I was assaulted, Israel flag burned at Seattle’s anti-Semitic rally

Anti-Semites in Seattle stole an Israeli flag, stamped on it, and danced over it. Then they burned it. (Photo: Jason Rantz / KTTH)

Seattle progressive activists gathered in Westlake Park to shout anti-Semitic vitriol. They are upset that Israel is defending itself against Hamas terrorists who are holding Gaza hostage.

While I was reporting on the event, which was already tense for me as a Jew, I was attacked by a fringe activist. I was then thrown out of the public rally without further ado. When the woman hit me with a Palestinian flag, anti-Israel activists in the crowd did nothing. Part of the attack was caught on cellphone video. I wasn’t the only Jew attacked.

Before the attack, the event was tense – at least for Jews. A Jewish counter-protester was attacked after being labeled a white supremacist by the host of the hate rally. Its Israeli flag was stolen, trampled and burned.

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Anti-Semitism Comes to Seattle; The first Jew is attacked

The rally in Westlake Park was in response to the Hamas attack on Israel.

When the presenter picked up the microphone shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday, she pointed to a small group of counter-protesters across the street. One waved an Israeli flag.

“I’ll ask you not to bother with them, okay? Out here you stand for white supremacy and settler colonialism. It is embarrassing and we do not have to legitimize them through a dialogue with them. Not here, never, do you understand? “

Antifa thugs immediately surrounded the counter-protesters.

Anti-Semitic activists stole the Israeli flag after a scuffle and attack. They stamped and danced on the flag. Then they burned it in the middle of the street.

As the flag burned, the crowd sang, “Long live the Intifada.”

They did not hide their hatred of Jews

Activists in the crowd did not hide their hatred of Jews and Israel.

They did not protest against Israeli politics, which is often a claim made by progressives, as they justify their anti-Semitism. They argue that it is not anti-Semitic to be critical of Israel. This is true. But what if the only policy you criticize is one in which Israel defends itself against Hamas terrorists? Then you are an anti-Semite.

An activist held the sign: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This has long been viewed as a not so subtle code to destroy Israel and exterminate its millions of Jews. As the Israeli-based writer Hen Mazzig noted, this is “a slogan calling for the mass murder of Jews in Israel”.

Another sign said “Zionism = National Socialism”, while another said, “It’s not a war if only one side has an army.” In other words, Hamas terrorists who indiscriminately fire rockets into Israeli homes and kill innocent civilians are not an act of war. It’s not even violence, really. Hamas is not an army.

Seattle scammers speak

I stayed to hear some of the speakers. Both Seattle City Council candidate Nikkita Oliver and Democratic State representative Kirsten Harris-Talley spoke.

Both are strange and black, and both have spoken out against Israel.

It is unclear whether this is due to ignorance, but no one has acknowledged that in Gaza they are denied the right to live openly and strangely. Women and girls face gender-based assaults and killings, including honor killings in Gaza. And while I understand that both activists are outspoken critics of police brutality, they should see what the Palestinian authorities are doing in Gaza. Oliver and Harris-Talley are scams driven by a hatred of Israel, not support for the Palestinians.

Needless to say, I was curious to hear what they had to say.

At first I was molested

When Oliver started speaking, a woman came up to me and told me to stop filming. I asked why.

“I can see that you are obviously a pro-cop,” she told me. She was concerned that I would film people’s faces during the public protest, although that wasn’t really my intention.

How did she know I was a pro cop? I made a tactical mistake – one that I don’t usually make.

I was wearing my Back the Blue bracelet, which I haven’t taken off in three years. It’s usually covered with long sleeves. This time, however, I rolled up my sleeves because it was hot outside. I screwed up and the Seattle anti-cop activists patrolling the crowd for enemies discovered me. In Seattle, ironically, you have no rights among activists even when you protest against so-called abuses against free Palestinians.

I politely declined to stop filming the Oliver speech and stood up. About a minute later, she returned with backup to block my camera. I kept filming not because I wanted the video but because I wanted the audio. I work on the radio.

The woman then placed a target on my back. She yelled, “This guy’s for the police! He’s filming and he’s for the police! “

I should have expected what was next.

Then I was attacked

As I stood there recording the back of the cardboard signs as Oliver made her political speech, I was hit or poked in the head and neck by what I thought was a Palestinian flag that a mad woman was holding. How ironic.

It didn’t really hurt. It was more annoying – if you’re unexpectedly attacked from behind, it’s a little annoying. I immediately called: “Don’t touch me!” It was really, really fast.

I turned to find a woman in a blue and gray long-sleeved shirt or sweatshirt and what I thought were two people by her side. It could have been the two people blocking my camera’s view. The crowd was thick and crowded and I was surprised. There could have been more. She could have acted alone when she responded to the woman who put a target on my back and called me a pro-police.

“Damn it,” she said as she swung me up and pushed me out of the rally.

I thought I could get a lot of it on video. It turns out that focusing a cell phone camera on the radical anti-Semite who attacks you when you are attacked from behind out of nowhere is not easy. All walking backwards.

I kept telling her not to touch me. There was little I could do: imagine this Jew repulsing you in self-defense surrounded by a crowd of anti-Israel radicals. It wouldn’t have turned out well for me.

When I was quickly pushed back, I heard someone ask or say that I am for Israel (guilty, indicted and proud of it). Imagine what would have happened if they saw the Star of David that I’m wearing around my neck?

I’m fine, but it could have been worse

I alerted the police nearby, not because I had a near-death experience, but because it was obviously not okay. And if even half of what happened to me happened at a pro-Israel event, progressives would claim that American Jews brought genocide to Seattle.

The police took a report. I couldn’t give them much more than a basic description of what the radical looked like (her face and head were covered), and my video only captured the shirt she was wearing. If they catch her, will I bring charges? Absolutely. And when it is released with a thump in the wrist, I exclaim that too.

Am i okay yeah I was attacked but not beaten to a bloody pulp. It was certainly alarming to be surrounded by people who do not believe in Israel’s right to exist while being attacked by a mad woman. I am in no pain and mostly annoyed that I forgot to cover my bracelet.

But to be clear, if I were on the other side of the rally, where a significant number of Antifa thugs were stationed, it would certainly have turned out differently. In fact, I would have been seriously injured.

Aim on the back

So everything that happened. What now?

It will be interesting to see if local journalists who reaffirmed the dangers of journalism under President Donald Trump will refer to this as a peaceful rally. I suspect media coverage of the event is ignoring this incident and maybe even pretending that the Israeli flag was not danced and burned. The media sometimes ignore straightforward stories about anti-Semitism. I would be happy to be wrong.

As a news consumer, I hope that you will reach out to the news agencies (TV, print or radio) asking them to be honest about the rally, rather than trying to whitewash the anti-Semitism and violence on display. And if a point of sale doesn’t cover the event, you should request it. People should know what happened.

In general, the Seattle media tends to go easy on these radicals, especially on a subject like this. They don’t want to get involved too much because G ‐ d forbids defending a country’s right to defend oneself against terrorists who fire thousands of missiles at innocent civilians.

Call the violence and the hatred

But when people in and out of the media don’t shout this out, this type of behavior will only continue. Activists put a target on my back to attack and that is exactly what happened. I’ve been attacked. There’s always that threat – I’ve written about it for FOX News.

I was at the rally and documented. Sure, they don’t like the way I document their rallies. Pity; I don’t particularly appreciate the way they congregate, and yet I try not to keep them from congregating. We still have a right to free press. If you want stories in your favor, have the Stranger, the Seattle Times, KING 5, the Tacoma News Tribune, and the Everett Herald.

Also, I hope you realize that being a Jew in Seattle is not particularly safe or comfortable – unless, of course, you are willing to use your Judaism for a political stance on the left. Then the extreme left will hug you.

But Seattle has a long history of anti-Semitism. You don’t even have to go back that far to find some tremendous examples. Indeed, taxpayers’ money goes into showing propaganda films that demonize Israel while defending terrorism.

The left feels empowered by this type of behavior. I’m here to document it in the hope that some of you will remind them why it is wrong. I did my part and was hit in the head with a Palestinian flag for it.

Did you like this opinion piece? Then, listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3pm to 6pm on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter, Instagram and Parler and like me on Facebook.