RUTHFULLY YOURS

By now, the outrageous story of Louis “Chip” Cantor, an American Jewish student who was detained and interrogated at U.K. customs, allegedly subjected to anti-Semitic slurs, and then deported to the United States, has made its rounds across the Internet.

While the details of Cantor’s ordeal seem almost too egregious to be true, based on the U.K.’s policy of appeasement towards its Muslim population, I do not doubt this young man’s story.

When I was a young, impressionable youth coming up in the world, I was what you’d call an “Anglophile.” Despite being raised in a devoutly pro-American household and being incredibly patriotic myself, I was also seduced by the supposed culture and sophistication that, at the time, it seemed only the “European way” could offer — that and I was an aspiring writer whose literary idol was Shakespeare.

So enthralled was I with my romantic notions of Southwark and the banks of the Thames where so many of my lifelong heroes and heroines came to life, that I actually packed up and moved to London and would remain there, on and off, for five years.

What ultimately drove me to abandon becoming a permanent fixture of Londontown was the realization that my parents were (as they always turned out to be), correct: That a nice Jewish girl doesn’t belong in a country that has ceded its power to an exponentially growing Islamic population, and whose indigenous British populace has been known to harbor its own share of anti-Semitic sentiment.

While I never lost my staunch belief in American exceptionalism and wholeheartedly welcomed my return to the  U.S., the reasons why I felt it imperative to leave the U.K. still, to this day, weigh heavily on my heart and mind.

Throughout my time in the U.K., aside from witnessing my share of extreme anti-Israel bias across all media platforms, I was subjected to near-weekly anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests in the heart of the City. I was also exposed to more subtle forms of anti-Semitism among colleagues and even acquaintances.

I do not intend to paint the British population with one, broad brush. In fact, rather than abandon all fond nostalgia for my one-time home, it is my hope that the U.K. straightens up and flies right.  Still, my observations of British life are noteworthy if only for the fact that it is so vastly different than here in the U.S.

I realized that, despite the 200,000-strong Jewish presence in Britain — a presence that contributed greatly to commerce, culture, art, business and philanthropy — it could never contend with a three million Muslim-strong population — many of whom laid claim to Britain as their “home” while simultaneously working tirelessly to dismantle it.

In its heyday, Britain had much of which to be proud, from the height of the empire and its greatest monarchies, to its modern-day contributions in the fields of science, literature, music, film, art and popular culture. Indeed, it is sobering to think of such a rich history gone to seed.

Britain’s historically vast colonial conquests, while they may have harbored their share of questionable practice, also brought great progress — education, enlightenment, commerce — to many a land which would have otherwise succumbed to illiteracy, poverty and general degradation.

Author Dinesh D’Souza may have summed this up best when he noted that, were it not for British colonization, he would not be the accomplished, learned man he is today. D’Souza acknowledged that while his grandfather suffered indignities at the hands of his British subjugators, it was not in vain, for a mere two generations later, he himself reaped the fruits of a first-rate education, perfect English-language skills, and the myriad opportunities that ensued as a result of such sacrifice.

Like all empires throughout history, of course, the sun eventually set on Britain’s, but that still does not explain how such an accomplished, prideful and patriotic people could literally hand their culture away to savages.

To date, Brits will literally shout in defiance at the mere suggestion that their Northern Irish (forget Southern) or Scottish kinsmen are even remotely cut of the same cloth. How dare ye? The Celts are too “beneath” the average Brit, yet it is somehow acceptable that one of the nation’s three major television networks — TV4 — broadcast the daily Muslim call to prayer during the entire month of Ramadan.

Yes, that is correct, the British network that once brought me my regular dose of soap operas has now determined its true calling is be a live “muezzin,” calling its Muslim viewership, however small to prayer.

While TV4 network heads may simply see the broadcast as a ratings “slam-dunk” based on its provocative nature, I am inclined to believe, based on the road I’ve seen the U.K. traverse, that the decision was very much made in the spirit of multiculturalism by those who smugly believe that if they keep feeding the crocodile, perhaps it will eat them last.

