Tuesday, December 03, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 11-30-24



The Only Game in Town? Really!??

Witness for Peace has long claimed to be the only synagogue protest on the planet. “Not So Fast!” says the quiet Vigiler C from the Chicago (Illinois) burbs. Like other activists interested in convincing their City Councils to pass a cease-fire resolution, he attended meetings in Evanston in hopes that they, too, would join other Councils in passing such resolutions. 

But he was dismayed by the response of speakers identifying as members of Temple Beth Emet, aka “the Free [speech] Synagogue”, who unified in opposition to a cease-fire.  His first step in response was to write a letter to the Evanston Round Table, which to his surprise, they published. Read it here.

 His second response was to take to the streets:



 

He asks, pertinently: “Are all lives equally valuable or are some superior to others? Israel is a state devoted to some being superior and entitled to kill the natives who resist. “

Vigiler C participated in our Ann Arbor Vigils many years ago, so it was a natural step for C to also address Beth Emet. He wrote a letter to its Rabbi to join him in his protest, understanding that Rabbi London supports justice. From the synagogue’s website: “Social justice activism is integral to Rabbi London’s work, and she has received widespread recognition for her leadership on issues ranging from Jewish-Muslim and Black-Jewish relations to peace and justice in Israel/Palestine. “


 

Andrea London, Rabbi, Temple Beth Emet


We’ve reprinted his invitation to her below signature, and hope she joins him soon. We wish Vigiler C success on his new adventure.


Scorecard

Date/For-Against

16-Nov  29-15
23-Nov  36-16
30-Nov  4-4


Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Jews Out of Palestine
Comments?  
#

Rabbi London,

I wish you and your congregation a happy Thanksgiving.

As I have stood on the corner by the Beth Emet sign, I have thought of how there is no reason that you and your congregation could not come out and stand with me. My two signs are in no way offensive, saying that Palestinian lives matter and that Zionism is not Judaism. Your prominent Black Lives Matter banner expresses the same thing. The Palestinian flag I have stands for a people being exterminated just as the Star of David stood for the Jews who perished in the holocaust.

Cornel West has said that one has a choice. One can believe that all human lives are equally valuable or one can refuse to believe that. Thus, one can be moral or not. There is no in between, no elevation of one group or another. The great majority of Israelis don’t believe all lives are equally valuable, evidence of it daily in the articles published in Ha’aretz.

Judaism and Christianity, as you know, profess loving one another and, as you also know, both have had adherents who have not followed that. Christianity has a long and terrible history of such and Judaism shows it with Zionism.

You and your congregation are testimony that the US is the promised land for Jews as it is for all of us who are not Jews but share in liberty and justice for all. The same is shown by the Arab population of Michigan, the many Jews in Congress and the sole Palestinian there, Rashida Tlaib.

As I stand on the corner I am rewarded every day I am there with heartfelt appreciation shown by thank you being said from open windows and even people parking their cars and coming up to thank me in person. That is very gratifying, to think that I am doing something to represent, as so few are allowed to
do here in the US where campus protests have been shut down, a people being slaughtered with no end in sight, suffering from might making right since 1948.

As I observe the attractive outside of Beth Emet, I cannot believe the congregation would stand with ethnic supremacy and the horror it has demonstrated for so many decades to those whose crime has been living on their native land of Palestine. Ethnic cleansing was wrong when the US did it to the
Indians, wrong when the Nazis did it to the Jews and wrong when the Israelis/US are doing it to the Palestinians. There is no free pass o any group for atrocity.

If anyone would like to come out and join me as Americans who believe in liberty and justice for all as I do, I would welcome them and that includes you. Warm clothing is advised!

Sincerely,
C



Thursday, November 14, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 11-09-24

 

15th Annual Bill Henry International Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day: A Success

Here’s the group celebrating the Jewish holiday commonly referred to as The Day of Atonement, but as the Holocaust in Gaza continues, it’s hard to believe any atonement was taking place at Beth Israel Congregation on Oct. 12. For an explanation of this annual meal, please visit https://zionistsout.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-15th-annual-bill-henry.html

 



How to Single-handedly end an “ant-war” protest?

Just show up with a sign containing the word “Jew”. Witness for Peace is a member group of the larger Ann Arbor Coalition Against War. Every Friday in downtown Ann Arbor they hold anti-war protests at the Federal Building, and last Friday their new 12-foot banner was unfurled. When we show up with a sign reading “No More Wars for Jewish Interests”, we are told the protest isn’t religious. When we agree, we are asked to leave and are told our message is incorrect. Trying to explain that we all are anti-war gets us nowhere, and when it becomes evident that we’re not going away, the group’s banner is folded up and all but two members leave the site. Click here for the 7-minute video of this non-event.


Is Our Conclusion Correct?

As our Scorecard indicates, supporters outnumber those passersby who disagree with our messages. And our messages have been more focused on calling out Jews (not Zionists) for the Jewish state’s behavior towards Palestinians. Our latest five signs are:

Jews out of Palestine
Jews Bomb Schools 
Jews Bomb Innocent Civilians
No Jewish State
No more wars for Jewish interests

We conclude that in spite of our signs becoming more “anti-Semitic” (as presumably viewed by Debbie Lipstadt) and our approval rating is about the same, that the passing public is seeing legitimacy in our holding Jews accountable for their participation in the Jewish state’s ongoing Holocaust against Palestine.

What do you conclude?

New Billboard near Ann Arbor

Maybe the people of JewBelong agree with us in concluding that Average Joe is becoming more comfortable with legitimate criticism of Jews. Maybe they fear their dual loyalty is in danger of exposure. In any case, their nervousness seems palpable in their new sign, just 10 miles down the road. 

 



Scorecard

Date/For-Against

12-Oct  30-15
19-Oct  23-11
26-Oct  18-17
 2-Nov  19-8
 9-Nov  19-8


Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Jews Out of Palestine
Comments?  
#


Monday, October 07, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 10-05-24


15th Annual Bill Henry International Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day Looms

This Saturday, October 12, after our weekly protest at the source of Jewish Power (i.e. Beth Israel Congregation) has taken place, we will celebrate the day by consuming a cheeseburger or some other type of non-kosher food. Click here for the full explanation of the history of this event.

Why Won’t the World Stop Israel?

A: Because the World feels more sympathy towards Jews than it does Palestinians
Q: Why does the World feel this sympathy?
A: It’s the Holocaust, Stupid!

Good news: Academic Research Media Review Education Group (ARMREG)has just released its Holocaust Encyclopedia; uncensored and unconstrained. We just received our hardcopy color 2nd edition, and plan to use it and recommend to all Ann Arbor High Schools whose education on this topic has been mandated by the Michigan Legislature.  Order yours here.

When Will Quakers Finally Take Sides?

