BLOG 2 - PROVE IT – Oct. 10

The leader of the JDO did show up at the screening the next evening at the Jewish Historical Society. Surprisingly, he said he liked the film. But when he went into his harangue about why I shouldn’t meet with Jew haters like Shabazz, the audience quickly tired of the bombast and asked him to ask a question and sit down. He was harmless, more buffoon than brown shirt. He huffed and he puffed and he blew himself down.

Afterwards I related my version of the HBO screening to some of the crowd. One young man asked, “Where’s the follow up headline, “SHABAZZ RECONSIDERS REMARKS AFTER ZION SCREENING” He added, “You have to run with this so everywhere Shabazz goes from now to the Million More March he is asked, ”Did you change you mind about no Jews dying on 9-11 after seeing the film “Protocols of Zion?”

Another guest chimed in “You couldn’t have asked for more. Your film just got one of the most vicious anti-semites to rethink one of his most inflammatory accusations. This is a significant retreat and you guys should be all over it.”

Some of the press that was at the HBO screening did report on the event.
Paul Austerlitz from the Forward wrote in “The Shmooze” column:

“Orthodox Jews hobnobbing with members of the Nation of Islam? Palestinian activists breaking bread with Israelis? Could these be images straight out of Eden? Far from it. The scene instead was a wine-and-cheese reception held last week at HBO's New York headquarters in connection the upcoming documentary "Protocols of Zion."

Then he went on to discuss the highly charged Q&A.

“The question-and-answer session was more contentious, with the "questions" running more toward rambling rants. One questioner went on at great length about how Jews are not the only Semites and how Arabs and Africans are excluded by the term "antisemitism"; another was incensed by the presence of Kahanist extremists in the film, and a third, a member of the Nation of Islam smelling a new conspiracy in HBO's promotion of the film, demanded to know how much the cable channel had paid for "Protocols." Images of a "Jerry Springer"-esque chair-throwing brawl may have danced through some onlookers' minds, but cooler heads prevailed. And the forces of peace, triumphant for the day, then moved on to the coffee and cake.”

Brad Tytel in the NY Observer, observed:

“Mr Shabazz is a tall and imposing man; after the panel, in his dark suit and glasses, he spoke firmly, but with impeccable politeness: “I think it has been an education,” but “we need a deeper analysis than merely saying that the Jewish community is hated because they’re Jewish. There are legitimate grievances by black people and by Arab people about what has been done to them by members of the European Jewish community.”

“OK., so far we’re talking. And the Protocols pamphlet? “I have no idea,” said Mr. Shabazz, “whether it is true or false.” Eric Toure Muhammad, executive director of the Black African Holocaust Council, also voiced his suspicions, “I have no proof,” he said, “that it’s a fabrication. I’m not here to say that I believe in it. However, it is uncanny how so many similarities in terms of what we see in the world today fit those protocols.” O.K., less constructive.

And what about the bizarre and persistent rumor that no Jews died in the World Trade Center? Here Professor Leonard Jeffries stepped in. A smaller, older man with a mustache and kufi hat, Dr. Jeffries was famously demoted from his chairmanship of the CUNY black-studies department. “That’s not even a question to respond to,” he insisted. Pressed by an intrepid AP reporter, Dr. Jeffries stood firm. “Well, they’re gonna twist it, whatever we say. That’s a crap question.” But Mr. Shabbazz shrugged off this advice, talking over Dr. Jeffries. “I don’t know,” he said, “I don’t know, I don’t have enough research on that.”

I don’t know what kind of evidence they are looking for. When we were shooting the film we went to the medical examiners office to find out how many Jews died on 9-11. We were told that the NY Medical Examiner does not identify deceased by their religion. But as the lead investigator Shiya Ribowski passionately pointed out, “Hundreds of Jews died on 9-11. I know I identified their remains. I worked with their families and attended their funerals.”

Anyone who doubts this fact should simply go to one of the many lists of the dead and read the names for themselves. (http://www.september11victims.com/september11Victims/victims_list.htm) It is impossible to know for certain a person’s religious affiliation simply by their name or even profile. There are also obviously families of mixed religious background. My estimate is that some 300-500 Jews perished in the World Trade Center.

Then there’s the canard that the Jews were warned not to go to work on 9-11. Wouldn’t the head of the Port Authority, Neil Levin, be one of the first warned. He died in the WTC along with many of the Jewish employees at the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald. Obviously none of them were warned either.

As for the abundant evidence that the “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is not only a fraud but a plagiarized forgery I suggest the doubters simply consult the historic record. As far back as 1921, Philip Graves of the London Times revealed The Protocols to be a fraud, showing it to be based on a French satire aimed at Napoleon III. The 1864 book by Maurice Joly's was "Les Dialogues aux Enfers" or “The Dialogue in Hell between Montesquieu and Machiavelli,” In a series of side-by-side extracts printed in the Times, Graves demonstrated that the forgers took long portions of the original text and simply replaced "France" with "Zion" and "The Emperor" with "We the Jews."

In 1929 even Henri Ford, who popularized the Protocols in the United States, was forced to admit they were not real and he apologized for publishing them in his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent.

In 1935 there was actually a trial in Switzerland where two Swiss Nazis were charged with circulating the Protocols. They claimed they were real. The Judge ruled against them and said:

“I hope that one day there will come a time when no one will any longer comprehend how in the year 1935 almost a dozen fully sensible and reasonable men could for fourteen days torment their brains before a court of Berne over the authenticity or lack of authenticity of these so-called Protocols . . .that, for all the harm they have already caused and may yet cause, are nothing but ridiculous nonsense.”

In 1993, a Russian court ruled that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an antisemitic forgery -- "the first such verdict in the land where the fraud originated 90 years ago." *

So lets forget about recycling czarist and nazi garbage and lets have a real debate on real issues. If you want to discuss the Arab Israeli conflict, US foreign policy, and even Jewish power and influence – fine – but lets get the Big Lie off the table. The Protocols are a fraud, one historian called them “the literary hoax of the century.” Trying to connect their gothic propaganda and comic book conspiracy theories to 9-11 is delusional. How can anyone honestly believe that “no Jews died in the WTC on 9-11.” The fact is hundreds of Jews died! May they rest in peace with all the other innocent victims of that tragic day.

Blessing to all for a peaceful and healthy new year,
Shana tova
marc

*For anyone interested in the most contemporary and original expose of the Protocols, I suggest Will Eisner’s, “The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” We filmed with Eisner, considered to be the godfather of the graphic novel, while he was illustrating the book. He passed away last January. The scene didn’t make it into the final cut of the film but will hopefully be included in the dvd extras.

Comments

[Ivaylo Staneff]

Shabat Shalom,
Hate to bother you, but have you had the chance to watch any of HBO's Rome?
In my opinion, there is a ton of antisemitism reeking from the portrayal of all the Jewish characters. Whats your take on that?

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