Atlas Shrugs

VIDEO: Pamela Geller Interview on Israel National News

Here's news interview I did with Israel National News (don't miss the end of interview) -- Interview taped by Eliran Aharon, Arutz Sheva TV, New York

"Geller: Norway Weeks Away from being Judenrein" Israel National News

Muslims in Europe are continuing Hitler's work, and it is coming to America, too, Geller tells Arutz Sheva on eve of her talk at Great Neck.

Jewish activist Pamela Geller has no plans to go away – or to be quiet in the wake of what she says is a media campaign to silence her. The media may refuse to acknowledge her message about the dangers of Muslim terror, ideology, and anti-Semitism, but she is not going to stop presenting it.

Geller is co-founder of the American Freedom Defense Initiative and has been at the forefront of championing causes that have to do with democracy, freedom, liberty and justice through her role as a leading blogger at "Atlas Shrugs", a co-founder of "Stop the Islamization of America" and a prolific writer on the subject of the threat to the American value system that she feels is represented by insidious encroachment of Sharia law in the Western world.

Recently, Geller was invited to speak at one of the synagogues in Great Neck, but local Jewish leftist activists exerted heavy pressure on the synagogue, in order to prevent her from speaking.

Members of the local Jewish community told Arutz Sheva that the leftists threatened to take action against the synagogue if it allows Geller to speak there. The rabbi of the synagogue eventually surrendered and cancelled the lecture, they said.

Local Chabad members, however, heard the story and, deciding that freedom of expression is a supreme value, allowed Geller to lecture at one of the local Chabad synagogues. The Chabad members were also threatened but did not give up. The community members said that even when well-respected donors told Chabad they would block financial aid if they let Geller speak, Chabad was not deterred and said it intended, despite the threats, to allow Geller to be heard.

Geller spoke to the Chabad audience last Sunday, and in an interview with Arutz Sheva's Yoni Kempinski before the event, she gave her account of what it was like to be the victim of a “smear campaign. I am not anti-Muslim, she said. Those who call her that are “part of a disinformation campaign, smear and defamation. Nobody talks about the work I do with muslim girls who want to lead a more western life, who are trying to get away from the Hijab. They have to set up a straw man, and portray it as if I hate Muslims.

“Frankly, it's disingenuous,” she said “It's a libel. I am a human rights activist dedicated to equal human rights for all. I don't believe in special rights for special classes of people. Anyone saying that has not read my three books or hundreds of articles, or the 25,000 posts I wrote at Atlas Shrugged. I challenge anyone who makes these accusations to substantiate them. How do you accuse a person with no evidence?”

The media is a complicit player in this smear campaign, she said. “The media refuses to discuss Muslim attacks, even though since 9/11 there have been some 21,000 Muslim terror attacks around the world. When it comes to the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist groups, like CAIR, who are unindicted co-conspirators in the largest Hamas funding case in history, there is full respect, and the media talks them as if they are legitimate. But immediately before my name comes the description 'anti-Muslim.'”

News VIDEO: "Terrorists Can Speak in Canada, Pamela Geller Can't"

Terrorists Can Speak in Canada, Pamela Geller Can't | Daniel Greenfield, FrontPage Magazine
Every Western country is falling under the same mandate that conflates national security with not offending Muslims.

The Canadian reality is still different than the American reality. And the Canadian reality is different than the European reality. But the gaps between the three are shrinking.

York Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force’s chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

Veerappan said he told Kaplan that Geller’s speech “would not be endorsed by York Regional Police” and that the rabbi’s role as a force chaplain would be thrown into question if he were to permit the event.

“If he did (host Geller), then we’d have to reassess our relationship with (Kaplan),” Veerappan said. “We serve the needs of the entire community. Some of the stuff that Ms. Geller speaks about runs contrary to the values of York Regional Police and the work we do in engaging our communities.”

Veerappan said a member of York Region’s Muslim community, whom he wouldn’t identify, brought Geller’s scheduled talk to the attention of police.

In March, the University of Toronto hosted controversial Muslim lecturer Tariq Ramadan, who has also spoken in Toronto at the annual Islamic faith conference, Reviving the Islamic Spirit. In October, Pakistani politician Imran Khan, a controversial critic of the U.S. war on terror, spoke in Brampton. Leila Khaled, a Palestinian revolutionary from the 1970s, is set speak at University of British Columbia on May 4.

The rules are fairly straightforward. Muslims are allowed to do anything they like because interfering with them might rile them up. And non-Muslims are only allowed to praise Islam because otherwise Muslims might get riled up.

There is no standard of behavior. Only a security concept that stakes everything on not riling Muslims up.  And that means free speech goes by the wayside.

Obama officials have engaged in similar efforts to silence and even imprison those who burned Korans or made movies offensive to Muslims. Every Western country is falling under the same mandate that conflates national security with not offending Muslims.

In the name of that inoffensiveness, Muslim speakers who promote terrorism are tolerated in order not to offend the Muslims who might otherwise turn to terrorism. And non-Muslims who oppose terrorism are silenced because if they speak, Muslims might turn to terrorism.

This is the upside down world that appeasement has given us where black is white and good is evil.

Blazing Cat Fur has Salim Mansur’s letter which makes the same point......(read the rest here)

Mark Steyn on the Geller Cancellation by Canada's Sharia Police

I was scheduled to speak at the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue in Thornhill, right outside of Toronto’s city limits, on May 13. But now Islamic supremacist groups in Canada, with sharia enforcement by the Canadian police, have succeeded in getting the event canceled under police pressure, and the organizers are looking for a new location.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the York Regional Police force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau said,  “Some of the stuff that Ms. Geller speaks about runs contrary to the values of York Regional Police and the work we do in engaging our communities.” Let me understand this. The “stuff” that I speak about – gender apartheid, creed apartheid, Islamic Jew-hatred, honor killing – runs contrary to their values? What exactly are their values? Imposing Sharia? Because that’s exactly what they’re doing. My value is life. What’s theirs?

Great stuff by the master:

Excluded by the Inclusion Cops By  Mark Steyn, National Review

As some readers will know, I’ve fought a long battle in Canada to restore freedom of speech to a country that should never have allowed itself to lose it. So I find this example of naked intimidation by state power especially repugnant:

Pamela Geller, tireless campaigner against Islamic imperialism (and a lady I had the honor of being introduced by at CPAC a few years back), was scheduled to give a speech at a Toronto synagogue on May 13th. Miss Geller is not a convicted terrorist or terrorism-supporter or someone who argues for the execution of all homosexuals. If she were, she could speak at any Canadian venue with impunity. Instead, here’s what happened next:

TORONTO - York Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force’s chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

They expressed concern about an upcoming talk to be given by Pamela Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam. She protested past plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, and has posted anti-Jihad messages in that city’s subway system.

When the York Regional Police Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Bureau show up thwacking their truncheons against their palms and saying, “Nice little multifaith advisory committee gig you got going, Rabbi. Shame if anything were to happen to it”, a prudent man gets the message:

Subsequent to his meeting with police, Kaplan cancelled Geller’s May 13 talk.

So that worked. Those who didn’t get the memo about Inspector Ricky Veerappan’s self-enthronement as Greater Toronto Area Speech Commissar are scrambling to find Pamela Geller an alternative venue. If you don’t want the coppers determining whose opinions you’re permitted to be exposed to, give ‘em your support. (Miss Geller has more here.)

I’m tired of being told what I’m allowed to read and hear by statist hacks like Inspector Veerappan. John O’Sullivan likes to call the politically correct British police “the paramilitary wing of The Guardian“. Unfortunately, the “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Bureau” would take that as a compliment.

PS More here. And this line from Inclusion Inspector Veerappan is particularly revolting:

Some of the stuff that Ms. Geller speaks about runs contrary to the values of York Regional Police.

Get lost, creep. In free societies, a constabulary isn’t there to enforce its “values”, it’s there to uphold the law. This man is unfit for his job.