A Quaker minister stops by and asks questions about our Vigil. She seems dissatisfied with our answer that the source of the racism that drives Israel is born and nurtured in the synagogues. She claims some Jews are protesting but has no answer to our question of “Where are they?”

After our brief conversation she enters Beth Israel to “worship” (or was it “warship”?) with the Jews. Watch video here

New Vigil Signs

Vigiler G returns from retirement to hold her new sign: Israel is Guilty of Genocide, and joins the trio of Palestinian activists on August 31, when this writer was out of town. . .

 



And we suggest the final solution for the Palestinian Holocaust (debuted September 28):

 


Omerta

Friendly relations with the armed guard at Beth Israel were terminated last week by (presumably) the synagogue’s Board of Directors, when Charles (not his real name) was ordered “no comment” in his relations with this writer. A sad note, because both he and I were, and are, committed to the physical safety of congregants, vigilers and passersby.

Scorecard

Date/For-Against

31-Aug  18-22
  7-Sep  25-13
14-Sep  18-7
21-Sep  16-8
28-Sep  23-16
  5-Oct  18-8 


Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
The price for Liberty is Eternal VIGIL-ance
Comments?  
#


Sunday, October 06, 2024

The 15th Annual Bill Henry International Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day


Bill Henry, Z"L, circa 1940
The 15th annual Bill Henry International Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day begins at sunset on Friday, October 11, 2024, and ends at dusk on the 12th. This day honors the memory of Bill Henry (né Herskovitz), Z"L, for a decision that quite possibly saved an eight-year-old boy from a life of "Jewish chauvinism and exclusivism". For the full story behind Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day please see the 2011 post about this momentous day.

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Saturday, August 24, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 08-24-24



Video history of recent vigils

This man’s family was “impacted” during WWII (June 22 vigil, time 0:42): 
https://www.bitchute.com/video/20RwO7iXWK2D   

A kind-looking, but potty-mouthed lady (July 6 vigil, time 0:20): 
https://www.bitchute.com/video/b1jKSnUQgAqh

Jewish woman upset by conversation, turns to thievery (July 27 vigil, time 2:42):
https://www.bitchute.com/video/ccagCWdLZgGX

Photographer doesn’t seem interested in a discussion (July 27 vigil, time 1:54): 
https://www.bitchute.com/video/TGOO6uP9vInr

Woman steals our “Lets Go Brandon” sign, gets apprehended (August 3 vigil, time 0:54):
https://www.bitchute.com/video/ti99O7AmeC2r

Another silent photographer (what’s with these guys?), (August 3 vigil, time: 1:58):
https://www.bitchute.com/video/ep5tcz0m9RBQ

Supremacist young Jew (August 17 vigil, time: 30:05):

This video exposes the supremacist mindset, in our opinion. Nothing we say, no fact presented, changes this fellow’s world. To him, Jews are intelligent and eternal victims. Lots of swallowed kool-aid here

https://www.bitchute.com/video/GAsxuFSND8RG

Holocaust Education at Ann Arbor City Council meeting

Referencing Nick Kollerstrom’s Breaking the Spell; The Holocaust: Myth and Reality, we describe for Council the technical differences between the existing fumigation chambers and the alleged homicidal gas chambers. Click here to view. Please advance to 13:12 for our presentation, and to 26:00 for Councilmember Lisa Disch’s response. See text of presentation after signature

Councilmembers Do Respond

We wrote in our last report that we didn’t think Councilmember Erica Briggs would respond to our email reaching out to her. Technically, we were wrong, but her response was not substantive. 

That’s our opinion. We have included the email exchanges below with her, and also Councilmember Disch, so that our readers can reach their own conclusions. See these emails also after signature: 

Scorecard

Date/For-Against

22-Jun   21-9
29-Jun   19-6
  6-Jul    18-12
13-Jul    16-8
20-Jul    21-12
27-Jul    17-8
  3-Aug  16-6
10-Aug  26-9
17-Aug  17-7
24-Aug  29-13



Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Liberate Palestine. End Israel!
Comments?  
#
Ann Arbor City Council – Public Commentary
August 19, 2024 [380 words]

Topic: Holocaust Education in Ann Arbor Public Schools

Good evening,

I’d like to continue our discussion on the differences between fumigation gas chambers and the alleged mass homicidal gas chambers our students are being forced to learn about

My source again is Nicholas Kollerstrom’s Breaking the Spell; The Holocaust: Myth and Reality and I offer to purchase a copy of this book to each City Councilman here, although I won’t purchase it through Amazon, as it’s been figuratively burned

Council’s reactions to my talks are not unique. A friend claimed she stood in a homicidal gas chamber and when I informed her she stood in a post-war reconstruction of a gas chamber, she said: “This conversation is over”. They say you can’t argue someone out of a position they didn’t argue themselves into, and this is a prime example of that phenomenon 

The company that built the fumigation gas chambers was called Degesch, and they were very proud of their product because it efficiently saved lives, as was its purpose

The chambers featured a remotely controlled can opener that opened the cans of Zyklon-B, so that the operator wouldn’t have to wear a gas mask. The gas pellets were then dumped down a short chute into a waiting basket. Then the heaters were turned on, because hydrogen cyanide pellets are inert below its boiling point, which is about 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Then the fans came on to evenly distribute the gas so that it would reach the lice hiding in the clothing and bedding, which were hung in the room. 

After one to two hours the lethal gas was force-vented up a pipe and into the atmosphere. Then the chamber was ventilated with fresh air for 15 minutes after which it was safe to open. The clothing and bedding were hung outdoors to aerate, then returned to the camp inmates, bug free. 

The rooms of the alleged homicidal gas chambers have no such devices present: no induction chutes, no heaters, fans nor exhaust piping. Casual observation supports revisionist claims that rooms offered to the public in Germany and Poland are not and could not be the homicidal gas chambers they claim to be. My hope is that our students are being presented with facts like the ones I bring to Council tonight, so that they can draw their own conclusions. 

Thank you

Remarks made by Councilmember Briggs:

 I would just like to acknowledge how ghastly the last public comments were from the last speaker. And it was disturbing to listen to. So I hope we don't hear a repeat of that.

Dear Erica,

I don't doubt that you felt my comments were ghastly and disturbing on Tuesday

I was speaking on a matter of municipal interest: possible misinformation being supplied to our high school students on state-mandated Holocaust education

Since I spoke only on a short review of Nick Kollerstrom's book that countered the standard narrative of the Holocaust, I wonder why my comments provoked such reactions from yourself

Could you please take a minute to explain? Why do you find my comments so disturbing?

If you'd prefer an in-person discussion, please just let me know where and when

Thank you,
Henry Herskovitz
Ward 5 Constituent

Briggs, Erica
Sun, Jun 23, 6:00 PM (18 hours ago)
to me, alan, John

I don't want to revisit your comments, so I can't directly quote what you said. 

