The image says it all: Former President Bill Clinton stood feet away from notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan at the funeral for the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin. Farrakhan, founder of the Nation of Islam, sat front row at the funeral, next to the race-obsessed Rev. Al Sharpton and former Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.
Farrakhan’s presence in the front row behind the dais inspired criticism from both Left and Right.
“UGH….Louis Farrakhan is on the dais at [the Aretha Franklin funeral,” Yashar Ali, a writer for New York magazine and HuffPost, tweeted.
UGH….Louis Farrakhan is on the dais at #ArethaHomegoing
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 31, 2018
Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative college group Turning Point USA, also blasted Farrakhan’s presence at the funeral. “It is disgrace to the beautiful Aretha Franklin to have the con artists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton sit front row at her funeral alongside anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan next to impeached President Bill Clinton,” Kirk tweeted. “Aretha was a wonderful talent and her legacy is better than this.”
It is disgrace to the beautiful Aretha Franklin to have the con artists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton sit front row at her funeral alongside anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan next to impeached President Bill Clinton
Aretha was a wonderful talent and her legacy is better than this
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 31, 2018
This March, the Republican Jewish Coalition called on seven Democrats — including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who warmly embraced the anti-Semite in March — to resign from Congress due to their support for Farrakhan. Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) introduced a resolution condemning the NOI leader for “promoting ideas that create animosity and anger” toward Jewish Americans and toward Judaism, and condemning “all manifestations of expressions of racism, anti-Semitism, and ethnic or religious intolerance.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has dubbed Farrakhan “the leading anti-Semite in America,” who for 30 years “has espoused and promoted anti-Semitism and racism” and “has repeatedly alleged that the Jewish people were responsible for the slave trade, as well as the 9/11 attacks.”
The ADL compiled a video of Farrakhan’s most anti-Semitic statements. Among other things, the NOI leader declared, “You are not the chosen of God. You are the chosen of Satan.”
During the Nation of Islam’s “Saviours’ Day” convention on February 25, the anti-Semite declared, “White folks are going down. And Satan is going down. And Farrakhan, by God’s grace, has pulled the cover off of that Satanic Jew and I’m here to say your time is up, your world is through.” He posted the entire speech on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMinisterFarrakhan/videos/1610292582411341/
While the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate group” list has many problems, it is generally reliable when it comes to racial hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan and black separatist groups. The SPLC has rightly labeled the Nation of Islam a “hate group” in this vein.
At the funeral, Sharpton took the opportunity to blast President Donald Trump, urging the crowd to help him teach the president the meaning of respect, a nod to Aretha Franklin’s massive hit “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”
Follow the author of this article on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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