SUN TV: Cops warn rabbi about hosting activist Pamela Geller

Cops warn rabbi about hosting activist Pamela Geller Sun TV, May 1st, 2013

TORONTO -- York Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force's chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill, Ont., synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan of the force's diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the force's hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

They expressed concern about an upcoming talk to be given by Pamela Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam. She's protested past plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, and has posted anti-jihad messages in that city's subway system.

Subsequent to his meeting with police, Kaplan cancelled Geller's May 13 talk, which was sponsored by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) -- a hard-line advocacy group which had rented space in Kaplan's synagogue for the event.

"I think the police are turning a blind eye to who they should be keeping an eye on," said the JDL's Meir Weinstein, referring to radical Islamists. Weinstein said another location will be chosen for Geller's appearance.

Veerappan said he told Kaplan that Geller's speech "would not be endorsed by York Regional Police" and that the rabbi's role as a force chaplain would be thrown into question if he were to allow the event.

"If he did (host Geller), then we'd have to reassess our relationship with (Kaplan)," Veerappan said. "We serve the needs of the entire community. Some of the stuff that Ms. Geller speaks about runs contrary to the values of York Regional Police and the work we do in engaging our communities."

Veerappan said a member of York's Muslim community, whom he wouldn't identify, brought Geller's scheduled talk to the attention of police.

York police enlist eight chaplains of different faiths to counsel police officers and their families. Among them is a Muslim chaplain, Imam Abdul Hai Patel.

A Geller speech scheduled for early April at the Great Neck Synagogue in Long Island, N.Y., was also cancelled.

In March, the University of Toronto hosted controversial Muslim lecturer Tariq Ramadan, who has also spoken in Toronto at the annual Islamic faith conference, Reviving the Islamic Spirit. In October, Pakistani politician Imran Khan, a controversial critic of the U.S. war on terror, spoke in Brampton, Ont. Leila Khaled, a Palestinian revolutionary from the 1970s, is set speak at University of British Columbia on May 4.

Police Cave to Muslims Threaten Rabbi Over Pamela Geller Speech

Here is yet another instance of the Islamic supremacist/leftist war on free speech -- particularly egregious in the wake of the Boston Marathon jihad bombings. The message is all the more crucial now. For years, my colleagues and I labored under the most heinous circumstances. Anyone who opposes the jihad and the Sharia must endure a constant withering attack on one’s name, reputation, integrity, and even spirit. One would think that the Boston bombings would have been a club to the head of politically correct denial of jihad. But the political and media elites are digging in their heels on the flesh and bone of dead Americans. I was scheduled to speak at the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue in Thornhill, right outside of Toronto’s city limits, on May 13. But now Islamic supremacist groups in Canada, with willing aid from the Canadian police, have succeeded in getting the event canceled under police pressure, and the organizers are looking for a new location.

So the police are kowtowing to the Islamic groups, who are demanding that the government do so as well, and the rabbi is kowtowing to the police to insure his York chaplaincy.

Meanwhile, the convicted terrorist and airline hijacker Leila Khaled, who is known as the “poster girl of Palestinian militancy,” is scheduled to speak at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Khaled has been convicted of terrorism for participating in airline hijackings for the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist group. She is scheduled to speak via Skype this Saturday, May 4, at a conference hosted by a group supporting the Palestinian jihad.

York Regional Police threaten rabbi's role as chaplain over Pamela Geller speech Toronto Sun, May 2, 2013

TORONTO - York Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force’s chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

They expressed concern about an upcoming talk to be given by Pamela Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam. She protested past plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, and has posted anti-Jihad messages in that city’s subway system.

Subsequent to his meeting with police, Kaplan cancelled Geller’s May 13 talk, which was sponsored by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) — a hard-line advocacy group that had rented space in Kaplan’s synagogue for the event.

“I think the police are turning a blind eye to who they should be keeping an eye on,” said the JDL’s Meir Weinstein, referring to radical Islamists. Weinstein said another location will be chosen for Geller’s appearance.

Veerappan said he told Kaplan that Geller’s speech “would not be endorsed by York Regional Police” and that the rabbi’s role as a force chaplain would be thrown into question if he were to permit the event.

“If he did (host Geller), then we’d have to reassess our relationship with (Kaplan),” Veerappan said. “We serve the needs of the entire community. Some of the stuff that Ms. Geller speaks about runs contrary to the values of York Regional Police and the work we do in engaging our communities.”

Veerappan said a member of York Region's Muslim community, whom he wouldn’t identify, brought Geller’s scheduled talk to the attention of police.

York Regional Police enlist eight chaplains of different faiths to counsel police officers and their families. Among them is a Muslim chaplain, Imam Abdul Hai Patel.

A Geller speech scheduled for early April at the Great Neck Synagogue in Long Island, N.Y., was also cancelled.

In March, the University of Toronto hosted controversial Muslim lecturer Tariq Ramadan, who has also spoken in Toronto at the annual Islamic faith conference, Reviving the Islamic Spirit. In October, Pakistani politician Imran Khan, a controversial critic of the U.S. war on terror, spoke in Brampton. Leila Khaled, a Palestinian revolutionary from the 1970s, is set speak at University of British Columbia on May 4.

Pamela Geller, WND Column: Free Speech Prevails

In the rush of Boston Marathon coverage, I neglected to post this article about my appearances in Great Neck, which leftists and Islamic supremacists did their best to scuttle. So you may be interested in catching up now:

DEFENDING THE WEST
Free speech prevails on Long Island
Exclusive: Pamela Geller speaks anyway after synagogue was pressured to cancel her

“Her April 14 appearance at Great Neck Synagogue was canceled amid liberal protests,” said the Jewish Daily Forward, “but anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller got the last laugh: The next morning, two other area synagogues invited her to speak the same day as the canceled speech.”

Note the “anti-Islam” smear. They always have to get that in, even when admitting defeat. And they were defeated. The cancellation by the Great Neck Synagogue sent the message that if leftists and Muslims defame those they hate loudly enough and for a long enough time, they will succeed in getting them silenced. But in contrast, Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky of Chabad, Great Neck, and Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg of Congregation Beth-El in Edison, N.J., stood up for the freedom of speech and the defense of the Jewish people, the American people and all free people, and had me speak at their synagogues Sunday instead.

Read the whole thing here.

OT related: Geller supporters plan protest of Great Neck Record

VIDEO: CBS News on Great Neck Synagogue Cancellation of Pamela Geller Talk

Notice how CBS runs Geller footage with no audio. Here is the statement I gave to CBS:

Due to relentless intimidation, bullying and threats, the Great Neck Synagogue is cancelling my talk at the Great Neck Synagogue on Sunday. Ironically, the subject of my talk was the war on free speech, and this incident shows how urgently this topic needs to be discussed. Leftist thugs, pushed and prodded by Islamic supremacist Habeeb Ahmed and his co-conspirators, threatened a march on the shul (among other things).

It is a very sad day for freedom-loving peoples when fascist tactics trump free speech. This reinforces a terrible precedent: that Islamic supremacists and leftists can get whatever they want, and silence their opponents, by keeping up pressure on decent people until they cave in. In America, they don't assassinate their foes, but they assassinate their character. While I understand the synagogue's action, I deplore the cancellation. It shows the inroads that Islamic supremacists and leftists are making in their larger war on the freedom of speech. It hands a victory to thugs and foes of the freedom of speech, as well as the other freedoms and rights that I am dedicated to defending.

In mosques and Islamic centers, the most vitriolic jihad supporters and preachers of hate speak freely. No one complains. No one demonstrates. No one utters a word of protest. But my work that has been consistently in defense of human rights is not allowed to be given a hearing. Mine is a message of freedom, and that message has been forbidden.

WPIX: When "Rabbis" Attack

The local TV news channel, WPIX, certainly has reached new lows in propagandistic reporting. Last night's news segment on the Great Neck brouhaha being staged by Islamic supremacists and their pasty-faced rabbi shills would be comical if it were The Onion. WPIX's print story is not so bad; the accompanying video above is viciously biased (here).