You consistently come to City Council to provide anti-Semitic public comment and engage in Holocaust denialism. This is not a matter of municipal interest, even if I subscribed to your beliefs,  the City has no control over AAPS. So I can only assume you like the platform of elevating your hate speech and enjoy prompting a reaction. 

 Last week,  your public comment focused on denying the horrors of what happened in the Nazi-run gas chambers. That is unconscionable. 


Dear Erica,

Thank you for responding to my email. The fact that you replied indicates some respect, a commodity in short supply these days. I've always been a fan of the motto: "To get respect one has to give respect". So thank you.

I hope you've differentiated my addresses to Council with those of others, who verbally castigate and abuse Council members. I've addressed Council over 100 times, and have never employed such disrespectful tactics. If you find that statement to be in error, I stand ready to apologize.

I believe it would be of Public Interest from Council's point of view if the Ann Arbor Public Schools were to teach our children that the earth is flat, or the two World Wars never happened. Council would definitely speak up (my opinion)

Every day I marvel when I watch the sun's trajectory overhead from East to West, and think of those brave souls Copernicus and Galileao who "denied" that the sun revolved around the earth and postulated the opposite. Today we know what we didn't "know" then

You are correct that I utilize Public Commentary as a platform to deliver what I feel is important information. I'm grateful that our City supports our First Amendment right to "... petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Finally, I'd like to mention that I love my sister and cousin, their children and grandchildren, who are Jewish. I also love many friends, like Alan Haber, who identify as Jews.

Again, thank you for your decency. I'd be happy to respond to your continuing thoughts on this matter

Best wishes

Henry Herskovitz
[end]


Email Exchange with Councilmember Lisa Disch:

Dear Councilmember Disch,

I would first like to thank you for actually listening to my Public Commentary address on Monday, August 19. I've transcribed your words (below signature) and with your permission, would like to ask you to identify any unfactual information I was trying to convey to Council

I take the opportunity to address Council seriously and if the information I bring is not correct, I'd like to be corrected and offer appropriate apologies. So, please tell me what exactly I said that was historically incorrect. I stand ready to be corrected

Secondly, you offered that my comments are not doing any good for anyone, and I respectfully disagree. It is of utmost municipal interest if we are teaching our children false information under our (Michigan) state-mandated teaching of the Holocaust. If they are to learn, they need to be provided with the most accurate information. I hope on that point we can both agree

Best wishes,
Henry Herskovitz
Ann Arbor

#

"Thank you, Mayor. I would like to - first of all - express my displeasure at having been treated to a detailed description full of some unfactual information but also full of really - you know - nauseating details when you imagine what was really happening in those chambers. And I really wish that that public commenting would stop. It's not doing any good for anyone."

Mr. Herskovitz,

I will do you the courtesy of not turning my back to you when you speak. 

I do not have time to satisfy your request for a "pro and con" dialogue on this topic. 

Lisa
[end]


Friday, June 21, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 06-15-24



Special Guest Visits our Vigil

Ms. Diane King, of Hoaxbusters fame traveled from Texas to join Witness for Peace on June 1. Ms. King, along with her husband Jim Rizzoli hold their weekly Hoaxbusters show on SpeakFreeRadio every Saturday evening at 8pm. They often feature reports on our weekly vigils



A Less Welcome Visitor from the Black Gangster Disciples

On May 18, a black man walked among us and took pictures of our signs (perfectly legal). I asked if he had any questions and he replied he was gathering information for “the boss”. See the video of our interaction with him and determine for yourself whether this was a threatening encounter

An Angry motorist stops his car

Furious at the sign that reads “Israel attacked America 6/8/1967” this man flips off a WfP participant on June 8, then gets out of his car, ready for fisticuffs (?). See this video and make your own determination

Zyklon-B at Ann Arbor City Council meeting

Not the pellet form of the fumigant Zyklon-B, just the verbal kind. As Mayor Christopher Taylor reminds his audience, Public Commentary Reserve Time is for the public to address Council on “matters of municipal interest”. And we feel that the state of Michigan’s mandate that our high school students learn about the “Holocaust” is being used to mis-inform, rather than inform our students about this historical event. Click here to view the address from Council side of the camera (please fast forward to 23:13) and here to view it from our side, and observe paid civil servants either turn their backs or leave the room

Upsetting our own Councilman

Councilman Erica Briggs (Ward 5) is supposed to represent this writer. After hearing our presentation (text following signature), she commented:

I would just like to acknowledge how ghastly the last public comments were from the last speaker. And it was disturbing to listen to. So I hope we don't hear a repeat of that.

We have reached out to Councilman Briggs to acknowledge her feelings (which of course are hers alone) but ask WHY she feels the way she does. We do not anticipate a response, but one never knows … 


Scorecard

Date/For-Against

27-Apr   22-8
  4-May  37-8
11-May  20-10
18-May  27-7
25-May  31-7
  1-Jun    15-9
  8-Jun   20-10
15-Jun   16-7



Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Liberate Palestine. End Israel!
Comments?  
#

June 17, 2024 [350 words]

Topic: Holocaust Education in Ann Arbor Public Schools

Good evening,

From the text supplied to Ann Arbor’s High School students, we read: “Jews who were selected for death were told to undress for a shower and then led into a chamber with fake showerheads. After the doors were closed cyanide gas poured from the showerheads”

The teacher may suggest that the student check out the trademark name for hydrogen cyanide – then Zyklon B - and the student might turn to Wikipedia for information. He will read: “The product is notorious for its use by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust to murder approximately 1.1 million people in gas chambers installed at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, and other extermination camps.”

The British author and former professor at University College, London - Nicholas Kollerstrom - disagrees. In this book, Breaking the Spell, he clearly admits the presence of gas chambers in these camps, but also clearly differentiates between the real fumigation gas chambers and the claimed homicidal gas chambers.

Typhus was the real killer of Jews, and the National Socialists were determined to minimize this disease, which is carried by lice. Zyklon B was the fumigant used in this process of disinfecting clothing and bedding for inmates in the camps. 

To distinguish between the real and claimed gas chambers, Kollerstrom quotes from studies done Engineer Fred Leuchter, followed by Chemist Germar Rudolf, and finally by the Polish government themselves. These studies examined the blue staining in the walls of the fumigation gas chambers and compared them with the walls of the alleged homicidal gas chambers

The results in all three cases were clear: the blue staining left by applications of Zyklon B was clearly notable in the fumigation chambers; in fact, the staining even penetrated through the walls, but was evident in only trace amounts in the alleged homicidal gas chambers. 

Kollerstrom additionally provides graphs which show inmate deaths *decreased* with increased shipments of Zyklon B to the camps, not increased as the Holocaust narrative would have us believe.

