Organizer Behind “Occupy Wall Street” Has History of Anti-Jewish Writing

Alana Goodman

It isn’t just a few crackpots engaging in anti-Semitism incidents at the Occupy Wall Street protests. Apparently, the main organizer behind the movement – Adbusters editor Kalle Lasn – has a history of anti-Jewish writing.

Back in 2004, he wrote a highly controversial Adbusters article entitled “Why Won’t Anyone Say They Are Jewish?” which peddled some of the more feverish theories about American Jews, neoconservatism, and the Bush administration (emphasis added):

Drawing attention to the Jewishness of the neocons is a tricky game. Anyone who does so can count on automatically being smeared as an anti-Semite. … Here at Adbusters, we decided to tackle the issue head on and came up with a carefully researched list of who appear to be the 50 most influential neocons in the U.S. (see above). Deciding exactly who is a neocon is difficult since some neocons reject the term while others embrace it. Some shape policy from within the White House, while others are more peripheral, exacting influence indirectly as journalists, academics and think tank policy wonks. What they all share is the view that the U.S. is a benevolent hyper power that must protect itself by reshaping the rest of the world into its morally superior image. And half of them are Jewish.



The “Jew Watch” list sparked an understandable wave of outrage across Canada and the U.S. But Lasn was unfazed. He wrote in defense:



Is it not just as valid to comment on the Jewishness of the neocons as it is to point out that the majority of them are male or white or wealthy or from the Western world or have studied at a particular university? If half the neocons were Palestinians, would the U.S. have invaded Iraq?



This wasn’t the only time Adbusters’ was hit with charges of anti-Semitism. In 2009, the magazine published a photomontage comparing the Gaza Strip to the Warsaw Ghetto. This sparked a legal dispute between the magazine and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which reportedly owned the Warsaw photos used by Adbusters.



But Lasn also has defenders, including David Duke , who published this sympathetic essay by Jeff Gates on his website:



Kalle Lasn , founding editor of Adbusters, is a graphic artist who eventually awoke to the harm he was doing as an advertising executive. An Estonian, he saw firsthand how the Soviets exerted virtual control by manipulating the mental environment. In March 2004, Lasn published an article in Adbusters pointing out that, whereas less than two percent of Americans are Jewish, 26 of the top 50 neoconservatives advocating war in Iraq are Jewish (52 percent).



He titled the article: “Why Won’t Anyone Say They’re Jewish?” By ADL standards, that meant he was an “anti-Semite”—just for asking the question. What’s since been confirmed is that the bulk of those who fixed the intelligence around that predetermined goal were either Jewish or assets developed by operatives who were Jewish.



That’s not to say the Occupy Wall Street movement itself is anti-Semitic. But if the top organizer behind the Tea Party turned out to have published a blacklist of American Jews he claimed had dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel, the backlash from the media would be massive. And if the top leader of the Tea Party fought a legal battle with the U.S. Holocaust Museum over an offensive collage he made using Warsaw Ghetto photos, politicians certainly wouldn’t be lining up to support the movement.



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Dan Friedman
NYC
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http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/10/13/more-anti-semitism-at-occupy-los-angeles/?singlepage=true
More Anti-Semitism at Occupy Los Angeles

While there have been intense arguments in the media recently about hints of anti-Semitism which have erupted at New York’s Occupy Wall Street protest, very little attention has been paid to similar problems cropping up at other “Occupy” events around the country.

Below you will find some photographs and a video taken at the Occupy Los Angeles encampment which reveal how there is a growing encroachment of anti-Semitic “Jewish bankers” conspiracy theories becoming more and more evident at these events. Obviously not everyone at the “Occupy” protests is an anti-Semite, but the fact that these statements and views fit so neatly into the whole anti-banker milieu, and often go completely unchallenged by fellow protesters, should give everyone cause for concern about where this whole movement is heading.

The first four pictures show the signs close up. The second four pictures show the same signs in context as they appeared at the Occupy Los Angeles protest, to prove beyond any doubt that these are authentic. Below them is a video of an Occupy Los Angeles speaker spinning more conspiracy theories.

