PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — “We have to stop being so eager to tear down our own at the behest of others.”
Solomon Jones, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and WURD radio host, should thank every Black leader in town who would “tear down our own.” They have sought to clean up the mess created by Rodney Muhammad after he shared a meme depicting an anti-Semitic cartoon next to photos of Black celebrities who were recently accused of anti-Semitism.
Jews have ample reason to believe that Muhammad speaks for the Black community, or even all Muslims, since he is president of Philadelphia’s NAACP chapter. A series of African-American officials have come forward to convince us that, despite his high-level position, his attitude is not representative of all Black people. Since then, others in the city’s Black community have been pouring kerosene on the fire.
At about the same time late last week, the national NAACP intervened “to open a dialogue” and ended up…well, no rest for the fire brigade.
National issued a statement describing Muhammad’s meme as “his error in judgment.” Muhammad’s “error” featured a caricature of a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke and pressing a large, be-jewelled hand down on a faceless mass of people. Similar caricatures trace back to before the Holocaust and were used to depict Jews as a force of greed and oppression.
Next to the image was a quote falsely attributed to French philosopher Voltaire: “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”
“I didn’t even pay attention to the picture,” Muhammad said, as quoted by the Billy Penn website. He later issued a statement: “I was not familiar with the image at the bottom of the post. I was responding to the individuals not able to speak out.”
Jewish leaders did not believe his explanation, and some have said his statement was no apology and called for his resignation. The only explanation I can figure is that Muhammad was either malicious or gullible.
I commented on this episode in an opinion piece last week, and I find myself writing about it again so soon afterwards. I usually try to switch subjects from week to week because sticking with the same topic could get tiresome. Yet I found the comments above and others like them so ghastly that they deserve special attention
As the Inquirer reported, the national NAACP office announced that its national president, Derrick Johnson, will visit Philadelphia to “meet with community leaders and faith leaders to open a dialogue and continue the educational conversations needed to strengthen our communities.”
Then the NAACP added that Muhammad “apologized for his error in judgment.”
What judgment? What apology?
City Councilmember Jamie Gautheir, among the Black officials whom Jones should thank, contributed the most valuable wisdom when she said the episode “calls into question (Muhammad’s) competence” as a civic leader and as a leader of the NAACP.
The Philadelphia Tribune, a newspaper serving the African-American community, quoted a number of leaders whose responses amount to kneejerk defensiveness.
During a radio program, Jones said the meme is “offensive” and wrong, then added: “We have to stop being so willing to tear down Black leaders when we are not as willing to fight the battles that need to be fought on behalf of Black people.”
How does criticism of a meme that even he calls “offensive” constitute “tear(ing) down Black leaders?” By dubbing it “offensive,” isn’t Jones “tear(ing) down Black leaders” whom he is defending?
Or as civil rights attorney Michael Coard tweeted: “I’ll never condemn the WORDS of any Black person who’s pro-Black and anti-white supremacy – at least not until White people publicly condemn the ACTIONS of slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow, police brutality, and systemic racism.”
How would Coard know if any Jews have not condemned this? An average of 75 percent of American Jews vote for Democrats who reliably attempt to end “White supremacy.” If Jews wanted to perpetuate “White supremacy,” wouldn’t they vote Republican?
Greg Brinkley, former president of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Action Network, said, “Whether the Jewish community intends to be oppressive or not, that’s how it appears to us.”
Oppressive because Muhammad accuses Jews of being oppressive? Brinkley might also consider how Muhammad’s post “appears to us.”
What could be impressive is that the sheriff of Philadelphia, a 27-year veteran of the police department, stood with Muhammad, castigating local politicians because “they don’t get out here and fight against nobody unless it’s their political season for them to do so because they don’t do anything else any other time.”
It is fair game for the Tribune to quote Bilal’s flawed grammar and report that she is NAACP board secretary, but it neglects to mention more intriguing tidbits about their civic and political relationship – such as Muhammad’s position as a chaplain with Bilal’s office.
It stands to reason that Bilal would speak up for Muhammad on Jones’s radio program. After all, Muhammad spoke up for Bilal last March when he denounced The Philadelphia Inquirer’s news coverage of her office and an editorial calling for the abolition of her office a few months after she started the job. He does not mention that shutting down the sheriff’s department and other offices is hardly a new idea.
In “Alice in Wonderland” fashion, Muhammad said he thinks the Inquirer editorial board should meet with Bilal “to get her side of things and what she’s really dealing with.” They might have gotten her side when a reporter sought to question her, but she “declined” an interview, the Inquirer reported.
To foreshadow the morality of his own outburst, Muhammad weighed in on the morality of Bilal’s former finance chief, Brett Mandel, who claimed he was fired and brought out of the office by an armed escort when he raised questions about spending practices regarding fees collected by the office.
Muhammad’s judgment: “I’m always reminded of the Scripture that it cautions us that when an unrighteous person brings you news, to look carefully into it.”
Is this what Scripture would caution about an unrighteous person blaming Jews for oppressing the Black community?
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Columnist Bruce S. Ticker, based in Philadelphia, may be contacted via bruce.ticker@sdjewishworld.com
Very well written article. Unfortunately, it is once again like preaching to the choir, because only Jewish people will ever read this article.
But, I can give you 100 reasons why you’re wrong about being forever anti-Republican in any case, including that that Abraham Lincoln was Republican. BTW, Trump gave much more money to black colleges than Obama. Would a white supremacist do that?