If Holocaust education is to mean anything, it is to separate truth from fiction. It is hoped our students get the opportunity to question both sides 

Thank you,

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 04-20-24


Speaking at the Institute for Historical Review

Two members of Witness for Peace traveled to San Diego last month and addressed an audience of about thirty people at the monthly meeting of the Institute for Historical review (ihr.org). One of those in attendance provided two additional venues whose participants welcomed our point of view and in fact, expanded upon it. It was nice to know there are pockets of interested, intelligent and vocal people out there, and that WfP is not the only group addressing Jewish Power, the Holocaust, and other forbidden topics. See our presentation here.

Dumped by YouTube

Two days after our presentation at the IHR gathering I was informed that my YouTube channel was removed for violating unspecified “community standards”. We now move our videos to other platforms, which may be better suited to withstand Jewish pressure. 

Holocaust Education in the Ann Arbor Public Schools

We again addressed Ann Arbor City Council April 15 on the discrepancies between what is being taught to Ann Arbor high-schoolers and what the revised history of World War II teaches us.  See text of presentation after signature, and click here to view the presentation (advance to 58:35). Again, please note the “peace activists” who flee Council chambers, and the number of Councilmen who either leave the room or turn their backs during the talk.

Has Tucker Carlson crossed the line?

We have often thought of Tucker Carlson as “close, but no cigar”. For instance, were extremely disappointed when he interviewed and agreed with then presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who advocated assassinating the top 100 Hamas leaders and putting their “heads on stakes” at Gaza’s southern border.

But Tucker appears to have raised his credibility since interviewing Dr. Munther Isaac on April 9th and allowing the Pastor to freely speak the “J” word.  Dr Isaac clearly implicated Jewish groups in his discussion with Tucker:

Now, the biggest problem Christians are facing is in East Jerusalem, where they are constantly targeted by radical groups, radical Jewish groups. Let’s be clear. Sometimes some churches, they tried, there was an attempt to burn them. Often times. And this is you can look at it on social media, all over the place. Palestine, Christian clergy being spit at by, these groups. They write very offensive slogans on the walls. Strong incitement against Christians, especially in the old City, all of Jerusalem. 

Spitting on Christians and bombing of churches appears to have gotten Tucker’s ire up, as it has ours. Hopefully, he will continue to expose the anti-Christian nature of Judaism and the worldwide Jewish community.


 
Scorecard

Date/For-Against

16-Mar  26-7
23-Mar  20-7
30-Mar  25-5
  6-Apr   29-7
13-Apr   28-9
20-Apr  25-13



Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Liberate Palestine. End Israel!
Comments? 
#

April 15, 2024 [354 words]

Topic: Holocaust Education in Ann Arbor Public Schools

Good evening,

In fifth grade we were taught that there were five basic questions newspaper articles had to answer: Who what where why and when. “Why” is often omitted in historical events, and the Holocaust as presented to Ann Arbor students, either omits or distorts this basic question.

From the text supplied by the Ann Arbor Board of Education, we read: “The Nazis claimed that all non-Aryan peoples, especially Jewish people, were inferior.” This is a dishonest claim.

In his book Unfinished Victory, British author Sir Arthur Bryans writes that “although Jews represented less than 1% of the German population, they controlled 57% of the metal trade, 22% of grain and 39%of textile trade. More than 50% of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce was Jewish, as were an amazing 1,200 of the 1,474 members of the German stock exchange… During the Weimar Republic, the average income of Jews was three times that of non-Jews.”

These facts, and many more, fly directly into the face of the charge that Jews were somehow inferior. They clearly weren’t, but it fits into the false narrative that National Socialists targeted Jews because of who they were, rather than what they did. We see that today in Gaza: Hamas is similarly blamed for targeting Jews – AS JEWS – rather than resisting the 75-year genocide of Palestine by the Jewish state.

So what’s the real answer to “Why Jewish people were targeted by National Socialists”?

Peter Winter supplies us with clues in his book The Six Million; Fact or Fiction? He states that Jews in Weimar Germany were associated with extreme capitalist exploitation. Benton Bradberry enlightens us further in his book The Myth of German Villainy. In it he explains how Jews were the architects of the Versailles Treaty which brought financial ruin to post war Germany, and reminded readers that it was Jewish Zionists who brought the US into the Great War, and sealed Germany’s fate.

It makes more sense to understand these reasons explaining German fear and distrust of the Jews living within its borders, than it does to merely claim that Jews were hated simply because of who they were. 

Thank you,

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 03-09-24


 Jews as Controlled Opposition

 Please consider: Jews control the Jewish state. There should be no argument against that statement. But what’s telling is how Jews also control the *opposition* to the Jewish state. Witness for Peace has recognized this “playing both sides of the fence” game for quite some time, but it’s instructive to watch it in action.

 On Sunday, February 25, WfP revved up the taxi squad and traveled to Dearborn, Michigan to protest a “unity” call for “cease-fire” in Gaza. From their flyer: “Join us in bringing together Arab and Muslim, Latino and Jewish communities … to demand a ‘Ceasefire in Palestine.’”. WfP sees a call for “cease fire” as deceptive; it will not solve the problem of a Jewish supremacist state wreaking culturicide in Palestine. Our presentation to Ann Arbor City Council of January 11 expands on this topic.

 Jewish Voice for Peace is Challenged

 The signs we held to protest this tepid call for unity and ceasefire were “Jews Bomb Hospitals” and “Six Million, Really?”, a truthful statement and a pertinent question. Marching up to confront us was a young member of Jewish Voice for Peace. She was certainly not a follower of Malcolm X. Malcolm realized that anti-Black racism began in the White community, and white activists bore the burden of holding their white community accountable.

 But not JVP members. Rather than hold their Jewish community accountable for anti-Palestinian racism, these Jews serve only to protect the Jewish community from criticism. Watch this young woman’s reaction to the charge that JVP is a Zionist organization here. Like all good students of Jewish Hasbara, she fled the scene when it became obvious she didn’t know enough to win the argument.

 Jesse Owens and Ann Arbor City Council

 At every Council meeting, Mayor Chris Taylor explains that Public Commentary is time set aside for citizens to speak about matters of municipal interest. WfP feels that, since the Michigan Legislature has mandated the teaching of the Holocaust at high schools, Ann Arbor students need to be able to separate truth from mis- or dis-information. Towards that goal, we addressed Council on February 20 to inform them that Black sprinter Jesse Owens was respected by Adolf Hitler and the German people at the 1936 Olympics  in Berlin, contrary to the notion that the Chancellor “snubbed” this fine athlete. View the presentation here [adjust to 34:30] and the text of speech follows signature. 

Foul-mouthed Hater of Free Speech

 On March 2, we were verbally accosted by an angry young man, who attempts to remove one of our signs. Fortunately, an Ann Arbor policeman was driving by and turned his vehicle around to lend assistance. Another tip o’ the hat to Ann Arbor’s finest. See video here.