The broadcast starts off decribing me as the blogger who posted pictures of Muhammad as a pig. No context no explanation, just that. Getting that talking point from Hamas groups (like) and terror TV like RT and Al Jizz. The Muhammad pig cartoon they are referring to is one that an Danish imam added to the infamous Muhammad cartoons printed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, in an attempt to gin up anger among Muslims against the Danes. The imam presented the Muhammad-as-pig cartoon as if it were one of the original Danish cartoons, which it wasn't, and now WPIX is presenting it as something I created, which isn't true, either.

The original Atlas post is here. The caption on the Muhammad-as-pig photo is: "Supposed to be Muhammad as half pig, but actually an altered photograph of a guy at a French pig-squealing contest." So they take a photo that I show is not Muhammad at all, and present it as if I was depicting Muhammad as a pig. Unbelievable.

And they depict me saying, "Hitler was inspired by Islam." Taken out of context, it sounds absurd. But I was referring to Hitler's invocation of Armenian Genocide as justification for his genocide. Hitler said: "I have issued the command — and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad — that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly, I have placed my death-head formations in readiness — for the present only in the East — with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space (Lebensraum) which we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Rabbi Jerome Davidson says that I spread "hate speech." I would like to see him quote even one statement from me that's hate speech. He can look in 25,000 Atlas posts, two books, and hundreds of articles I have written, and he will find no hate speech. He is bearing false witness, and that is a sin. He also says that I called Muslims animals. I have never called anyone an animal. He may be referring to my ads that said, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad." This isn't, as is commonly claimed, calling all Muslims savages. Do all Muslims support jihad terror attacks against Israeli civilians? I was calling jihadis savage, and they are. Jihad is evil. The rabbi's sanction of jihad by his silence is evil.

Rabbi Davidson "begged" the rabbi at Great Neck Synagogue to stop a Jewish woman from speaking at his shul. Did he beg the imams with whom he schmoozes to reform the antisemitic hadiths that fire up Islamic armies to wage jihad against Israel? Did he beg the Muslims he works with to do something about the Jew-hatred inspired by the Quranic text that calls Jews the worst enemies of the Muslims (5:82)?

The WPIX story invokes the ADL's condemnation of me. The ADL attempts to manipulate the political discourse in this country by smearing as a "hate group" anyone whose political views they dislike. Yet the ADL has condemned Muslim attacks on Jews in language much like my own -- and then turned and attacked me for saying essentially the same thing. Their “hate group” label is just a propaganda tool to demonize and marginalize defenders of freedom.

WPIX uses several clips from this interview at RT, in which I spar with a relentlessly hostile interviewer over the Ground Zero Mosque controversy. WPIX is even worse than RT, in clipping my statements completely out of context so as to make me look as bad as possible.

Also, speaking of making me look as bad as possible, this is not important, but it is noteworthy: take a look at the lighting in this WPIX interview. I look like a zombie -- and yet this was filmed the same hour as the CBS show I posted about here -- one was at 1:30 and the other at 2pm. But in the CBS interview I look like a normal person and in the WPIX interview I look dead, or undead.

Controversial anti-jihad blogger will bring armed guards to synagogue speech Mary Murphy, WPIX

GREAT NECK, New York (PIX11) -  The head rabbi at the Great Neck Synagogue in Nassau County was defending his decision Tuesday to allow a controversial blogger to speak there this weekend.

The blogger is Pamela Geller–who has spoken out repeatedly against jihad and the code of “sharia” in Islamist governments like Egypt. She told PIX 11, “If one little Jew can’t have a talk at a shul on a Sunday morning, I think it speaks to how bad things are.”

Geller gained prominence several years ago, when she strongly condemned efforts to build a “mega-mosque” near the Ground Zero site in lower Manhattan, close to where more than 2,700 people were killed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

She told PIX she’s received many e-mail threats from overseas since then, saying “They’re going to execute me, shoot me, or bash my skull on the sidewalk.”   Geller told PIX 11 she will be traveling to the Great Neck synagogue with her “usual team of armed guards,” adding “I’m more afraid to stay quiet.”

Some fellow Jews are denouncing Geller’s appearance at the Men’s Club of the orthodox synagogue. Jerome Davidson–Rabbi Emeritus of the Temple Beth-El in Great Neck–said “The synagogue is no place for a hate speech,” adding “She put posters in the subways that compared Muslims to animals.”

Davidson said he “begged” Rabbi Dale Robakoff of the Great Neck Synagogue to cancel Geller ‘s appearance this Sunday. Geller will appear at the temple with Gregory Buckley, Sr. of Oceanside, whose son–Marine Lance Corporal, Gregory Buckley Junior–was shot dead by an Afghani police officer last summer.

PIX 11 spoke to Rabbi Polakoff at the Great Neck Synagogue Tuesday, but he would only agree to read from a statement. It said of Geller, “We believe that it is important to hear what she has to say and we are confident that intelligent and fair minded individuals will consider her views in reaching their own conclusions.”

 

Related articles

When Jewicidals Attack: "Leftist Jewish Groups Want Synagogue To Cancel Speech by Pamela Geller"

Swirsky: "Speaker maligned for truth about Sharia law"

VIDEO CBS News: Fire-branding Geller

Jewish Week: Pamela Geller 'Sharia' Event In Great Neck Spurs Showdown

Pamela Geller, WND column: Muslims, leftists plot against free speech

#MyJihad in Great Neck: Muslims, Leftists Coordinate to Stop Pamela Geller from Speaking At Synagogue

VIDEO CBS News: Fire-branding Geller

In shocking violation of his spiritual obligations as a cleric, Reform "Rabbi" Michael White defames and slanders my work and me. He has obviously never read my work -- my columns or my books. He falsely accuses me of hate speech and has the chutzpah to invoke Jewish teachings. Rabbi Michael White sounds as if he studied his funky brand of Judaism at Hamas university. First and foremost, Rabbi, no loshon hora. And do not libel fellow Jews. You, Rabbi, are supposed to be the example, the teacher.

White calls posting the daily news stories that I post here at Atlas concerning the Islamic persecution and slaughter of Christians and other non-Muslims across the world "hate speech"? He says nothing of what is happening in these news stories. He is struck dumb by the vicious Islamic anti-semitism in the quran and hadith. But his tongue is flapping condemnations of me. Where is Rabbi White's outrage over the most brutal and radical ideology on the face of the earth?

You'd think Michael White would be upset about the genocidal rhetoric coming from Hamas and Iran, and in general about the real threat to the Jews from Islamic jihadis -- the threat about which I am trying to raise awareness. Instead, he smears me for fighting against Islamic Jew-hatred.

He should be driven from his shul by the town elders. He is a disgrace to the rabbinate. Ultimately, he will answer to a higher authority.

CBS wants to know: What do you think of the synagogue’s choice to let Geller speak? Leave your comments here…

Outrage Brews Over Firebrand Pamela Geller’s Planned Speech At Synagogue

CBS News, April 19, 2013

GREAT NECK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Pamela Geller calls herself a human rights activist, but her critics call her a hatemonger.

And as CBS 2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported, Geller will be taking center stage at a Long Island synagogue this weekend speaking about Islam, and there’s been a firestorm of opposition.

“What is the controversy?” Geller said. “You know, a Jewish girl going to speak at a synagogue.”

But there is plenty of controversy. Geller has been called everything from a fanatical bigot to a fearless dynamo, and being called upon to speak at Great Neck Synagogue has ignited even more strong reactions.

Geller has gained notoriety for her anti-Islam messages, notably including several series of ads that have appeared in the New York City subway and Metro North transit systems.

One round of ads read, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.” Another features the twin towers of the World Trade Center burning on Sept. 11, 2001, and a quote attributed to the Quran saying: “Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.”

Geller was also the force against the Ground Zero mosque, which she called a “victory mosque” marking the site of the 9/11 attacks.

Geller’s most recent group, “Stop Islamization of America,” has been dubbed a hate group by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Anti-Defamation League accused the group of “consistently vilifying the Islamic faith.” The SPLC called Geller “the anti-Muslim movement’s most visible and flamboyant figurehead,” and claimed she has “mingled comfortably with European racists and fascists, spoken favorably of South African racists, defended Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic and denied the existence of Serbian concentration camps.”

But she has presented herself as a victim of censorship.

“Whatever your position is, this is free speech, and this is a war on free speech, and the few that speak to these issues are demonized, marginalized, and rendered radioactive,” Geller said.

Now, Geller has been invited by the men’s club at Great Neck Synagogue to speak Sunday. Critics defended her right to free speech, but said inviting her to a house of worship provides a platform for hate.

“We teach that you stand up to hate speech, and what she writes and what she says is absolutely hate speech,” said Rabbi Michael White of the Temple Sinai of Roslyn.

In a chorus of interfaith opposition, Islamic leaders have called on the synagogue to reconsider their invitation.

“She calls Muslims savages. She uses the Quran as a door stopper,” said Dr. Faroque Kahan of the Islamic Center of Long Island. “Her language is very abrasive and she claims Muslims are out to take control of the whole country.”

The synagogue issued a statement: “We believe that it is important to hear what she has to say and we are confident that intelligent and fair minded individuals will consider her views in reaching their own conclusions…. We reject the categorizing of any religious majority based on the actions of a minority. …. We do, though, believe that it is appropriate to speak about the actions of that minority.”

And around Great Neck, there was a great divide over the issue.

“Freedom of speech is something that we should never give up,” one person said.

“This kind of debate doesn’t belong in a holy place,” another said.

Geller will be joined inside the synagogue by the father of a U.S. Marine corporal killed in Afghanistan last year. Outside, demonstrations are expected on both sides.

The subject of Geller’s speech at the synagogue will be Sharia, the religious and moral code of Islam.

'Journalism' in the 21st Century

Bart Jones of Newsday, the largest-circulation newspaper on Long Island, covered the Sharia putsch against my talk at the Great Neck Synagogue on Sunday. Now mind you, this is an article essentially about me. The story, much to my chagrin, is about me -- much as it shouldn't be, it should be about the message -- but it is about me. Because that's what the enemy does. News consumers, pay attention: the entire article is comprised of every uber-left dhimmi Jew "authority figure" who has a nasty word to say about moi. And just for knowing, shame on these rabbis who rush to crucify me and yet stay silent about the virulent anti-Jewish rhetoric that is spewed forth in so many mosques and Islamic centers -- and in the quran and hadith.

I'd like to know how these "rabbis" reconcile the silence of their Islamic partners concerning the vicious anti-semitism in the Quran and hadith. Do these rabbis sanction Islamic anti-semitism? How do they avoid that 800 lb. gorilla in the room? What do these "rabbis" talk about with these sharia enforcers?

How dare these rabbis criticize another synagogue. Who are these people? You never see this in the Muslim community. Reform rabbis like Rabbi Michael White and Rabbi Jerome Davidson bring shame upon our people. Rabbi Michael White calls my work hateful and says that I hold virulently anti-Muslim views. Has White read my books or columns -- can he cite one example of this lashon hora?  He says that "hate speech has no place in synagogues." I agree -- which is why White and Davidson should resign. Their hate speech and smears are not befitting the title of rabbi.

Bart Jones runs every smear and fails to mention that the ringleader of this uproar, Habeeb Ahmed, used his Human Rights Commission public office to strongarm the synagogue to cancel the event. He is currently under investigation for "misuse of title." Bart Jones didn't think that newsworthy, but lies and libel against me -- that's news. Did Bart Jones run one quote from any Geller supporters? Not one.

This article is one slam after the other. That's journalism? Running the smears and lies with no investigation of the charges? No evidence? No need! The objective is to kill the target.

I urge every rational and freedom-loving individual to come to the Great Neck Synagogue and stand against the oppressors, censors, and sharia enforcers who protest my work as a human rights activist.

The article is behind a paywall -- so I scanned it for you.

Blogger involved in 'Ground Zero mosque' controversy to speak in Great Neck

Newsday, April 8, 2013 8:39 PM

Photo credit: AP Photo David Karp | Blogger Pamela Geller, speaks at a conference she organized entitled; "Stop Islamization of America," in New York. (Sept. 11, 2012)

The woman who helped lead the fight in 2010 to keep a mosque and Islamic center from being built near Ground Zero is scheduled to speak at a synagogue in Great Neck this weekend -- generating a firestorm of criticism among Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups.

Blogger and author Pamela Geller is scheduled to speak Sunday at the Great Neck Synagogue on the "Imposition of Sharia in America,"...

 

Related articles

Pamela Geller to Address Great Neck Synagogue

#MyJihad in Great Neck: Muslims, Leftists Coordinate to Stop Pamela Geller from Speaking At Synagogue

Jewish Week: Pamela Geller 'Sharia' Event In Great Neck Spurs Showdown

"The Real Truth About Pamela Geller"

Habeebgate: Islamic Supremacist Habeeb Ahmed violated his public office to get Pamela Geller's Speech cancelled at Great Neck Synagogue under investigation "misused his title"

Swirsky: "Speaker maligned for truth about Sharia law"

"The Real Truth About Pamela Geller"

Jeffrey Dunetz of the The Lid weighs in on the sharia push in Great Neck. Here's a sneak peek at his column this week for The Jewish Star:

"The Real Truth About Pamela Geller," Jeffrey Dunetz, The Lid

Pamela At a Rainy Pro Israel Rally in 2008

Its incredible how one Jewish woman speaking to one Long Island synagogue’s men’s club can generate the wrath of so many progressive-first “Jewish” organizations. As soon as the word spread that Pamela Geller, blogger and fighter of radical Islam would be appearing at Great Neck Synagogue on April 14 The PC Police began an e-mail and phone campaign seeking to get the talk canceled. 

In the spirit of full disclosure I should let you know that Pamela Geller has been my friend for six plus years, ever since I was a newbie blogger and she was already the famous proprietor of blog Atlas Shrugs.

I will also tell you the anti-Muslim “monster” portrayed by the mainstream media and progressive Jewish organizations has no relation to the real Pamela Geller. 

She fights against radical Muslims a fight that grew out of her love for Israel and her frustration with the Anti-Semitic, Anti-American and Anti-Israel sermons and commentary originating from the radical Muslim community.

One of the leaders of the stop Geller from talking movement is the “Jewish Voice For Peace” (JVP). The group sent an email to its members on April 3rd, urging them to contact the Great Neck Synagogue and ask it to cancel the event. Rebecca Vilkomerson, JVP’s executive director, told the Forward on April 4 that at least 50 people had contacted Great Neck Synagogue at the group’s behest.

“Our hope is that the synagogue will cancel her appearance,” Vilkomerson said. “The kind of venom that she spews against Islam is completely inappropriate for a synagogue.”

That the JVP is leading the charge should tell you all you need to know about who is trying to stop Pamela from speaking the truth.

In a rare moment of putting its mission before progressive politics the ADL once called the JVP one of the 10 most anti-Israel organizations in America (Top ten? I am sure their mothers are so proud).

According to the ADL analysis the JVP:

“…calls for an end to U.S. aid to Israel, accuses Israel of "apartheid" policies, and supports divestment campaigns against Israel. Like other Jewish anti-Zionist groups, JVP uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide a greater degree of credibility to the anti-Israel movement. JVP recognizes its role as such, specifically noting that the group's Jewish nature gives it a "particular legitimacy in voicing an alternative view of American and Israeli actions and policies" and the ability to distinguish "between real anti-Semitism and the cynical manipulation of that issue." JVP activists regularly attend anti-Israel events wearing t-shirts and holding signs proudly broadcasting their Jewish identity. In March-April 2010, leaders of JVP unsuccessfully lobbied for the passage of a divestment resolution at the University of California, Berkeley, targeting companies that do business with Israel.”

