"Clearly we will not be scared"

Cross-posted by Sissy Willis at sisu:

"Asked at last Friday’s rally whether he intentionally acts as a provocateur," reports The Jewish Advocate, blogpal Sol's good friend Seva Brodsky, the "Pest of Zion" (above left with unidentified companions), "admits that he is trying to pinpoint anti-Israel activists’ weak spots. 'That’s just tough if they can’t behave in a civilized manner,'"

"They remain silent because they are cowards, and they want to be liked and to see what the group thinks," said Jeffrey Gedmin -- director of the Aspen Institute in Berlin -- in an interview on "Experiencing European Anti-Americanism and Anti-Israelism" a couple of years back.  Now sub rosa friend Sol of Solomonia reveals similar "fear society lite" dynamics at work in our own backyard as he reports on "Another 'Justice' for Lebanon Counter-Protest" by a small band of mostly Russian-American Jews. The Jewish Advocate reports:

Last Friday, an estimated 30 counter-protesters, the vast majority of them Russian Jews, waved American and Israeli flags across the street from a rally organized by Justice for Lebanon at Copley Square that drew hundreds of supporters.

"This mobilizing effort represents a marked contrast with mainstream Jewish agencies that often organize their own Israel solidarity rallies rather than assert themselves as a reactive counter presence," notes the Advocate:

Members of the Russian Jewish community said that having grown up under a totalitarian regime, they are familiar with fear tactics and the workings of the propaganda machine -- not to mention institutionalized anti-Semitism. They said they will not hesitate to speak out in support of Israel when they view it is under attack . . .

"Solomon [That's our Barney!] suggested that the lack of a strong native-born Jewish American presence at the counter-rallies was due to the negativity associated with people expressing their politics in public, particularly if they are in the minority both as a religious group and as part of a counter-protest. “We’ve learned to be quiet about our Jewishness. There’s a little bit of shame,� he said.

Margolin of the Jewish Russian Telegraph agreed with that premise. “American Jews are plain scared. You can spin it any way you want it. We lived through the KGB, some of us. This freedom we have in America is a very, very precious thing to us. Clearly we will not be scared.�

Natan Sharansky couldn't have put it better.

Update: Pajamas Media links.

Update II:  Scott Johnson at PowerLine gives us a friendly nod. Thanks, Scott!