Another Day at the Office 

 

Scorecard

 

Date/For-Against

27-Jan    35-5

3-Feb     24-8

10-Feb   23-3

17-Feb   31-2

24-Feb   27-9

2-Mar    21-6

9-Mar    27-6

 

 Henry Herskovitz

Witness for Peace

Victory to Hamas!

Comments?

#

 

February 20, 2024 [359 words]

 Topic: Holocaust Education in Ann Arbor Public Schools

 Good evening,

 Since February has been designated Black History Month, Ann Arbor students might be taught about Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. Jesse competed in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, despite efforts by the American Jewish Congress and the Jewish Labor Committee to change the location to some other venue.

 The most often repeated story from that competition is that Adolf Hitler refused to shake the hand of Owens after he had run a race. The headline in the New York Times read “Hitler ignores Negro medalists”. The black-owned Cleveland newspaper Call and Post ran their own headline: “Hitler snubs Jesse”. The Baltimore Afro-American wrote: “Adolf snubs U.S. lads”

 In his book The Myth of German Villainy, author Benton Bradberry sets the record straight for us, writing about these headlines: “These were deliberate lies. Nothing of the kind had happened”

 The real story was that Hitler was told by the chairman of the International Olympic Committee that he had violated Olympic protocols by shaking hands with German athlete Hans Wollke and receiving other athletes – both German and non-German – in his VIP booth the day before. So that day, in compliance with the protocols, he shook nobody’s hand, including Jesse Owens

 From the book The Jesse Owens Story, Jesse is quoted as saying “When I passed the Chancellor, he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad taste in criticizing the man of the hour in Germany” end quote.

 And far from being snubbed by Germany’s white population, author Richard Mandell also helps set the record straight. He writes in his book The Nazi Olympics: “Once at the stadium, the mere appearance of Jesse Owens’ head from some pit below the stands would cause sections of the crowd to break out in chants of ‘Yes-sa Ov-enss! Yes-sa Ovenss!’”

 The real snubbing of Jesse Owens came at the hands of Franklin Roosevelt, who was running for re-election and refused to receive Jesse at the White House, because Roosevelt thought the reaction from southern states would harm his chances of victory.

 The job of the historical revisionist is to set the record straight

 Thank you,

 



Monday, January 22, 2024

Report on Beth Israel vigil 01-20-24


We Pitch a Shutout!

January 13 loomed as a cold and extremely windy day. Fearful that our signs, which we attach to chairs, might be blown into the street and cause traffic dangers, we offered only the signs we could carry, and held a new flag presented to us by a passing Palestinian man. The result was a smashing 21-0 score (see Scoreboard, below), but reflected the omission of what we feel drives Israeli terror – Jewish Power, Jewish identity politics, and Jewish supremacist ideology. When our signs of “Jewish Power corrupts” or “Jews Bomb Hospitals” are displayed, our message is more clearly honed, but approval suffers. And we accept that.

Begging for Crumbs

On Thursday, January 11, the Ann Arbor City Council passed a “cease-fire” resolution. That’s the good news. The reality is that the resolution had to be word-smithed to a point where it became meaningless, but even that didn’t prevent some local Jews speaking in opposition. Speaker after speaker lined up (there were 90!) to prattle on about Israeli crimes, without a whit of blame placed on the Ann Abor Jewish community for its support of those crimes. Even the Arab voice, like leadoff speaker Omar Abdala, was obedient to the Power. He said:

We are a coalition that stands against anti-Semitism. Our members have said that protests at synagogues are wrong, full stop. When a known holocaust denier spoke last meeting we refused to listen to him and walked out. Do not conflate our calls for a cease fire with anti-Semitism. That is wrong; it is beneath you and it is racist. This is a simple resolution that takes no sides...

A resolution that “takes no sides” needs a response, and we provided that response (text follows signature). It’s instructive to view (a) the City Council members turning their backs to us and (b) the so-called “Palestinian activists” fleeing the room as we rose to speak. Please click here and adjust timeline to 04:15:43 to observe 

We had an opportunity to speak to a Lebanese student after the meeting and asked her why she left as I spoke, and she explained that her Jewish co-workers were upset with our weekly vigils and she wanted to show solidarity with them. See how Jewish Power works? This young woman knew that if she questioned forbidden topics – like why are Jews leading local Palestinian activists? - she would be ostracized and couldn’t tolerate that outcome. So 10,000 Palestinian children and infants get bombed to smithereens, but she maintains friendships. 

Another Day at the Office
 

Scorecard

Date/For-Against

30-Dec   17-3
  6-Jan    14-3
13-Jan   21-0
20-Jan   18-7


Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Victory to Hamas!
January 11, 2024 [262 words]

Topic: Agenda Item CD-1, Resolution Denouncing Rising Hate and Discrimination in Ann Arbor and Calling for a Lasting Bilateral Ceasefire in Gaza and Israel

Good evening,

The Jewish state has been committing genocide against the Palestinian people for over 75 years. Now, in The Hague, these crimes are being identified and exposed by South Africa.

Much will be made of a “proportional response”: Are the Jews of Israel responding proportionally to the Al-Aqsa Storm of October 7?

So, it’s reasonable to ask if this Resolution is proportional to the atrocities committed by the Jewish state since that date

Reading from the Resolution: “The Ann Arbor City Council calls for an immediate lasting bilateral ceasefire”

Bilateral: meaning both sides stop using their weapons against the other

Does this resolution demand Palestinians stop using their Merkava battle tanks? Their Apache Helicopters? Their F-35 fighter jets? Should they be required to stop dropping 2,000 pound bombs?
Of course not. It’s not the Palestinians that have these Weapons of Mass Destruction
It’s only Israel. And the Jewish state is using them mercilessly, driven by a religious ideology that tolerates no sympathy for the defenseless Palestinians

Calling for a bilateral cease fire with this imbalance in strength is not a proportional response to genocide

Calling out the perpetrators is

Taking sides is what’s required of Council, even if it means standing up to the Chosen, be they friend or family. A milquetoast request for a cease fire is totally inadequate and not only ignores the enormous disparity in weaponry, but fails to address even the minimum of human rights violations being committed by the Jewish state

Personally, I don’t believe your vote, whether yea or nay, will count for much. I cannot imagine a more meaningless document. 

Thank you,



Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Report on Beth Israel vigil 12-23-23


Hostility increases but our support remains constant
(see “Scorecard”)

Retired Ann Arbor Doctor Dave Chernin has taken to counter-protesting our weekly vigils, and exposes his Jewish supremacism by the threatening words and gestures he uses. On December 9, three men emerged from the synagogue to harass us. After a few minutes of heated exchange, Dave – the one holding the flag and now bolstered by these racists – joins in and threatens us. One of the three has been identified as Richard Cascarelli, a Partner Associate at Tim Singer South Florida - Coldwell Banker in Fort Lauderdale. Watch the six-minute video here.

The defeated Jewish attorney Marc Susselman lowers himself by bringing a couple thugs from West Bloomfield, Michigan, to taunt us throughout our entire vigil on November 18. We submitted the video to the Ann Arbor Police Department for their opinion as to whether a threat was made. Please make up your own mind as you view this video here

On December 23, a potty-mouthed woman approaches us and threatens to take one of our signs which she found upsetting (Gas Chambers? Really?!!). When we inform her that we will call the cops and put her on film stealing our property, she experiences a change of mind. And goes curiously silent when her world-view gets challenged. Watch this video here.

Challenging Ann Arbor City Council

On December 18, we asked Council members to imagine the world reaction to any other ethnic group – other than the Jews – who could get away with a 75-year-old ethnic cleansing operation. At this particular meeting almost all the 58 speakers asked Council to pass a resolution calling for a cease fire in Gaza. Fast forward to 4:10 to watch our presentation from this video, and view text of the presentation following signature.

Beware the Controlled Opposition

Many Jews spoke at this Council meeting, some declaring themselves “a proud Jew”, some identified as members of Jewish Voice for Peace. 
Regular readers of these reports know that we recognize the efforts of JVP as those of a controlled opposition.  The racism that motivates the Jewish state is born and nurtured in the Jewish community. For activist Jews to be effective in liberating Palestine, they need to confront the racism that exists in their own, home communities.

But they never do. Instead, they wear keffiyehs, control Palestinian activists (think: Rashida Tlaib) and assuage their own guilt by palling around with the oppressed. Please read “The Role of Jews in the Palestine Solidarity Movement” for expanding this argument.

Not only do these closet Zionists (we define “Zionist” as anyone who does NOT call for an end to the Israeli state) control the opposition, but watch here as they flee before we rise and challenge their Jewish supremacism.

Which member of JVP is willing to carry our sign? After 100 Jewish Israeli doctors signed a document that supported the IDF strategy of bombing hospitals [link 6], we couldn’t resist:



Scorecard

Date/For-Against

18-Nov   9-6
25-Nov   36-8
  2-Dec   30-8
  9-Dec   29-6
16-Dec   22-9
23-Dec   15-6


Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Victory to the Palestinian Resistance!
Comments? 
December 18, 2023 [271 words]

Topic: Holocaust Education in AAPS

Good evening,

20 years ago my friend Paul Eisen made the following observation. It’s as true today as it was then:

The crime against the Palestinian people is being committed by a Jewish state with Jewish soldiers using weapons displaying Jewish religious symbols, and with the full support and complicity of the overwhelming mass of organized Jews worldwide. But to name Jews as responsible for this crime seems impossible to do.

Israel itself claims, in its 2018 Nation-State Law:

The LAND OF ISRAEL is the historical homeland of the JEWISH people, in which the STATE OF ISRAEL was established.

The racism in this statement is made clear by the changing a few words:

AMERICA is the historical homeland of the WHITE people, in which the UNITED STATES was established.

Who here would be happy with that definition of OUR country? I wouldn’t

Imagine any other ethnic group committing this ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people

Imagine if American Blacks, unhappy with Jim Crow in 1948, decided to ethnically cleanse Palestine to create a Black nation

The world wouldn’t tolerate it for a minute

The world does tolerate this ongoing genocide because it’s being committed by Jews

And the world – believing the Holocaust Narrative as presented by Hollywood – turns its eyes away from the Palestinian victims in their struggle for liberation, because their perpetrators are Jews. And Jews are the ultimate victims.

But are they? Holocaust revisionists believe a full vetting of the events of World War Two will strip Jews of this ultimate victim status. The truth must be known, because Palestinians today are paying the penalty for the world’s ignorance. 

Thank you 


Friday, November 17, 2023

Report on Beth Israel vigil 11-11-23


Has the Mighty Wurlitzer dropped a note?

Witness for Peace recognizes the slave revolt that occurred in Gaza on Oct. 7. Nat Turner’s violent resistance to US slavery in 1831 parallels Hamas’ resistance we witnessed last month. Turner’s revolt crystalized the horrors of slavery, as Hamas’ resistance has focused the world’s attention to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Truth is, however, we were uncertain how the passing traffic would view our ongoing protests at Beth Israel on October 14. Would the Mighty Wurlitzer (aka Jewish domination of our media) turn our almost-always positive favorability against us? Could the screaming pundits on Fox News sway the public to continue its pro-Israel bias, and vote us down? Perhaps even decisively down?

But check out our Scorecard (below): our tiny survey didn’t reflect this overwhelming support for Jewish supremacy in Palestine (state of Israel). In fact, we haven’t experienced any such effect; the signs of support have consistently been greater than those of disagreement. What can we conclude? The Mighty Wurlitzer has always been able to deliver the standard narrative – to support the Jewish state no matter its behavior – but perhaps we’re witnessing the dawn of a true Intifada with the American people. Just maybe they’re getting tired of being on the wrong side of history. Time will tell . . . 

Twenty Year Breakfast Celebration

Yes, we’ve been at this “great day to protest”* activity for twenty full years now, and Dan McGowan, former Executive Director of Deir Yassin Remembered, bought breakfast for the whole group (14 in attendance) after our November 11 vigil. Vigiler Y brought her two children, Vigilers M and D showed up, as did a new face who, hopefully, will become a regular. Thanks, Dan!



What Happened at the Wannsee Conference?

Michigan students are mandated to receive Holocaust education. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website is used often to provide information to our students. From the USHMM the student “learns” that, at this conference in 1942, National Socialists planned the physical extermination of Europe’s Jews. But is this correct?

We attempted to answer that question at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting on November 13; our address is found below signature, as well as the anticipated knee-jerk reaction from a few councilmen. Readers are invited to view this presentation here (advance to 49:50) and to witness council responses immediately following.

*-- Credit to former vigiler P

Scorecard

Date/For-Against

14-Oct    17-13
21-Oct    22-11
28-Oct    20-13
  4-Nov    21-10
11-Nov   39-5


Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Victory to the Palestinian Resistance!

November 6, 2023 (348 words)

Good evening,

The Ann Arbor Public Schools curriculum on the Holocaust often refers our students to information provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. This source provides a section on what is known as the Wannsee Conference, where our students learn about The Final Solution. The student is told “The "Final Solution" was the code name for the systematic, deliberate, physical annihilation of the European Jews.”, but with no corroborating evidence; it’s merely supposition on the part of the Museum, and has been challenged by revisionist historians.
 
