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THE VIEW FROM HERE - With organizations like B’nai B’rith’s Anti-Defamation League (ADL), we Jews need no enemies. I say this with a sad heart. Since my teen years, I have been a strong supporter and participant in B’nai B’rith, especially in Hillel. Due to its actions undermining the American Jewish community and Israel, all Americans will do much better if the ADL simply quit operation and stopped spreading the vile Woke Group Rights, aka DEI, Identity Politics.
Along with some other large Jewish organizations such as the AJC and some JFEDS, the ADL has been promoting the racist anti-White and anti-Semitic Woker Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) propaganda in our schools from K-12, High School, and at colleges and universities as well as in business and government. It is vital that we Jews, and non-Jews, recognize that Wokeism DEI is inimically hostile to America’s founding values of individual inalienable rights as set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Wokeism is also staunchly opposed to our constitutional Republic, one of whose purposes is to secure the Blessings of Liberty. Martin Luther King formulated the best American meme: Judge a person by their character and not by their skin color (race, religion, gender, etc.) Wokeism rejects MLK.
Wokeism Pretends to be Good, While Bringing Hateful Polarization
Wokeism is so radically anti-American inalienable rights that Americans have trouble grasping such an ideology exists in the land of the free. Because it clothes itself in “social justice” garments, who can disagree with it? Too bad Snow White did not stop and think before accepting the apple from the wicked queen. That is what has happened to Americans. The term “woke” no longer means to be aware of one’s surroundings. Nor, does it mean to be alert to the false ideas which the majority group has about your minority group. All minorities know that others have false impressions of them. When I was kid, and every day since then, I knew that non-Gays and non-Jews believed a lot of nonsense about us. That did not make those people evil. I would hear, “You’re not like other Jews.” My mother said it showed that they had a negative stereotypes of Jews, but on the positive side, they made an exception to someone whom they actually met. Ignorance, which gives way to experience, is not ingrained bigotry.
Wokers, like the wicked queen, are not open-hearted do-gooders. They are not adherents of Tikkun Olam. As Wokeism has developed in present day America, Wokeism is a polarizing ideology that there are two groups in the world: (1) Whites and Jews who are the Oppressors and (2) everyone else are the victimized Oppressed. Wokers only solution is to overthrow White Racism, by which they mean individual inalienable rights. Under Wokeism, Whites and Jews are successful because institutional racism has favored us and our well being is based on stealing the hard work and wealth of Blacks. Thus, wealth must be redistributed from the Whites and Jews to the Oppressed, e.g., Blacks and since Oct 7 to Hamas.
The Declaration Repudiated Group Rights in Favor of Individual Inalienable Rights
When Jefferson wrote the Declaration, he totally and absolutely rejected the idea that any person is born with more or less inalienable rights. At that time, Europeans derived rights according to the circumstance of their birth. At the top of the heap was the King who had the Divine Right to rule others. The aristocracy inherited its rights. The Magna Carta in 1215 started to change the system.
The fact that the Declaration declared that each individual had the same inalienable rights did not mean that in facts everyone respected other people’s rights. The Declaration did not promise us a rose garden in the Here and Now. It states our core philosophy and a national goal, but left it to government to create institutions which provided each person the best opportunity to make the most of his inalienable rights. In fact, that is why Congressmen, Senators, Judges, and Presidents have duties and their duties are more important that their rights.
Mandated Constitutional Duties
Politico are great at crowing about their rights, but often they ignore their duties. The persons with the most compelling duties – which require them to risk life and limb and their standing in their communities – are elected and appointed government officials. They all take an oath to defend the US Constitution, which imposes a myriad duties. Foremost appears in the Constitutions Preamble, to secure the blessings of Liberty -- one of the three inalienable rights enumerated in the Declaration. Because power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely, the Constitution established a host of duties on all elected officials, especially Congressperson, Senator, the president and judges. Any official who supports Wokeism, DEI, identity politics transgresses his Constitution duties. Individual rights and Wokeism are immiscible. Let’s be clear that the ADL is 100% in support of Woke DEI. On its anti-Semitism webpage, it states. “An on-demand module that facilitates the addition of education about Jewish identity and antisemitism in an organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion program. (Bold added)” See ADL DEI
Although Wokeism is similar to Soviet Marxism, it most closely parallels German Nazism from the 1930's. Marxism is not race based but both Nazism and Wokeism are race based. Both polarized their nation between the evil Oppressors (Germany: Jews – US: Whites & Jews) and the Oppressed (Germany: Aryans, US: minorities) The Nazis said the solution was to exterminate the Jews and US Wokeism says the solution to replace Whites and Jews. See a more detailed history of Woke DEI (Please, do not believe Trump’s anti-DEI campaign to be rational. Trump’s listens to Stephen Miller who is the architect of the worst of Trumpism.)