Here is the truth about Pamela Geller. There are people in the world who see a wrong, give a quick "oh that's so sad" and get on with their lives. Then there are others who see a wrong and go all out to right it. That’s Pamela-- someone who goes out of her way to do what we call in Hebrew, Tikun Olam, repair the world.

On the morning of December 10, 2007 Aqsa Parvez huddled in a Missis­sauga, Candad bus shelter with another Grade 11 student, a girl she had been staying with for the past couple of days. They had plenty of time to make it to their first class at Apple­wood Heights Secondary School. As they waited, Aqsa’s 26-year-old brother Waqas, a tow-truck driver, showed up at the bus stop. He said that she should come home and get a fresh change of clothes if she was going to be staying elsewhere. Aqsa hesitated, and then got into his car.

Less than an hour later, Muhammad Parvez phoned 911 and told the dispatcher that he had killed his daughter. Within minutes, police and paramedics arrived at 5363 Longhorn Trail, a winding suburban street near Eglinton and Hurontario, and found Aqsa unconscious in her bedroom. The 16-year-old wasn’t breathing. The para­medics started CPR, found a faint pulse, and rushed her to Credit Valley Hospital, 10 minutes west. She died just after 10 that evening. The official cause was “neck compression”—strangulation.  

Aqsa was buried in an unmarked grave. Her family refused to acknowledge her life, because she "dishonored" them. In defiance of her devout father she began taking off her hijab, the traditional Islamic headscarf, when she went to school, and would put it back on when she returned home. Her dad would go to her school during school hours and walk around trying to find her, trying to catch her not wearing Islamic garb, talking to boys or hanging out with "non-Muslims".

Pamela grabbed that wrong by the neck and did what she could to eradicate the evil. She raised money (and threw in her own) for a tombstone for Aqua’s grave.  When the family refused to allow the memorial stone, she did not give up: “.. we inquired as to purchasing a plot near Aqsa's body, we could not. Not a tree. Not a rock. Not a bench. All the plots were owned by the Islamic Society of North America. I tried to contact the family at that time, but they would not take my calls -- I spoke to the them once, but they pretended not to speak English. And they were adamant: the family refused to allow the headstone to be put on Aqsa's grave, and according to the cemetery, could remove it if it were placed there by others.”

Feeling that this Muslim girl’s memory shouldn’t be tossed out like the trash, Pamela found a way to honor her memory— Aqsa  grove and plaque in the American Independence Park in Nes Harim, Israel.

This is only one of many examples of the hard work of Pamela Geller to protect and honor Muslims, how she has provided safe-houses for Muslim girls threatened with honor killings, how she has fought against those who would destroy Israel. = I called Pamela today and asked about the leftist groups trying to stop her Great Neck appearance.  She told me that I wasn’t about her—not at all personal, they were fighting against her pro-Israel, pro-Israel, anti- radical message. 

Perhaps she is right, but I do take it personal because I know the real Pamela Geller, not the twisted stereotype created by the progressive attack force.  There are very few people that I have met in my life who risks as much as she does to help others.  

None of those who brand her as anti-Muslim have done one tenth of what she has done to help Muslims (and others) in distress.   Pamela’s heart is larger than the Empire State Building which is why she invests so much of her own time and resources to help others (not that one would know any of this by reading the mainstream media).

Jewish Week: Pamela Geller 'Sharia' Event In Great Neck Spurs Showdown

Habeeb Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury, said of Rep. Peter King's hearings that they were "branding the whole community as if we are all suspects." Really, why? Is Habeeb suggesting that Muslims support jihad and the sharia, the most oppressive and brutal ideology on the face of the earth -- in direct contradiction to the idea that most Muslims are "moderate"?

Habeeb is currently currently under investigation for using his public office (in violation of the public trust) to strongarm the shul into canceling my remarks. What is outrageous that this Islamic supremacist should be telling a synagogue that a fellow Jew can't speak.

Habeeb is the chairman of the Islamic Center of Long Island. Look who speaks at that hotbed of questionable activity. Jihadist Mauri Saalakhan has spoken at the Islamic Center of Long Island.

Islamist Mauri Saalakhan made claims about a "Jewish, Zionist" conspiracy on the Iranian government's English-language news service, this past Saturday. These comments match a series of other extremist speeches by the leader of "The Peace and Justice Foundation," which have made him a prominent figure in Washington D.C.'s Islamist community.

"They [the Republicans] are going to say and do anything that they feel will put them in favor with this very powerful lobby, Jewish organizations, Jewish leaders, institutes, they bend over backwards to please," Saalakhan said on a cover story for Iran's Press TV. "Unfortunately most of our political leaders in the United States are [sic] on both sides, in a sense unfortunately bipartisan, are slaves to the Jewish, Zionist lobby and all of its constituent parts," he added.

Saalakhan also claims that the Jews exercise this power as part of "their aspirations for the presidency," including controlling any debate over Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Saalakhan has stirred up controversy before, over his outspoken support for Middle East terrorist organizations and anti-Semitic comments. At a September 2009 rally in D.C., he told attendees that "people are scared in this country to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful." During a Friday sermon for the Islamic Center of Long Island, he told mosque attendees that Hamas was a "resistance organization – whose armed resistance is legitimized by clearly established international law!"

 Another regular speaker at the Islamic Center of Long Islam is 911 truther Faiz Khan:

(Pictured Faiz Kahn above left -- source Justice for 9/11)

 Faiz Khan (here), conducts prayers at the Islamic Center of Long Island. Khan on the advisory board of the Muslims for 9/11 Truth. In an essay on the Alliance's website, he argued that "the prime factor for the success of the criminal mission known as 9/11 did not come from the quarter known as 'militant Islam' although the phenomenon known as 'militant Islamic networks' may have played a partial role, or even a less than partial role - perhaps the role of patsy and scapegoat."

In speeches, Khan says people in the Third World, where the "sleaze of governance" is more of a given, few people question whether 9/11 was an inside job.

And Habeeb deigns to tell a synagogue what righteous Jews can or cannot speak. Where does he think he is, Cordoba?

But he is not alone. The bloviating Rev. Thomas Goodhue, executive director of the Long Island Council of Churches, said "I believe she presents a very bad image of Judaism.” Now that's chutzpah -- this tool who has sold out his flock in his silence of the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries across the world thinks that I am a bad Jew? Goodhue is carryng water for the most brutal, radical and anti-Christian ideology on the face of the earth, and I am a bad Jew?

The only one lower than the less-than-Goodhue is the ADL's joining with the enemy. The pathetic ADL  director of community service, Etzion Neuer, said its "role was to call the synagogue to make sure it was aware of Geller’s views." I would like to know what views they are referring to. What exactly are they talking about? The ADL is so busy attacking Joan Rivers, Seth McFarlane, Glenn Beck -- why don't do their job and attack the real enemies of the Jewish people?

The ADL is more like the Defamation League. ADL was successfully sued for over $10 million for defaming a Colorado couple accused of bigotry. A judgment was confirmed by every court that reviewed it, and that judgment was ultimately but grudgingly paid by the ADL  The largest defamation judgment in the history of the State of Colorado was paid for Anti-Defamation League. They smear and run. If I weren't a "public persona," I would sue, too.

Pamela Geller 'Sharia' Event In Great Neck Spurs Activists On Both Sides Jewish Week

04/05/13

Activist Pamela Geller says pressure to cancel her event has "seldom been this intense."

Shortly after it was announced that Pamela Geller, an outspoken critic of radical Islam, would be appearing at Great Neck Synagogue April 14 to discuss the “Imposition of Sharia in America,” an e-mail and phone campaign sought to get the talk canceled.

In response, a counter protest was launched to support her appearance and that of Greg Buckley, Sr., whose 21-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Greg Buckley of Oceanside, L.I., was killed last August by a policeman in Afghanistan.

The event, according to one e-mail, was planned to enable Buckley to tell of his son’s murder and “to shine the spotlight on the plight of our brave young soldiers and military families and their demand for respect and justice from our government, which has so far been denied.”