One such historian is Francis Dupont, who has authored this booklet: Tall Tales from the German Woods; The Myth of the Wannsee Conference. In it, we have the complete photostatic transcripts of the minutes of the Wannsee Conference. Yes, they are in German and yes, the translation of these minutes might not be correct, but if any German language expert would like to take a look at these minutes, they are readily available. According to Dupont, the minutes actually exist under glass at the Wannsee Villa Museum, but “very few take the time to read them.”

He writes: “Nowhere in the Wannsee Meeting or its minutes is the murder of Jews discussed; only their emigration and [forced] evacuation . . . to the eastern territories opened up after the German invasion of the Soviet Union”

He continues: “Instead of plotting the mass murder of all Jews, the Wannsee conference minutes actually talk about keeping large numbers of Jews in Germany.”

Perhaps we think this Francis Dupont is merely an anti-Semitic Holocaust Denier and will say anything. So we turn to Yehuda Bauer, whom Wikipedia describes as a Czech-born Israeli historian and scholar of the Holocaust. 

Here’s what Professor Bauer said, quoted by The Canadian Jewish News, Jan. 30, 1992: “The public still repeats, time after time, the silly story that at Wannsee the extermination of the Jews was arrived at.”

There are many other sources that our students could access that would allow them to comply with their mandated education on the Holocaust. Responsible leaders should encourage this access.

Thank you

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Report on Beth Israel vigil 10-07-23


Pussycats

Back when Witness for Peace (WfP) boycotted Hiller’s Market in Ann Arbor (we were successful) owner James Hiller was to receive honors in Birmingham, Michigan. We decided to travel the 45 miles to protest his pro-Israel policies. When the Birmingham Police caught wind of our plan, they contacted the Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD) to inquire about us. “They are pussycats!”, declared Ann Arbor Police Detective Lt. Mark St. Amour. Detective St. Amour knew even then that our group was lawful and peaceful. The City of Birmingham sent two unarmed officers in shirt sleeves to observe us. After an hour, they grew bored and told us they were going home for dinner.

Advance a few decades, and our reputation continues. On July 21, according to the August edition of the Washtenaw Jewish News (p. 4), a man called the suicide hotline and claimed he was holding a hostage in the men’s room at Beth Israel Congregation during evening services. The Ann Arbor police “fill[ed] the BIC parking lot with cruisers and police vans”, and sent out a SWAT truck. Beth Dwoskin, author of the article, fingered WfP as a likely suspect, writing:  “For almost 20 years, a hate group has been standing outside of Beth Israel every single Shabbat. The first impulse is to attribute any threat to them.”

This first impulse was most certainly conveyed to the police, but did any member of WfP receive a call from the AAPD? Were our lawyers contacted? Did police show up at anyone’s home? No, No, and No. The most scrutinized peace group in Ann Arbor was not even considered to have perpetrated such a hoax.

Advance also to this past Saturday, when a black woman feigned interest in our activity, only as a ruse to steal one of our signs. When we had explained to this lady that the entire Beth Israel Congregation supports the state of Israel and only racists do that, she indignantly replies “You’re going to tell a black woman about racism?” She then proceeds to dismantle our sign and when we remove it from her, the crocodile tears start. She calls the police, who dutifully come out and spend about 15 minutes with her. The cops didn't even bother to approach us "two white men" with her complaint that she felt "unsafe". They recognized her false accusations, and left the scene. Good policing, in our humble opinion. Video here.

Like Elvis, Jewish Power is everywhere

Vigil Supporter A stopped by on August 26 to provide vigilers with some sage advice: challenging the Holocaust narrative is the most effective way of disarming Jewish Power. See our new sign below.  But at the same time, he yielded to that same power by requesting that he not be identified via text or photo. He knows what Jewish Power can do to a business, and, obviously respects (fears!) that power. A is a successful businessman and former Ann Arborite, and it was quite the joy to see him again.  

New Sign

Taking A up on his word, we unveiled a new sign on September 2. It questions the claim made by Holocaust orthodoxy that six million Jews died at the hands of National Socialists in WWII. WfP notes that World Almanac figures indicate a slight uptick in world Jewish population between the years 1933 and 1948, and also that – according to German records – only 4.5 million Jews were under direct NS control, yet 4.3 individual claims of “Holocaust victims” were made against the German government after the war.



 Scorecard

Date/For-Against

19-Aug   25-11
26-Aug   14-7
 2-Sep    28-17
 9-Sep   28-19
16-Sep   15-9
23-Sep   18-2
30-Sep   9-7
 7-Oct    5-7
  
Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Victory to the Palestinian Resistance!







Monday, September 18, 2023

The 14th Annual Bill Henry International Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day


Bill Henry, Z"L, circa 1940
The 14th annual Bill Henry International Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day begins at sunset on Monday, September 25, 2023, and ends at dusk on the 26th. This day honors the memory of Bill Henry (né Herskovitz), Z"L, for a decision that quite possibly saved an eight-year-old boy from a life of "Jewish chauvinism and exclusivism". For the full story behind Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day please see the 2011 post about this momentous day.

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Friday, August 18, 2023

Report on Beth Israel vigil 08-12-23



Does the First Amendment include a duty to listen?

Part of our First Amendment reads “Congress shall make no law … prohibiting … the right … to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. But what if the Government refuses to listen? On August 7 this writer addressed the Government, specifically the Ann Arbor City Council, to shed some light on the mandated Holocaust education our students receive. But as the screenshot below shows, fully six members of this ten-member body left the room, rather than hear the words of Elie Wiesel. One member – Councilwoman Linh Song - turned her back during the presentation. Text of our presentation follows signature.


 
Please view this entire exodus from Council chambers on the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdWTqtEnrds (Fast forward to 31:09)

Just because we think we have something to say doesn’t mean that Mr. Average Citizen needs to listen, but when people who are paid to represent “the Government”, maybe they should be required to listen when their citizenry is petitioning them for a redress of grievances. Especially considering they are being paid in part by our own tax dollars. Fortunately for these government workers, Witness for Peace does not have the funds of a Marvin Gerber or Henry Brysk to take these slackers to court.

Comments from Council

Councilwoman Lisa Disch seems to scold this writer in her comments following Public Commentary, but the sound quality appears insufficient for us to transcribe her words correctly. Fast forward to 52:55 to hear what she has to say. And Linh Song, speaking right after Ms. Disch, vows to contribute $1,000 of her own money to Jewish Family Services every time a Holocaust revisionist dares address City Council with remarks that, as yet , remain unchallenged. Her words: “And I just want to, I will continue with my pledge every time a Holocaust Denier comes and gives public comments here, to give a thousand dollars. I'm happy to give that donation to an organization I love and to a community that still struggles with hate here.”

Note to Ms. Song: if the Jewish community struggles with hate, maybe they should challenge their own leaders when they advocate hatred. Again, here’s Elie Wiesel: “Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate — healthy, virile hate — for what the German personifies and for what persists in the German.”

Coffee with Rabbi Caine

As described in our last report, this writer sat down for coffee with Rabbi Caine of Beth Israel Congregation. We had hoped for a second meeting by the end of July, but that date has passed, and a reminder email sent to the Rabbi on July 24 has gone unanswered as of today. Holding the Rabbi in the highest possible regard, we assume his schedule has been very busy, and that he will contact us when he gets a breather. Please stay tuned …

Scorecard

Date/For-Against

1-Jul       15-15
8-Jul       15-9
15-Jul     10-7
22-Jul     21-14
29-Jul     14-4
5-Aug     14-12
12-Aug   13-4
  
Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
216 Palestinians killed this year by “Israel”
ALL SO THAT JEWS CAN HAVE A “HOMELAND”


Address to City Council August 7, 2023 

Good evening,

Sometimes it doesn’t take a revisionist to enlighten us about the exaggerations we find in the Holocaust narrative. Often the enlightenment comes at the hands of the Holocaust traditionalists themselves. Recommended reading from the Ann Arbor Public Schools Holocaust curriculum is the well-known novel Night, written by the famous Elie Wiesel. On page 32, he writes:

"Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes ... children thrown into the flames. (Is it any wonder that ever since then, sleep tends to elude me?)"

And in another book from the same author – “The Jews of Silence”, he writes about the alleged massacre of 33,000 Jews at Babi Yar in the Ukraine. From p. 48 we read: “Eyewitnesses say that for months after the killings, the ground continued to spurt geysers of blood.”

Without supporting evidence, Wiesel wants us to believe that blood spurted out of the ground in geyser-like fashion for months, when no one has ever seen such an occurrence.

Yet in a third book, Legends of our time, Wiesel comes clean. In the introduction he writes about a conversation with the local rabbi:

"'What are you writing?' the Rebbe asked. "Stories", I said. He wanted to know what kind of stories: true stories. "About people you knew?" Yes, about people I might have known. "About things that happened?" Yes, about things that happened or could have happened. "But they did not?" No, not all of them  did. In fact, some were invented from almost the beginning to almost the end. The Rebbe leaned forward as if to measure me up and said with more sorrow than anger: "That means you are writing lies!" I did not answer immediately. The scolded child within me had nothing to say in his defense. Yet, I had to justify myself: "Things are not that simple, Rebbe. Some events do take place but are not true; others are - although they never occurred."

What will the reaction of Ann Arbor students be, when they read of such an admission?

Thank you


Monday, June 26, 2023

Report on Beth Israel vigil 06-24-23


Coffee with Rabbi Caine

Rabbi Nadav Caine of Beth Israel Congregation broke 4+ years of relative silence with an email invitation to this writer for some coffee. Naturally, the invitation was accepted, and we shared a respectful hour discussing our similarities and differences on June 14. Nadav wanted to see what kind of document it would take to convince us to end our 19+ year vigil, and I presented him with some guidelines, specifically the Letter to the Editor by vigiler Sol Metz [deceased …hh] of July 7, 2009. Sol had outlined under what circumstances Witness for Peace would be willing to end the vigils. 
Nadav indicated he would like a second meeting where he could present his document, and a date prior to July 31 was agreed upon. In the meantime, we have generated our own document, which embodies more clearly the points raised in Sol’s letter.

Addressing City Council

We received an email from revisionist Diane King after our address to Council on April 17. She gently advised us against using the word “Nazi”, as it was pejorative, and never used by National Socialists to describe themselves. Since we were unaware of this newly acquired information, we addressed Council again on June 5. Watch here (fast forward to 43:25) to observe seven Councilmen walk out on my talk, as well as two former supporters. Truth sometimes is a terrible thing to face. Text of this talk follows signature. 

Getting the Attention of Jonathan Greenblatt

The Anti-Defamation League (aka the Defamation League) has seen fit to publish its list of “Who’s Who of Holocaust Denial”, and this writer finds himself listed alongside friends Alison Chabloz and Michael Hoffmann, as well as heavyweights Ernst Zundel, Arthur Butz, David Erving, David Duke and Robert Faurisson. Have our signs made a difference?



A Child’s Reaction to our vigil

Readers may remember the comments of Roger Cone, an Ann Arbor resident living close to the vigils. In helping Beth Israel Congregation convince City Council to pass a resolution condemning our 1A-supported expressions of free speech, he employed hearsay when he stated: “One of the neighbors heard a mother walking her child past the protesters, who asked ‘Mom, is that man going to hurt me?’”

Readers are asked to contrast Roger’s hearsay with the 10-second clip of an actual child reacting to our presence, and judge for themselves.

Scorecard

Date/For-Against

20-May  12-11 
27-May   9-5
  3-Jun    19-14
10-Jun    14-6
17-Jun    25-12
24-Jun    9-4     
  
Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
176 Palestinians killed this year by “Israel”
ALL SO THAT JEWS CAN HAVE A “HOMELAND”


Address to City Council June 5, 2023 (367 words)

Good Evening,

It appears that historical revisionism never rests. After distributing my address to Council on April 17 to a wider audience via email and Facebook, I received a reply from Diane King of Texas. She was going to disseminate my address to her email list, and cautioned me against using the word “Nazi”, claiming it a derogatory term. She wrote “We abhor this term. The Germans never referred to themselves that way. It’s equivalent to the other ethnic slurs that are verboten, but it’s ok to disparage Germans?”

I already knew that the term “Nazi” originated from a country-bumpkin reference to Germans, a slur based on the common farm-boy, or simpleton name “Ignatz”, and the shortening of that name to “Nazi”. This knowledge was supplied by Benton Bradberry’s book The Myth of German Villainy. But I did not know that National Socialists never referred to themselves by that name. In my ignorance, I thought everyone used the term.

I asked myself whether Diane could be correct, and asked the Facebook public for evidence to counter her claim. I wanted to be shown a reference by a German National Socialist who used the term “Nazi” in a correspondence or speech. I ask anyone here if they have corroborative evidence of National Socialists self-describing as “Nazi”.

No one on Facebook supplied such information. One respondent, though, alerted me to an article that explained exactly what Diane was claiming. The article reports that a powerful Jewish journalist named Konrad Heiden popularized this term in the 1920’s as an epithet meant to degrade members of the National Socialist Workers Party of Germany. 

Apparently, this name calling stuck: we are left with the impression that everyone used the term, because we –mistakenly  - are continuing to use it.

Two takeaways: one, people and groups should be referred to as they deem fit. How would our Black community react to being referred to by the N-word? How would our Jewish community appreciate being called the K-word? I doubt either group would appreciate it. It wouldn’t be right.

Second takeaway:  perhaps this successful name calling technique was yet another reason why German Jews were found in disfavor by their countrymen.

I think our students deserve to be presented with this information

Thank you


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