Behavior in Blumenthal Video Damaging and Embarrassing

Joshua Frazer — June 9, 2009 – 2:48 pm | Israel | Obama | Stop the Smears Comments (1) Add a comment

On June 8th The Jerusalem Post  published an article on a recent video taken by American filmmaker Max Blumenthal in Jerusalem. The video, shot the night before President Obama’s speech in Cairo, was, according to Blumenthal and his assistant Joseph Dana’s comments, intended to display “what Obama was up againist,” when it came to the Middle East peace process.

The video featured several young adults, identified by Dana as “college educated sons and daughters… American Jews from metropolises and genteel suburbs, being asked what they thought about the President and his efforts in the Middle East.”

The reactions range from unintelligible profanity laced diatribes, to racial slurs, as one interviewee grabs the microphone and yelled “White Power!”

There are several problems that arise from this video, and after viewing it many times, reading hundreds of comments on the video from the website where it is posted, what follows is an open response to young adults in the Jewish community. As this topic is deeply personal to me, I will likely be posting several different times on the video.

To my peers, the young American Jews featured in the video. We both know that your behavior in the video is reprehensible. Relying on the excuse of alcohol, and a party atmosphere just does not excuse that type of behavior.

The use of racially hateful language was extremely disappointing to watch, not because I believe that all Jews are superior to biases that can encroach on any human, but because as a young American Jew, I have hopes that we would respect ourselves enough to not use that kind of language.

The use of racial slurs reveals not just insensitivity, but also a profound ignorance. Does the bandana-clad young man who so boldly yelled, “White Power!” into the microphone realize that the Klu Klux Klan and similar minded groups also persecute Jews? And if he truly believes that the first Jews were white suburbanites from New Jersey…then I have some swampland in Florida I could sell him.

One young man in the video used further racial stereotypes when discussing the President, drawing on “fried chicken..and watermelon”, using the word, “n**ger” as well. This line may have gotten a laugh out of his friends in the video, but this is the type of racial insensitivity that has festered within the Jewish community.

Another pressing matter revealed in the video is the profound ignorance of one young woman who questions Obama’s American citizenship, claims to know that he is “for sure” a Muslim, further claims to “know her [stuff]” because she is a political science major, but does not know who Prime Minister Benyamin Netantyahu is.

It would be comical if it was not so upsetting.

Some may argue that claiming expertise on a subject without actually having in depth knowledge of said subject is merely a right of passage for undergraduate college students. There are few demographic groups that can prattle for hours about a topic, whether it is world peace, the art of the stolen base, or God-forbid, philosophy, without really having a clue.

However, shielding that ignorance with ad hominem attacks is never a good idea. If this girl is truly a political science major, I hope she pays better attention in her argument and reasoning lectures. Attacking a person on his or her personality, or personal qualities (ie: being Muslim) when said qualities have no impact on judging the person’s ability to fulfill a task (ie: being President) is a deeply flawed argument.

I should make myself clear; I have no problem with Jews who dislike the President’s policies. However, resorting to hate filled speech in place of a sound argument is not helpful nor should it be taken seriously. Again, since this is a deeply personal topic for me, I will be posting more about it later. Your comments and thoughts are welcome.

For those interested in viewing the Blumenthal video click here but please be advised that the video contains profanities and racially hurtful language.

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