Squirrel Hill Shooting

For John, BLUF:  This is a terrible event, made worse by people chasing after irrelevant squirrels scampering all over the place.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Slaughter in Pittsburgh

Here is the sub-headline:

The shooter is to blame.

From Commentary Magazine, by Mr John Podhoretz, 27 October 2018.

Here is the lede plus one:

The synagogue in Pittsburgh is called the Tree of Life.  The name is a translation into English of the Hebrew phrase etz chaim.  We sing those words as the Torah is put away on every Shabbat.  They are words from the Book of Proverbs: “She is a tree of life for those that cling to her and all who do are happy.”  The “she” in that sentence is “wisdom,” and the verse that precedes it is especially poignant in light of what has happened:  “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”  Today the paths of peace were befouled by a monstrous anti-Semite who stormed the Tree of Life shouting something about Jews needing to die as he murdered and injured and then shot at some cops for good measure.

In every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. In a classic act of anti-Semitic violence, which is what this is, Jews hear the echoes of every violent anti-Semitic act that has preceded it in history.  And we hear those echoes because they are there.  That which motivates Jew-hatred today is what has motivated it from time immemorial—the poisonously attractive idea that Jews need to be extirpated because our existence is an offense or a threat to an existing larger order.  The blessing of Jewish life in America is that this notion has largely been consigned to the dregs from which today’s human malignancy rose.  Despite the fact that most hate crimes in America are aimed at Jews, the actual number is vanishingly small—especially compared to France, from which Jews are now fleeing, and England, whose Labour Party is in the hands of an actual Jew-hater.

This is a horrendous event and one that embarrasses me as an American and as a Christian (no order implied).  But, I am also offended by the way some people try to put blame on our President for this.

Here is a post by Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds on this, with an extract from the above linked article:

NEVER-TRUMPER JOHN PODHORETZ IS NONETHELESS HIGHLY OFFENDED BY THE ANTI-TRUMP SMEARS:

Based on the early evidence, the shooter was not only consumed with a hatred of Jews but possessed a kind of sneering contempt for Trump on the grounds that Trump was basically a Jewish agent or a Jew-lover himself.  Trump can only be blamed for the murderous Jew-killing actions of someone who thought of him that way by people who are so consumed by hatred of him that there is nothing they won’t blame him for.

We need to pray for the victims, denounce anti-semitism, denounce political violence and rebuke those who try to tie the President to this terrible act.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff