The Yated on Baltimore

While the most reprehensible Jewish response to the Baltimore riots remains Yaakov Menken's ongoing attempt to persuade us that Freddie Gray's injuries were self-inflicted, this drivel from the Yated takes a close second. 

Money quote:

But we are not like them. We respond to a higher calling. We are the children of Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov. We have been mistreated and persecuted for thousands of years, and yet we don’t lash out.

By way of response, let me start with some photos:

     

Next some headlines

2015 - Haredim Riot Across Israel, Dozens Injured ...

2014- 13 Haredim charged for anti-draft rioting | The Times of Israel

2013 - Haredim riot in Jerusalem as soldiers cross Mea Shearim

2013- Haredim riot in Beit Shemesh

2010 - Hundreds of haredim riot in Jaffa 

2006 - Chareidim Threaten Riot in Defense of Infanticide ...

Followed by some logic...

Point 1: In ye days of old, plenty of people suffered oppression. Americans oppressed Africans, Asians, and Native Americans. Catholic Europeans oppressed Protestants. Protestant Europeans oppressed Catholics. Both types of Christians oppressed Jews, Africans, Muslims, and Gypsies. Everyone oppressed women, serfs, peasants and other low status groups, subjecting them to atrocities far worse than anything the Baltimore police have inflicted on black people.

Before the 20th century how many times did these oppressed minorities "lash out?" If they controlled a country, they may have gone to war against another country, but did minority oppressed residents ever do anything in their own self-defense?   Did Southern Catholics riot against the Ku Klux Klan? Did English Catholics take to the streets against King James? Did Southern slaves revolt? Did gypsies ever stand up for themselves? What about women and peasants? Pre-20th century, you can count the times any of these groups pushed back on one hand.

So to congratulate pre 20th century Jews for not fighting back against European oppression is a little like congratulating pre 21st century Jews for avoiding Internet porn. It was a different era.

Point 2: While pre-20th century Jews were (regrettably) as docile as other groups, post-20th century Jews have done their share of "lashing out" - just like everyone else. Think of the Irgun and the Lechi. While both terrorist groups attacked civilians (often without warnings) they also fought against British oppression. Moreover, for the last 60 years, or so, the #1 source of Jewish misery - ie middle eastern Arabs, have certainly felt the pain of a Jewish response. True, the ordinary Jew in the street isn't personally delivering that response, but his sons and daughters are and/or he's writing the check.

Point 3: The Yated tells us that the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are special, because we don't fight back. Well what about the forefathers themselves?

1 - After his nephew is kidnapped, Abraham assembles a war party.
2 - After his daughter is raped, Jacob's other children massacre a city.

And the bible continues in this vein

3 - After the Amalekites commit an atrocious act of brutality against defenseless Israelites, an eternal war on that nation is declared. Battles in that war were fought by Joshua, Saul and David.

And finally, some current events

Just a few weeks ago, Jews "lashed out" at the kotel, and they weren't reacting to police brutality, or to persecution or to an infringement on their civil rights. No, the violence at the kotel was a response to this: