British comic Sasha Baron Cohen’s most infamous character is Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional journalist from Kazakhstan whose misogyny is only matched by his antisemitism. A greatest hits reel for this very-much-not-PC character would include his myriad fears of Jews. We laugh because these beliefs are so outlandish that they make the false allegations spread throughout history — such as that Jews use the blood of non-Jewish children to make matzah — seem tame by comparison. Perhaps the Jewish Cohen’s humor — as well as his Jewish viewers’ laughter — is a defense mechanism to convince us that real antisemitism isn’t as bad as what we can invent in our imaginations.
Because of course nowhere in the real world is there a “Running of the Jew,” complete with a horned Jewess who lays eggs that enraged children beat before they can hatch:
And even the most antisemitic person on earth doesn’t believe that Jews can shapeshift to hide their horns:
Or that Jews attack with their claws:
I was reminded of these skits when reading the autobiography of Dor Shachar, “From Gaza to Tel Aviv: The Unbelievable Story of a Muslim Palestinian Who Escaped to israel and Became a Jew.” Shachar, whose original name was Ayman Abu Soobuch before he converted to Judaism as an adult, was born in 1977 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. His description of his childhood suggests that far too many children in Gaza would find nothing absurd about the idea of smashing a "Jew-egg."
Since I was a kid, we were fed this line that Jews were strange creatures, sporting three legs and an eye smack in the middle of their foreheads. … Israel, to me, had morphed into some distant star inhabited by aliens. Someone with three legs and an extra eye is an alien, right? At night I’d gaze up at the North Star and whisper to myself. "That’s Irael. That’s where the alien Jews live." … For days, this vision of Israel as some far-off alien planet, teeming with bizarre creatures, wouldn’t leave my mind.
“Three legs and an eye smack in the middle of their foreheads”? Even Borat wouldn’t believe something so absurd.
The education Gazan children receive, Shachar writes, is a toxic mix of Jew-hatred and Palestinian revanchism. The very first word he ever saw written on the classroom board was Palestine. At just seven years old, he dreamed of becoming a doctor and was eager to begin school. However, those dreams were quickly extinguished by his teacher.
But instead of talking about medicine, the teacher started talking about something completely different. "The Jews are killing children, women, men, and the elderly," he said. "They stole your land – Jaffa, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem. All of Israel belongs to your ancestors. This is Palestine! When you grow up, you will fight to the last drop of blood. You will kill the Jews and return your land. The Jews are dogs, pigs, infidels who do not believe in Muhammad and the Quran. Their punishment is a cruel death." The teacher told us that Jews are monsters with three legs and an eye in their forehead and added, “This is the greatest commandment—to kill Jews and Christians.”
Shachar and others who have made it out of Gaza and now warn the West about the dangers emanating from it can make even the most ardent friend of Israel feel almost naïve. Sure, many of us have read about the cartoons featuring “jihadi mice” or Jews eating babies, but only if you’ve been fed that toxic cocktail of hatred day after day can you truly understand the effects of such brainwashing. Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of the co-founder of Hamas who later defected from the terrorist group, is one such person:
I am the legitimate representative of the Palestinian children. The child within me speaks: I don’t want somebody coming from London or somebody coming from the other side of the world to tell me what is the struggle of the Palestinian children. The Palestinian society has been hijacked by criminals and anybody who takes their side is participating in their crime.
One of these children, Mahmoud Afana, grew up to become a terrorist who participated in the October 7 attacks. After murdering 10 Jews, he called his parents to brag about his achievement.
Afana told his father he was speaking from Kibbutz Mefalsim. “Open my WhatsApp now and see all the dead. See how many I killed with my own hands. Your son killed Jews,” he said. His father replied: “May God protect you. He continued, speaking directly to his father: “Father, 10 with my own hands. I’m inside Mefalsim, I killed 10. Their blood is on my hands. Put Mother on.” His mother responded: “Oh my son, may God keep you safe.” Afana pressed on: “By God, 10 with my own hands. I felt them with my own hands.” His mother answered: “May God bring you back in peace.” Afana added: “Father, check WhatsApp, I want to make you a live broadcast from inside Mefalsim.”
Who knows whether this man, like Shachar, had different dreams as a child? Maybe he wanted to be a soccer player or a fireman. The devastating tragedy is that his parents wanted him to be a terrorist.
I admit I once laughed at the Borat skits. But after reading Shachar’s book, I don’t think I’ll ever laugh at them again.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle, just inflicting pain for political points.
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