s “time to wake up,” this sect can no longer be ignored. (They were marching to the Barclay Center in Brooklyn in support of Kyrie Irving, where his Brooklyn Nets basketball team plays.)

Christian apologists have become more aware of this cult in recent years, addressing the very real need to refute their biblical, theological, and historical errors. And a select few have been focused on reaching out to and countering the BHI movement for some time now.

But to the general American public, including the Jewish American public, much of this has taken place unawares.

To be clear, there are Black Jews, some of whom trace their ancestry to African slaves who were brought to our country, passing on their traditions over the centuries. And DNA testing has validated the claims of groups like the Lemba tribe in Zimbabwe, some of whom trace their ancestry back to the priestly line of Aaron in the Bible, going all the way back to the days of Moses.

But the claims of the BHI’s are different. They believe that all Blacks (and, in some cases, Hispanics) can trace their lineage back to the original twelve tribes of Israel. They also believe that most Jews worldwide, including Israeli Jews, are not really Jews at all. Instead, in a misuse of the words of Jesus in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, these Jews are frauds, literally the synagogue of Satan. (I addressed all this briefly in the 1992 edition of my book Our Hands Are Stained with Blood: The Tragic Story of the ‘Church’ and the Jewish People, pp. 66-68; in the 2019 edition, I expanded the material to pp. 104-111. More broadly, see my 2021 book Christian Antisemitism.)

As noted by history professor Tudor Parfitt, writing in February 2021, “This issue came to wider public attention in part as a result of the chance intersection in January 2019 of one very particular subgroup of Black Jews—the Black Hebrew Israelites; some participants in the Indigenous People’s March; and a group of pro-life Catholic high school boys from Kentucky, in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Black Hebrew Israelites merrily saluted the Native Americans as descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, cursed the schoolboys as white ‘Edomites,’ and found themselves on the TV sets of anyone in the United States who happened to tune in to the day’s news.”

Today, it is Ye saying he can’t be antisemitic because he himself is a Jew, while Kyrie (who has since apologized) recommended a movie espousing these very ideologies.

And when Ye went after Ben Shapiro (another evil Jew!) and Daily Wire on Twitter, drawing a sharp response from Ben in return, there were tens of thousands who agreed with Ye before he removed the tweet. (As of this writing, Ben’s tweet had 22.3 thousand likes; Ye’s had over 50 thousand, if I’m correct, before he deleted it.)

In light of this ideological volcano that is about to erupt in our nation, now would be a perfect time to find out more about these BHI’s, praying for their conversion as well.

For a very helpful introduction to the Black Hebrew Israelites, including their history and beliefs, check out my interview with Vocab Malone. 

Has the Church not learned by now that antisemitism does not mix well with the teachings of Jesus? And that anti-Zionism often masks an underlying antisemitism?

Antisemitism

Denouncing the Dangerous (and Pseudo-Christian) Antisemitism of Nick Fuentes

Antisemitism is Alive and (Un)well All Over the Internet Today

‘Lashawan Qwadash’: One of the Craziest Beliefs of the Black Hebrew Israelite Cult

Was Esau-Edom White? Demolishing Hebrew Israelite Lies (Part 1)

Why So Much Anti-Jewish Hatred?

NO, the Holocaust is Not Just One of Many Tragic Events of Human History

Kanye (“Ye”), Kyrie, and the Black Hebrew Israelite Elephant in the Room

Once Again, Christian Antisemitism

The Buffalo Shooter Wanted to Murder Blacks and Jews, Especially Jews

Theological Antisemitism at Home in the Presbyterian Church

The Incredible Incoherence of Ben & Jerry’s Capitulation to the BDS Movement

‘Christian’ Antisemitism Raises its Head Again

What Jewish Privilege Really Looks Like

A Messianic Jewish Reflection on Antisemitism

Join Me in Standing Against Anti-Semitism

Is God a Zionist?

Rick Wiles, Please Stop Lying. I Called You an 'Antisemite' Not a 'Neo-Nazi'

The Rising Tide of ‘Christian’ Antisemitism in America

Ilhan Omar’s Glaring Anti-Jewish Blind Spot

An Orthodox Jew and a Messianic Jew Denounce ‘Christian’ Anti-Semitism

Is Amazon Getting Soft on Antisemitism?

Watch the Video that YouTube Banned

Did Paul Call ‘the Jews’ the ‘Enemies of the Whole Human Race’?

Are Jews Who Believe in Jesus Still Jews?

Jew Hatred is Alive and (Un)Well

The House Passes a Weakened Resolution Rather than Condemning Anti-Semitism

When Anti-Semitism is 'Not' Anti-Semitism

Blaming Jews for the Synagogue Slaughter

Is the United Nations Fulfilling Ancient Biblical Prophecy?

When It Comes to Islam, Logic Is Put in Reverse

Was Martin Luther an Anti-Semite?

The Fine Line Between Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism

The Irrationality of Jew-Hatred

From Philo-Semitism to Anti-Semitism: The Church of Scotland THEN and NOW

Can Jewish People Be Saved Without Believing in Jesus?

Why Have Jewish People Been So Hated?