Why Wokeism Hates Jews
As the world’s most famous minority group for millennia, we Jews destroy the Woke Ideology that Whites will never allow minorities to succeed. Since we Jews are successful despite the fact that 6 Million were exterminated less than 100 years ago, our success destroys the entire Woke Ideology. Obviously, White racism is not the cause of all the world’s ills.
See Wokers Hate Jews
BTW, Since Dathan and the Golden Calf incident, there have always been Jews who hate Jews and would lead other Jews to their destruction. “The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses." (Book of Numbers 16:31). Bernie Sanders is a Dathan wannabee.
The ADL and Woke DEI
The ADL has been a strong supporter of DEI in education. ADL supports Wokeism’s basic premise that individual rights should be replaced with Group Rights. The ADL mission from before Oct 7 and afterwards has been to move us Jews from the Oppressor category to the Oppressed group so that the ADL may become Jewish Poverty Pimps. He who scrams his grievances the loudest gets the most money. When the ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt got the Biden Administration to add us Jews under the White House DEI program, the government has to reduce Jewish participation on campus by 2/3rds. The Woke Doctrine of Proportional Representation requires that Jews have no greater representation in education, business, or government than our percent of the population. The ADL never explained this to the Jewish parents.
The ADL, AJC and many JFEDs have been vigorously lobbying for millions of government dollars to fortify Jewish buildings and design special public school courses about Jews (See Calif AB 715 ) The trade off is the definition of perfidy – ADL et alia must support DEI and in return they will get millions of dollars. For colleges, there are to be mandatory educational programs. Some colleges will not allow students to enroll unless he/she finishes a computer monitored course on Anti-Semitism. These videos are an abomination for every American who cherishes his/her individual inalienable rights. No one should be forced to participate in propaganda in order to register for college. Why no mandatory videos about Armenians? Why none about prejudice against Southerners in the North and vice versa? About Scientologists? The relationship is clear: support DEI and get money. See Mandatory DEI Courses
As a Gay Jewish person, I object to being classified as Oppressor or Oppressee. As a Gay Jewish American, I despise Group Rights Ideology. As I warned in over 100 CityWatch articles, Pelosi’s Identity Politics was a lethal threat to the Republic. We are witnessing just the beginning of the nightmare that Woke polarization has brought upon us and the world. Leftist Woke anti-Semitism is the harbinger of more international disasters to follow. (I’ve written about the evils of MAGA polarization. I am neither DEM nor GOP)
As an individual, I may identify however I wish in private as it is no one’s business that I am Gay, Jewish, and a dog and car lover who laments the demise of Truth Justice and the American way. See Self-Identity Most Basic Liberty In public life, my ascriptive status is irrelevant. I may not be denied a driver’s license because I am Gay or Jewish. The same goes for Roman Catholics and every other ascriptive identity a person may have. In public life, I merit no special treatment because I am Gay or Jewish, nor do I merit harm because I am Jewish and Gay. I certainly do not want Non-Jews to be forced to watch videos about the wonders of being Gay or Jewish.
In his 1790 letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, President George Washington made this point to the Jewish congregation which had written a letter thanking him for his tolerance of Jews in America. Washington gently chiding the Jews, saying “All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.” See Washington Letter
Just as we Jews at Sinai needed no Dathan leading us away from Jewish values, we need no ADL promoting Wokeism, DEI, or Identity Rights. We stand with America which guarantees our individual inalienable rights.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles-based attorney, author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [email protected])
[This article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily those of this publication. Readers should verify facts independently and consider other perspectives.]
