The Obama-allied Center for American Progress has released a report that blames Islamophobia in America on a small group of Jews and Israel supporters in America, whose views are being backed by millions of dollars.  This “network”, according to the news release, have “have worked hard to push narratives that Obama might be a Muslim, that mosques are incubators of radicalization, and that “radical Islam” has infiltrated all aspects of American society — including the conservative movement.

Who are the figures mentioned as the promoters of prejudice? Most of them are prominent Jews and supporters of Israel, such as David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes and Steven Emerson (the founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism). The eight foundations mentioned as funding this effort include are almost exclusively ones founded and funded by Jewish donors, and lest readers not be aware of this fact, the Center for American Progress lists not only the other beneficiaries of the charities and foundations (most of them having Jewish or Israel in the title) but also goes to the trouble of naming the individuals behind these charities — not just the donors but also those who serve on the boards.

Why include this additional information except to highlight that Jewish people are behind this effort to “defame” Muslims?  By “outing” the people involved, the report puts endangers them.  Furthermore, this “report” relies on the conspiracy and age-old anti-Semitic trope that Jews fan prejudice  towards others and promotes divisions for their own nefarious purposes (to support Israel in this case). This mindset is straight out of Mein Kampf.

The report also stokes the view that rich Jews operate behind the scenes and use their wealth to control the media and government policy (politicians are also mentioned as being ensnared in this web).

The Center for American Progress was founded by Herbert and Marion Sandler (prominent mortgage bubble billionaires who partner with George Soros in his political activities).  The Center for American Progress to a great extent is funded by George Soros and his Open Society Institute.  George Soros is a fierce opponent of Israel and alleges that the Israel “lobby” all but controls American foreign policy.  This view is echoed by Stephen Walt who flags this report in his column at the Foreign Policy website.

CAP has very close ties to the White House. It is headed by John Podesta, who was Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, and headed Barack Obama’s transition team. A man closely linked to the last 2 Democrat presidents is publishing this kind of material. Podesta’s group remains influential with President Obama.  Bloomberg News noted this relationship in its column, “Soros-funded Democratic Idea Factory Becomes Obama Policy Front.”  Some key administration officials have come from the CAP, as well. These include such anti-Israel figures as Van Jones, who, after he was forced to leave the White House when his views became known, returned to his sinecure at the Center.

Clearly, this is a well-funded effort to chill legitimate criticism of Islamic extremism in America. There are also political motivations behind this report since it also tries to refute allegations of ties between Muslims and Barack Obama.  But what is most shameful about this “report” is that it employs classic anti-Semitic tropes,  blaming conspiratorial Jews for stoking fear and hatred of Muslims.

This will work its magic in the Muslim world, a substantial fraction of which believes that “defaming” Islam is legitimately punishable by death at the hands of any righteous Muslim.  By thoughtfully providing a hit list, the CAP does its part to spread fear and — yes — terror among the opponents of radical Islam.