But those questioning the event have focused on Geller’s appearance.

“She is very much anti-Syrian and anti-Muslim and has said she would use our holy book, the Koran, as a door stopper,” said Habeeb Ahmed, who is one of 14 Nassau County Human Rights Commissioners and the first vice president of the Islamic Center of Long Island.

He said that when he learned of her scheduled appearance, he called the synagogue and “left a message with the rabbi’s office saying it was not appropriate for a house of worship to invite Ms. Geller, whom the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center have said is a hate monger. … She will be dividing the community. We have worked hard to bring Jews and Muslims together in general and in Great Neck in particular, where for more than 20 years we have had programs and a dialogue between American Muslims and Jews.”

An e-mail in support of Geller was critical of Ahmed for “mobilizing a lynch mob of local liberal activists and community organizations to harass Rabbi [Dale] Polakoff from Great Neck Synagogue with 100’s of phone calls, demanding he cancel the event or protests will ensue. … It is an absolute disgrace that a man of public office should roll out a campaign of intimidation and censorship because he objects to the viewpoint of one of the speakers.”

As a result of Ahmed’s e-mails in which he identified himself as a county Human Rights Commissioner, the Nassau County Attorney’s office launched an investigation last week to determine whether Ahmed “misused his title,” according to Brian Nevin, a senior policy adviser to Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.

“They are looking to see if any rules in the county charter were broken,” Nevin said. “It may be that there is no policy – and he has apologized.”

Nevin cited a statement issued by the county in which Ahmed wrote that his “thoughts and opinions regarding the visit of Pamela Geller to Nassau County reflect my personal opinion – not that of Nassau County or the Human Rights Commission and not that of the Islamic Center of L.I. The use of my designations in my e-mails is for identification purposes ONLY. I regret if it was taken in any other way.”

“I am aware of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and I respect it,” Ahmed added. “The hate mail that my interfaith colleagues and I have been receiving is proof of that.”

Also voicing his concern about Geller’s appearance is the Rev. Thomas Goodhue, executive director of the Long Island Council of Churches.

“I never intended to organize a massive protest [against her appearance], but a lot of people are concerned,” he said. “A number of rabbis I spoke to are concerned, and I believe she presents a very bad image of Judaism.”

He said that when he first heard of her planned appearance he called the synagogue and spoke with one of the rabbis to verify it.

“My call was meant to be in the form of a heads up – that there could be problems,” Rev. Goodhue said. “She has the right to speak -- and I am certainly not going to go -- but I have to question whether it is appropriate for a house of worship to give her the microphone. … I tried to convey to the rabbi that I would be deeply offended if a church invited a hate monger to come.”

Geller said in an e-mail interview that when she has spoken in the past there was “pressure from leftists and Islamic supremacists to get me canceled … but the pressure has seldom been this intense.”

One reason, she suggested, is that “in general, leftists and Islamic supremacists are growing increasingly desperate: they know that they are perpetrating a Goebbels-like Big Lie, and so even though they have immense influence in the media and in government, they are avid to silence anyone who speaks the truth, because they fear how the truth, even when spoken in a small venue, exposes them.”

Asked if she ever said that she uses the Koran as a doorstop, Geller replied: “The Hamas-tied Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) gives out huge coffee-table size Korans to inquirers about Islam. The commentary accompanying the text in this huge book is often deceptive, downplaying and whitewashing the Koran's texts exhorting to violence, Jew-hatred, misogyny, etc. So when I was given one of these by a Muslim whom I had debated, I went through it and wrote an article about how even this whitewashed Koran's text still contained numerous hateful passages and ones inciting to violence … [I] said that with its great size [it] was worthless for info about Islam but useful as a doorstop. It was a joke, a rhetorical flourish.

“The idea that we cannot make quips of this kind about the Koran, when people on mainstream television mock Judaism and Christianity on a routine basis, already betrays an acceptance of Sharia blasphemy laws forbidding criticism of Islam. I refuse to accept limitations on my freedom of speech or anyone else's.”

In response to the countless phone calls and e-mails Great Neck Synagogue received from both supporters and critics of the event, it issued the following statement:

“Great Neck Synagogue rejects the categorizing of any religious majority based on the actions of a minority. It does though believe that it is absolutely appropriate and with independence of free speech to speak about the actions of such a minority and to evaluate their impact on the perception of the majority of their co-religionists, and on the community in general. It is within such a framework that the Men’s Club has invited Pamela Geller to speak. She will be joined by Greg Buckley, Sr. father of Marine Corporal Gregory Buckley Jr., who was murdered by Jihadists.”

Both sides in this issue are claiming that the other is using devious tactics to galvanize support for their message. And just as Rev. Goodhue said his organization is not calling for the event to be cancelled, so too did the ADL deny rumors that it too wanted to see it called off.

Etzion Neuer, director of community service and policy for the ADL’s New York region, said his organization’s only role was to call the synagogue to make sure it was aware of Geller’s views.

“We don’t tell a synagogue whether to host a speaker or not, and we’re not telling audiences whether they should attend or not,” he said. “We want them to make an informed decision, and the call to the synagogue was because it was not clear whether the synagogue or the audiences would really know what they are getting when they invite Pamela Geller.”

Neuer said Geller is “seen as a pro-Israel advocate or part of a movement to counter extremism. But when you scratch the surface, what you get is less about making a legitimate case for Israel and more that is anti-Islamic bigotry. Part of what makes her problematic is that there are real legitimate concerns about radical interpretations of Islam, which the ADL has spoken about forcefully. But Geller, under the guise of fighting radical Islam, absolutely demonizes an entire religion. In directing her rhetoric at the entire Islamic faith, she fuels anti-Islamic bigotry.”

“It’s deeply problematic for us,” he continued. “Geller doesn’t do us any favors. She muddies the waters because she hands the platform to the extremists in our midst. Instead of thoughtful, fact-based dialogue on the issues, we get incendiary rhetoric and xenophobia.”

Asked about the ADL’s assessment, Geller wrote: “It is a shame that the ADL long ago abandoned its mission of defending Jews and now devotes its time to attacking Jews who deviate from its leftist and self-defeating political line. I have consistently invited peaceful Muslims who sincerely reject the Koran's exhortations to violence and hatred to join in my efforts, and am doing them out of love for Muslims and a desire that all people be freed from oppression.

“The claim that I have demonized an entire religion is based on nothing more than an attempt to demonize me for calling attention to a problem that the ADL has been criminally delinquent in speaking out about. Where have I demonized the entire religion? Funny how none of these smear merchants ever speak of the work we do helping to safety American Muslims who want to lead more Western lives but fear their devout families. My fight is for individual rights, equality for all before the law and freedom.”

An e-mail urging attendance at the event said supporters hoped to “gather in force” at the synagogue April 14 before the 10 a.m. program.

“We need to assemble a big crowd inside as well as outside with flags and signs: `We will not be silent against jihad,’ `Commissioner Ahmed must resign!’ `We will not be censored!’ `Support Israel, Defeat Jihad,’ and `Justice for LCpl Buckley.’’

>UPDATE: More over at Haaretz.

Swirsky: "Speaker maligned for truth about Sharia law"

You know things are worse than that when a little Jew can't give a talk at a synagogue on Long Island, New York.  Joan Swirsky has a wonderful piece over at The Island:

"Speaker maligned for truth about Sharia law" The Island, April 3, 2013

 On April 14, Manhattan resident Pamela Geller is scheduled to speak at the Great Neck Synagogue. 

True to form, the leftists among us – a k a the liberals or progressives or whatever they’re calling themselves these days – who pretend to be the most impassioned defenders of free speech, are hysterical at the prospect of the message Geller has been speaking about tirelessly to national and international audiences, writing books about, and blogging about on her daily site, www.AtlasShrugs.com, for the past decade.

 

Geller’s message is simple: Sharia Law, the centerpiece of political Islam, is a grave threat to America – where it has gone from a creeping to a galloping menace. 

On a daily basis, Geller documents exhaustively the frightening number of beheadings, stoning of women, “honor” killings (even in America) of girls who dare date a non-Muslim, et al, that are the essence of Sharia Law, as well as the exceedingly gruesome and anti-human clitorectomies they inflict on girls. 

That message has mobilized the so-called interfaith community – including Habeeb Ahmed, the first vice president of the Islamic Center of Long Island – to attack Geller and to besiege Rabbi Dale Polakoff of the Great Neck synagogue to cancel her appearance. 

To his everlasting credit, this rabbi does not bow to intimidation and threats, and has stood by the invitation proffered to Geller and also to the man she will introduce, Greg Buckley Sr., father of Marine Corporal Gregory Buckley Jr., who was murdered by American-loathing jihadists in Afghanistan.

There is something about a person like Geller – who exposes the savage, 7th-century behavior of political Islam – that drives leftists stark raving mad and, at the same time, exposes their rigid intolerance. These are the “useful idiots” (as Lenin called them) who always identify themselves with and aid and abet the enemies of America.

From their infatuation with Stalin and all subsequent Russian Communist leaders to the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, his murderous sidekick Che Guevara, and his tyrant brother Raul to modern-day Marxist megalomaniacs like Venezuela’s recently-deceased Hugo Chavez, Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Honduras’ late Manuel Zelaya, there is no anti-American Communist or Marxist – and now jihadist – who the left does not embrace.

And there is no one who exposes the malevolent agendas and rank hypocrisy of these anti-American slugs that the left doesn’t protest against. 

The current campaign against Geller is right out of the typical leftist playbook. Watch as Ahmed and others project their own character flaws onto Geller by screeching “racist” like a broken record. Watch them counter all of the empirical facts she presents with emotional buzzwords like “unfair” and “unjust.” Watch as they portray themselves as “victims” and those who support Geller as “bullies.”

But their tactics are tired. More people than ever are now aware of the ravages of Islamism and Sharia law throughout Europe and the Scandinavian countries, of the wholesale slaughter of Christians throughout Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania, as well as the entire Middle East. They are aware of the Islamist philosophy – “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.” 

And equally aware that neither good intentions nor leftist “cred” will save them from the scourge that Geller warns about.

I encourage all Great Neckers to come out on April 14 to support Geller’s heroic efforts to stem the tide of Sharia law in America. 

You can also call Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano at 516-571-3131 to tell him that Habeeb Ahmad and his ilk have no right to harass Geller or anyone else of the Free Speech that Americans value so deeply. 

#MyJihad in Iraq: Journalists Beaten with Pistols, Knives and Steel Pipes for 'Insulting' Cleric

Freedom of the press under the sharia: shut up or we'll kill you.

"Armed men attack Baghdad newspaper offices over story on cleric" Ahmed Rasheed, 7 News, April 3, 2013 (thanks to The Religion of Peace)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Men armed with pistols, knives and steel pipes stormed into three Baghdad newspaper offices, beating employees and smashing computers after publication of an article about a Shi'ite Muslim cleric, police and editors said on Tuesday.

Monday's attacks illustrated the stubborn influence of hardline Islamist militias in Iraq, where Sunni and Shi'ite insurgents often imposed their own fundamentalist vision on the streets during the height of sectarian war a few years ago.

"A group of men armed with steel pipes and knives attacked three newspaper offices in Baghdad. Some of the employees were wounded and we have arrested two of the assailants," a police source said.

Yasir Tallas, an editor at Addustour, told Reuters that around 50 men in civilian clothes broke through the doors of the newspaper and smashed computers, furniture and printers.

"A group of men attacked us and set ablaze to the paper's archives. They threatened to kill us if the paper publishes any insults to those they are loyal to. This group is well known to the government," Tallas said, without mentioning names.

Addustour published a front-page editorial on Tuesday showing photos of damage to its offices and said the attack followed an article on plans by a Shi'ite cleric to hold a mass prayer in the holy city of Kerbala.

An editor working for another of the targeted newspapers said a group of men armed with pistols and blades attacked its offices in northern Baghdad, accusing journalists of having insulted their cleric.

"We were shocked after seeing men carrying pistols and blades breaking into the paper offices, beating and cursing employees for what they said were insults," the editor said on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.

Calls to the Shi'ite cleric's office seeking comment about the attacks on the newspaper premises were not returned. Police said they were still investigating who was behind the attack on the newspapers.

Egyptian Satirist Bassem Youssuf Gets it Wrong

Egyptian Satirist Bassem Youssuf Attacks MB Rule in Egypt: "They Are Driving People Away from Islam" (thanks to Ygalg)

As he says in the video above, Youssuf and his family voted for the Muslim Brotherhood. What did they expect? Sheik Qaradawi was banned from Egypt with good reason. They felt sorry for the Muslim Brotherhood? Who's sorry now?

Here's where the soon-to-be-arrested satirist gets it wrong -- that is Islam. What he describes as driving people away from Islam is ....... Islam. Youssuf cites Muslims in the West as the example for Egyptian Muslims to "live and let live." But live and let live is a Western concept, and Muslims in the West are living under Western law (not sharia law), so they are free to build mosques and practice their religion, because that is a basic tenet of Western civilization. But as the Muslim population grows in Western countries, so does the demand for Islamic supremacist accommodation. Jew-hatred spikes, sharia zones (no-go zones) pop up, and demands for sharia -- enforcement of  blasphemy laws, for example (do not offend Islam)  --  become a rallying cry.

Bassem Youssuf has it ass backwards. The goal for Islamic supremacists and jihadists in the West is exactly what is happening in Egypt, Gaza, Lebanon, Tunisia, Libya, the UK, Bangladesh, Morocco, et al. Secular Muslims have no say in this. They have no theological leg to stand on, which is why there is a warrant out for the arrest of Bassem Youssuf.

Related: Egypt Presidency reprimands US Embassy for posting episode of The Daily Show mocking Morsi

Sharia in Action: Egypt issues arrest warrant for TV satirist

More of the poisonous fruit of Obama's failed pro-jihad foreign policy. The left wing media exalted this movement of terror and they will be its primary victims. 

These same voices are pressuring venues like the Great Neck Synagogue to shut down and silence voices like mine. That is Islamic law in America. And these Islamic supremacists succeed more often than not (i.e. Robert Spencer's cancellation at the Catholic diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts). These fascists must be stopped.

Egypt issues arrest warrant for TV satirist By SARAH EL DEEB | Associated Press (hat tip Choi)

Associated Press/Ahmed Omar, File - FILE - In this Saturday Dec. 8, 2012 file photo, Egyptian TV host Bassem Youssef addresses attendants at a gala dinner party in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt’s state news agency said …more 

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's state prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Saturday for a popular television satirist for allegedly insulting Islam and the country's president, in the latest legal action to take aim at a critic of the nation's Islamist leader.

The warrant against Bassem Youssef is also the latest in a series of legal actions against the comedian, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart. Youssef's widely-watched weekly show, "ElBernameg" or The Program, has become a platform for lampooning the government, opposition, media and clerics.

The fast-paced show has attracted a wide viewership, but has also earned itself its fair share of detractors. Youssef has been a frequent target of lawsuits, most of them brought by Islamist lawyers who have accused him of "corrupting morals" or violating "religious principles."

The comedian has faced several court cases in the past, also accusing him of insulting President Mohammed Morsi. One of Youssef's attorneys, Gamal Eid, said this is the first time an arrest warrant has been issued for the comedian.

In a post on his official Twitter account, Youssef said he will hand himself in to the prosecutor's office Sunday. He then added, with his typical sarcasm: "Unless they kindly send a police van today and save me the transportation hassle."

Eid said the warrant fits into a widening campaign against government critics, media personalities, and activists.

"The prosecution has become a tool to go after the regime's opposition and intimidate it," Eid said.

A call to a top aide to the country's chief prosecutor, Hassan Yassin, for comment went unanswered.

Opposition figures have expressed concerns about freedom of expression and assembly for what they call a crackdown on dissent at a time of deep polarization in Egypt's politics.

The political standoff pits Morsi, a Brotherhood veteran, and his Islamist allies in one camp against a mostly secular and liberal opposition backed by moderate Muslims, minority Christians and a large segment of women in the other.

The opposition charges that Morsi and the Brotherhood have failed to tackle any of the nation's most pressing problems and are trying to monopolize power, and breaking promises of inclusiveness. Morsi blames the country's woes on nearly three decades of corruption under his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, and accuses the opposition of stoking unrest for political gain.

On Monday, Egypt's top state prosecutor, Talaat Abdullah, issued arrest warrants for five of Egypt's most prominent democracy advocates and activists over allegations that they instigated violence last week near the Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo.

It was one of the worst bouts of violence in months, where nearly 200 people were injured in clashes between anti-government protesters and supporters of the Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails.

Morsi harshly criticized his opponents, calling them hired thugs out to derail Egypt's democracy. The Brotherhood also blamed privately-owned media for fanning the violence.

The criticism was followed by a two-day protest by dozens of Islamists outside the studios of TV networks critical of Morsi. The Islamist protesters pelted police and prevented some talk show hosts and guests from going in and out of the complex west of Cairo.

Great Neck Newspaper: Report: Nassau Official Attempts to Block Upcoming Great Neck Speech

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano should conduct an ethics probe and an investigation of Habeeb Ahemed's abuse of power. You can contct Mr. Mangano here 516-MANGANO (516-686-4260).

Habeeb Ahmed must go. Ahmed is attempting to deny our first amendment rights using his political power to bully and intimidate. Further, how is the Chairman of the Board of the Human Rights Commission, Zahid Syed, handling Habeeb Ahmed's strong-arming using the power and influence of his political office?

Habeeb must go.

Report: Nassau Official Attempts to Block Upcoming Great Neck Speech Rich Jacques, Great Neck Patch March 29, 2013

Human Rights Commissioner Habeeb U. Ahmed accused of intimidation tactics to prevent April 14 speech by anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller.

A coordinated campaign is underway by a prominent Nassau County official to intimidate Great Neck Synagogue leadership into cancelling an appearence next month by outspoken Islam critic Pamela Geller, according to several sources.

Habeeb U. Ahmed, one of 15 appointed members of the Nassau Commission on Human Rights, has urged members of an interfaith group to bar Geller from speaking April 14 in Great Neck, according to a Jewish Press report.

The human rights commission was established in 1963 to improve relations and insure equality of opportunity. Geller's opportunity at free speech in Great Neck has been the subject of recent emails by Ahmed, according to published reports.

Labeling Geller the "personification of an Islamophobe," Ahmen recommended a petition of the Stationary of Council of Churches, The Interfaith Alliance and Holocaust Center against Geller, according to emails from the interfaith group posted on Geller's Atlas Shrugs blog.

In response to Ahmen's call for action, Tom Goodhue, the executive director of the Long Island Council of Churches, and Robert Nuxoll, of the Interfaith Alliance of Long Island and a member of The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Shelter Rock, equated Geller to a Nazi, according to a string of emails posted by Geller.

Ahmed told the Jewish Press, "Free speech is not absolute, and Geller’s speech is like yelling fire in a crowded theater – that is not protected."

Geller says Muslims and leftists are attempting to pressure Jews to come out against her.

"You never see Muslims protesting Islamic supremacists such as Imam Faisal Rauf or Reza Aslan," said Geller on her blog. "But there are always plenty of Jews protesting against defenders of Israel. I have never seen Muslims at pro-Israel rallies. I have seen plenty of Jews at anti-Israel rallies."

Geller was an organizer and keynote speaker at the rally against the proposed "Ground Zero Mosque" on Sept. 11, 2011.

Geller claims on her blog that Ahmed is reportedly the uncle of Farhat “Daisy” Khan, the wife of the Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, an Islamic supremacist behind the failed attempt to plant a 16-story victory mosque at Ground Zero who is using his political position to harass.

The Freedom Defense Initiative and Stop Islamization of America, co-founded by Geller, have been labeled as a hate groups by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Great Neck Synagogue says its standing by the invitation of the synagogue's men's club for Geller to appear with Greg Buckley, Sr., father of U.S. Marine Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr, who was killed by Jihadists.

Buckley Sr. is calling for swift justice for the murderers of his son and demanding prosecution on American soil as terrorists.

Free Speech Protest at University of Penn's decision to Cancel Chief Minister Modi

More sharia enforcement on university campuses. Last week I loudly condemned the cancellation of the speech by Gujarat's Chief Minister, Sri Narendra Bhai Modi, at Wharton here and here.

It is appalling that a small handful of leftists and Islamic supremacists were able to bully the craven quislings at the Wharton School to crush the Wharton's students' body decision to invite Sri Narendra Modi. Four times elected Chief Minister, Narendra Modi is hailed to be the next Prime Minister of India and has been praised as a powerful global leader by the heads of many countries including Japan, China, European Union, et al. He has been invited to deliver a keynote speech at Wharton India Economic Forum about his amazing all-round inclusive development work and peaceful minimum government maximum governance, which he has been delivering in his Indian State of Gujarat for the past 12 years.

Sign this petition here. and go to the protest if you can.

Protest against Univ of Penn decision on Modi, at U Penn Campus, March 23rd, 12-2:30 PM EST

Americans for Free Speech (AFS) is conducting a demonstration at the University of Pennsylvania campus on Saturday March 23 from 12 PM to 2:30 PM EST on the occasion of Wharton India Economic Forum meeting.  The venue is in front of Penn Museum (on South Street between 33rd and 32nd streets).  The demonstration is against the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) summary dis-invitation of Mr. Narendra Modi after having extended him a formal invitation to be the keynote speaker.  Narendra Modi may be the future Prime Minister of India in the near future.  This craven action was due to Mr. Modi’s alleged human rights violations by only three professors, none of whom are from the business school.  All these charges are patently false based on recent Supreme Court of India report.

Buses are being arranged from Edison, NJ, Jersey City, NJ and Queens, NY.  We request protest attendees to register at our website http://WhartonProtest.blogspot.com as soon as possible, so that we can arrange for more buses if needed. US Congressmen, American Civil Rights Groups, and distinguished members of Indian American Community will be speaking at the meeting.

AFS is an organization formed in response to this unprecedented and undemocratic action by the University of Pennsylvania under pressure from a minority of students.  This action makes a travesty of the norms of academic debate in a civilized society.  The protest represents the outrage of the Indian American Community, Wharton and UPenn alumni, UPenn faculty, civil rights groups and other supporters.  We feel that Wharton has done grave injustice to its own principles of Freedom of Speech, to the principles on which our great country is built.

After extensive investigations, the highly respected Supreme Court of India completely exonerated Narendra Modi from charges by ideologues, for whom, sadly, truth does not seem to be the highest virtue.  The émigré Indian community is distressed that a few malafide activists at the University of Pennsylvania are engaging in blatantly false propaganda.  These faculty activists are not only depriving the university of healthy debate but also setting up a bad example with their untruths.  Things have come to such a pass today that these malafide activists repeating unproven and cooked up charges of human rights abuses of Narendra Modi have crossed the line.  They are now abusing the human rights of Narendra Modi himself.

What is even more shameful is that this is being done to a person who has done more for human rights of the minority communities in his state than any other chief minister in India.  His shrewd and sustained economic stewardship giving equal opportunity for advancement to all without discrimination is today considered a beacon without peer in India.  This even by distinguished religious leaders of the minority community in India.   (For specific details, please do visit our website http://whartonprotest.blogspot.com for the various lies and agitprop being propagated against Narendra Modi).

We earnestly request all members of the émigré Indian community and their mainstream friends here to support our demonstration.  Even if you are not in NY/NJ/CT area, please do inform your friends and relatives in this area to come and participate.