All Los Angeles photos and video here were taken by Ringo, and will appear in future reports at Ringo’s Pictures. This is the first time any of them have been shown online.

(Below the Los Angeles images there is a gallery of videos [many already well-known] of anti-Semitic protesters at the New York Occupation, along with transcriptions.)

First, at Occupy Los Angeles:


“End the Fed. Turn off the spigot!!!”, with an illustration showing Stars of David (containing the word “Zion”), missiles, and dollar signs, implying either that Jewish influence in the Federal government is what causes war funding, or that Jews pressure the government to send military aid to Israel, or both.


“Bizarre and incredible as it sounds, humanity has been colonized by a satanic cult called the ILLUMINATI…This cult represents Masonic and Jewish bankers who finagled a monopoly over government credit which allows them to charge interest on funds they create out of nothing. Thus, the people who control our purse strings are conspiring against us…They have orchestrated TWO WORLD WARS and are planning a THIRD.”

This ancient stereotype of the evil and greedy “Jewish bankers” is the precursor to the “greedy Wall Street bankers” so hated by the Occupiers.


“It’s Yom Kippur: Banks should atone!” Hmmmm…why would the banks and bankers engage in a Jewish ritual practice (atonement on Yom Kippur) if they weren’t Jewish? Again, we return to the “Jewish bankers” theme.


“Humanity vs. the Rothschlds” [sic -- he means "Rothschilds.]

In earlier centuries up through WWII, anti-Semitic “Jewish banker” conspiracy theories frequently focused on the Rothschilds, a prominent European Jewish family which owned many financial institutions.

Speaking of the Rothschilds conspiracy theories, and the belief that the Jews “funded WWII,” this video by Ringo of a speaker at the Occupy L.A. protest shows that the anti-Semitism is creeping into standard anti-capitalist speeches:
Here’s a transcript of what she said starting at 0:39 into the video:

Occupy L.A. speaker: “How many people know that the wars, in WWII, both sides, were funded by the Rothschilds? Those are the bankers. So banking and war is very intertwined.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lik2fujAo2Q#t=16s

And in case anyone wants proof that these signs were indeed at the Occupy Los Angeles protest, here are photos of them in context, with the Occupation encampment around them:

Just to be complete, here is a gallery of videos taken at the New York Occupy Wall Street protest.

First up is the now-infamous “Lotion Man,” arguing with a Jewish passerby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l3Y9CARUwio#t=8s

Lotion Man: “I got a job, Mo. I do have a job. You’re a bum, Jew. Man, I’m a Jew. Why are you fighting with us? You got the money, that’s why you’re fighting, you Jewish man. My father worked 40 years, and we have a foreclosed house, my mother’s dead, she had a heart attack from stress. You tell the corporations to stop calling my mother.”

Jewish passerby: “What?”

Lotion Man: “What? [Mocking] Uh? Uh? Duhduhduhduhduh. You can’t even speak English? Are you Israeli? Go back to Israel. Israel. Go back to Shalom Israel. … I have a job. I’m a college graduate. I’m in the Local 1 Plumbers’ Union. Who are you to tell me I need a job? Look at you, you short little man. Go away. I don’t wanna argue. Bye! Keep it moving. Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Wall Street.”

Also note that the person who took the video said (about Lotion Man’s statement that he too is Jewish) “By the way, during the course of his performance, he told me that he was white, Puerto Rican, Jewish, and African-American.”

Next up is a guy who’s been standing at the protest for weeks, holding up blatantly anti-Semitic signs and ranting about Jews, to the consternation of Jews in the vicinity:

“Blame the Jews.”

That’s the message one Wall Street protester was trying to spread in Lower Manhattan to anyone that would listen.

A new video posted to YouTube shows the protester loudly and aggressively proclaiming “the Jews control Wall Street.”

In the nearly 6-minute video, the man is seen standing in Zuccotti Park ranting against Israel and Jews while holding a sign reading “Hitler’s Bankers – Wall St.”

The protestor, who would not give his name to those gathered around him, is also seen arguing with members of the public who took offense to his choice of words.

A number of others also ask the protester if Fox News had paid him to stand and display his sign to which he responded: “[expletive] Fox News, that’s [expletive]. [Expletive] Jew made that up.”

Here’s the video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlKiATQIR_4&feature=player_embedded#t=4s



The Occupiers, completely unable to accept that their arguments have attracted kooks with similar and overlapping beliefs, begin to formulate their own ridiculous conspiracy theory that he is an agent hired by Fox News — as you will see in this transcript, starting at 1:30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NWwK5TBcoUY#t=7s

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “The Jews control Wall Street! These are the Jews! The Jews control Wall Street. Google it! Google Wall Street Jews. Wall Street Jews! Their names are Jewish — do the homework, do the research. The Jews control Wall Street!”

Bystander: “Hey, didn’t I see you getting out of that Fox News truck parked over there by the corner?”

[Later, starting at 3:24]

Blogger: “Tell me something: Know what? People are saying that Fox News gave you $50. Did you get paid $50 to hold that sign?”

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “Fuck Fox News and that bullshit.”

Blogger: “Did anyone pay you to hold that sign?”

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “No! A fucking Jew made that up.”

Blogger: “No one paid you to hold that sign?”

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “No.”

Here’s another video of the same guy, with a transcript starting at 1:14: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qlKiATQIR_4#t=6s

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “Google ‘Jews control Wall Street.’ Google “Jewish billionaires.’ Google ‘Jews and the Federal Reserve Bank.’ The small ethnic Jewish population in the country, they have a firm grip on America’s media, finances, and other areas of production.”

Interviewer: “So what would you say to people who say you’re anti-Semitic or don’t like Jews?”

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “I would tell them that Jesus in the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus referred to certain elements in the Jewish community as ‘children of the devil,’ Chapter 8 I believe. But, having said that, the fact of the matter is that there is clear, the fingerprints of these Jewish billionaires and hedge fund managers and bankers is clear and convincing.”

Interviewer: “So are you against all Jews, or just…?”

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “I’m against the Jews who are robbing America, or who are silent about their brethren robbing America. Google ‘Jewish billionaires.’ Half the billionaires in this country are Jewish. Jews represent 2% of the population, but they are that 1% that seems to control America. And you can also Google ‘Jews control America.’ There’s a lot of research that’s been done to prove that there appears to be some kind of ethnic grip on the American economy.”

…etc. [He also said that Obama is a Jewish puppet... And federal judge ont he West Coast is Jewish ... All judges in NY are Jewish. Also blames Jews for the oil spill and 9/11 funds???? Aggie]

The interviewer wrote an article on The Blaze to accompany these videos, in which he also includes an interview with a “non-leader” of the Occupy Wall Street group saying the the anti-Semite doesn’t represent the rest of the protesters.

Here is yet another video of the same guy, with a transcript starting at 0:33:

Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street protester: “I have to say that Jews have usurped the authority of the majority of the people of this country. And they’re doing it in a conspiratorial manner. And everyone is afraid, everyone is shaking in their boots to admit that one ethnic group is dominating America.”

This article in the Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters News discusses how some observant Jews at the New York Occupy Wall Street protest are becoming increasingly upset at the incipient anti-Semitism in the protest messages, and are trying to counter it:

Daniel Sieradski, a new media activist and participant in the protests, says he is reaching out to Jewish participants at the protest.

Sieradski has also found a small, fringe element that has “chosen to co-opt the protests as an opportunity” to spread hatred and anti-Semitic rhetoric, among participants, and hopes to dispel negative Jewish stereotypes and to “fight those using Jew-hatred,” by his presence there.

Leftists at the protest are hyper-senstitive to accusations of anti-Semitism, and have struck back with counterattacks.

This article in New Voices, the National Jewish Student Magazine, downplays the sign-holder as “the entire anti-Semite community of the Occupy Wall Street protest,” claiming there are no other anti-Semites there.

And the left-leaning pro-Occupy PoliticsUSA site published articles entitled Nazi Obsessed Fox News Attacks Occupy Wall Street As Anti-Semitic and A Terrified Rush Limbaugh Mines the Gutter Of Anti-Semitism To Attack the 99% which go to great lengths to dismiss the charges of anti-Semitism.

But with the emergence of the new evidence from Los Angeles presented above, the charges are getting harder to ignore.