My suspicion was only confirmed when Ralph Lee, head of TV4’s “factual programming,” wrote that “observing the adhan [call to prayer] on Channel 4 will act as a nationwide tannoy system, a deliberate ‘provocation’ to all our viewers in the very real sense of the word.”

He added that the “vast majority of people in Britain” would remain unaware of the “mass act of personal sacrifice and worship” underway and that his network’s broadcast of the daily Muslim calls to prayer will provide needed “contrast” with the way most Muslims are represented on television.

And this, a mere month after a British-born Muslim convert literally decapitated a British soldier with a cleaver, in broad daylight, on a London street.

What is perhaps most sadly ironic, is that U.K. Islamists, whose true allegiance lies not with their host country (the one that’s given them opportunities, safeguards and freedoms unattainable in their native lands), but rather with the “ummah” or Muslim community, is laughing squarely in the face of Brits who consistently reward them.

According to Lee and his infinite wisdom, the potential “reprisals” against British Muslims following the massacre in Woolwich gave “pressing need” to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer — a peace-offering, if you will.

Why would British Muslims ever assimilate? Why would moderates in the community ever condemn savagery committed by jihadis? Why would Islamists ever fear real repercussions for beheading a man on a street-corner while passers-by looked on in horror?  Why would they ever respect their hosts when clearly, it is the British who will bow to them?

Kansas City native Chip Cantor learned just how friendly Britain is to Jews approximately one month ago when he was shaken down by a British customs agent (reportedly a woman wearing a hijab) after she came across his Israeli visas.

23-year-old Cantor, who traveled to the U.K. for a summer job as well as to participate in a fundraiser for a child with cancer, was subjected to nine hours of interrogation — fingerprinting, hackneyed anti-Semitic slurs referencing the amount of money on his person (of course he must have socked the gold bars away somewhere), black-booking that will hinder his travel abilities throughout the EU, and ultimate deportation to the United States — indicating that Britain may have “unofficially” adopted a policy hostile to “foes” of their fastest- growing demographic.

And statistics support this notion.

In the first half of last year alone, 513 incidents of anti-Semitism were reported to the U.K.’s Community Security Trust. While many of those incidents were perpetrated by Muslim-Brits, disturbingly, the majority were in fact perpetrated by “white” British males.

The types of abuse reported ranged from the use of anti-Semitic slurs and verbal assault  to outright physical violence. Also on the rise in the U.K. are social media hate-pages dedicated to propagating blood libel and other familiar anti-Semitic aspersions.

A  survey released by the Anti-Defamation league charting Europeans’ views of the Jewish community reveal that anti-Semitic attitudes in Britain increased by seven percent between the years 2009 and 2011. What’s more, over 20 percent of Brits believe Jews hold “too much power” in the financial and business markets.

Times of Israel, meanwhile, reported some 70 “violent assaults” against Jews in Britain in 2012, including those posing “grievous bodily harm or a threat to life.”

While some might argue that these are isolated incidents and in no way reflect Brits’ – Muslim or non-Muslim — overall attitude towards Jews, I beg to differ.

While anti-Semitism exists in the U.S. as it does across every land-mass on the globe, when was the last time anyone heard of 70 “violent assaults” committed against Jewish people here in the U.S. in just one calendar year?

19 physical assaults spurred by anti-Semitism were reported in the U.S. in 2011. While horrific, let’s place that statistic in context.

The U.K. has a population of just under 63 million compared to a U.S. population nearly five times its size, yet the U.K. Muslim population is half-a-million members stronger than that of the U.S.

Muslims comprise nearly five percent of the U.K. population and represent the nation’s second-largest religion, while Jews don’t even register on Britain’s demographic radar — at least not anymore.

Whether the U.K. is now paying the piper for its colonialist past, is trying to appease the crocodile, or secretly harbors its own resentment for its Jewish minority, one thing is certain: The sun has indeed set on the British empire, and in more ways than one.

Tiffany Gabbay serves as National Development Director for the David Horowitz Freedom Center and is a Columnist for FrontPageMag. She has a background in journalism focusing on the Middle East and foreign affairs and formerly served as assistant editor for TheBlaze.

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