New England Patriots star receiver Julian Edelman wants to talk anti-Semitism with DeSean Jackson, who posted Hitler quotes last week.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

New England Patriots star wide-receiver Julian Edelman reached out Thursday to the National Football League football player who posted anti-Semitic quotes, telling DeSean Jackson he wanted to have an “uncomfortable” talk about anti-Semitism and racism, but it would be with “compassion, empathy and love.”

Edelman, one of a handful of Jewish NFL players, was responding to the controversy surrounding Jackson, who posted anti-Semitic statements attributed to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler that accused “white Jews” of having a “plan for world domination.”

Jackson subsequently apologized after receiving backlash for sharing the anti-Semitic post on social media, in addition to other posts he made expressing support for the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan.

Edelman posted a selfie-video on his social media feeds in which he discussed being Jewish and being exposed to anti-Semitism, and he offered to go with Jackson to Washington, D.C. to tour the Holocaust Memorial and the Museum of African American History and Culture.

Wearing a silver Star of David on a chain around his neck, Edelmen said, “We’ve communicated over social media. I’ve got nothing but respect for his game.”

“I know he said some ugly things, but I do see an opportunity to have a conversation.”

Turning directly to Jackson, Edelman said, “How about we go to D.C. and I take you to the Holocaust Museum, and then you take me to the Museum of African American History and Culture – afterwards we grab some burgers and we have those uncomfortable conversations.”

Speaking about his own background, Edelman said he is “proud of my Jewish heritage, and for me it’s not just about religion, it’s about community and culture as well.”

Edelman has three Super Bowl championship rings and in 2018 was the first Jewish football player to be chosen as the most valuable player in the championship game. He has been to Israel several times with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who sponsored Israel’s only football stadium in Jerusalem.

“I’m unusual because I didn’t identify as Jewish until later in my life. Whenever I encountered hatred it never really felt like it was aimed at me,” Edelman said in his video. “It was only after I was part of this community that I learned how destructive hate is.”

“Anti-Semitism is one of the oldest forms of hatred. It is rooted in ignorance and fear,” he said, sharing that in a 2011 game he was called a “kike” on the football field.

“There’s no room for anti-Semitism in this world,” Edelman said, but then spoke about how Jews and Blacks had to work together to fight hate.

“Even though we are talking about anti-Semitism, I don’t want to distract from how important the Black Lives Matter movement is and how we need to stay behind it. I think the Black and Jewish communities have a lot of similarities.”

“One unfortunate similarity is that they are both attacked by the ignorant and the hateful,” Edelman said, admitting it’s hard to see the challenges faced by a community when you are not part of it.

“What we need to do is: we need to listen, we need to learn, we need to act.”

“We need to have those uncomfortable conversations if we’re going to have real change,” Edelman said. “To that end, DeSean, let’s do a deal,” he said, tossing out the challenge to Jackson to go to Washington together.

“This world needs a little more love, compassion and empathy,” Edelman concluded.

The post Jewish football star Julian Edelman reaches out to discuss anti-Semitism, racism appeared first on World Israel News.

Popular conservative pundit Ben Shapiro says lack of left-wing reaction to anti-Semitism shows it is the “last hatred that is allowed” in America.

By World Israel News Staff

Popular right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro said the lack of left-wing reaction to DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic tweets showed that anti-Semitism is the last hatred still allowed in American.

“You can literally quote Hitler,” said Shapiro, Fox News reported Thursday.

Shapiro lashed out at the phenomenon of “cancel culture,” the boycotting of individuals – especially celebrities – who have posted a questionable or controversial opinion, or who said or did something in their past that is on social media and found to be offensive by some people.

“Everyone will be canceled unless you’re on the full-on woke left, in which case you can say anything,” Shapiro said on his online show.

Shapiro said that the lack of outrage from many on the left-wing over the anti-Semitic social media posts made by Philadelphia Eagles player DeSean Jackson showed the hypocrisy of the “cancel culture” mentality.

“You can literally quote Hitler,” Shapiro said, referring to Jackson’s quotes on Instagram, which the football player attributed to Adolf Hitler.

On Monday, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson posted to his Instagram, “Hitler said, ‘because the white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americas secret the Jews will blackmail America.’”

The quote posted by Jackson continues, “The white citizens of America will be terrified to know that all this time they’ve been mistreating and discriminating and lynching the Children of Israel.”

Shapiro called the reaction by the NFL team a “ridiculous” statement, because the team said they were “disappointed” by Jackson’s post, but stopped short of announcing any disciplinary action.

“Lets put it this way … If DeSean Jackson were white and quoted Hitler, how long do you think he’d be in the NFL?” Shapiro asked rhetorically.

“As long as you’re on the right side, you’ll never be canceled. If you’re on the proper woke side of the aisle, like Ice Cube, you can be as anti-Semitic as you want to be,” Shapiro said, referring to the long history of anti-Semitic social media postings by the popular rapper.

“The last hatred that is allowed in the United States is hatred of Jews,” Shapiro said.

The post Ben Shapiro: Anti-Semitism is ‘last hatred allowed’ in the US appeared first on World Israel News.

“I’m not surprised no one stood up for the Jewish people about these comments,” said Geoff Schwartz, a former NFL player. “I didn’t expect anyone to stand up for Jewish people.’’

By World Israel News Staff

Former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, who is Jewish, wasn’t shocked or upset when not one NFL player expressed outrage on social media at DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic remarks on Instagram that went viral, the New York Post reported.

“With Black Lives Matter a lot of players who aren’t black agree with the movement and are supportive of the movement. There’s just not a lot of Jewish players. I’m not surprised no one stood up for the Jewish people about these comments. That doesn’t really outrage me, though. I’m like ‘Alright, I didn’t expect anyone to stand up for Jewish people,'” said Schwartz, host of the “Geoff Schwartz is Smarter Than You’’ podcast.

On Monday, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson posted hateful comments about Jews on Instagram, using quotes from the photographed page of a book – for which he later apologized.

“Hitler said, ‘because the white Jews knows that the Negroes are the real Children of Israel and to keep Americas secret the Jews will blackmail America,'” Jackson posted.

“The white citizens of America will be terrified to know that all this time they’ve been mistreating and discriminating and lynching the Children of Israel…

“Hitler was right,” he concluded.

In other posts, Jackson expressed support for notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, who, on July 4, in a three-hour-long address on Youtube, repeated lies about the Jews while insisting that he is does not hate the Jewish people.

Schwartz told the Post that while there was no outcry among NFL players on social media regarding Jackson’s posts, many had expressed outrage over a player’s objection to kneeling during the playing of the U.S. national anthem.

“There was more outrage, people were more upset with Drew Brees than they were with DeSean Jackson,’’ Schwartz said. Under pressure, Brees backtracked.

“That’s just — I didn’t expect much, I really didn’t. I haven’t seen one NFL player talk about it,’” Schwartz said.

He called Jackson’s posts “ignorant.”

Speaking to the Post, Schwartz said that he has never experienced overt anti-Semitism during his time in the NFL, although he did recall an “uncomfortable” situation in a conversation with two teammates in the Giants cafeteria.

“I was eating breakfast one morning and it just happened,’’ Schwartz said. “I was told that if I wanted to be saved, I needed to convert and if I didn’t, I was going to hell. Then he made mention my son was going to hell and the conversation ended and I went on with my day.’’

“I think part of it is most of the people who have spoken out over issues that have happened in our country, they’re very and dear to their hearts, right?’’ he said. “A lot of Jewish athletes aren’t speaking up about this because there’s not a lot of us, there’s like three in the NFL. I think some of them don’t feel comfortable talking about it, and why should they?”

Despite Jackson’s offensive posts, Schwartz is not pushing for him be cut, the Post said, seeing this instead as an educational “opportunity.”

“I think we go too far at times with the cancel culture,’’ Schwartz said. “There definitely are things in life that should be canceled. I don’t know if people should be canceled or cut from the team for a couple of Instagram stories…

“With Black Lives Matter a lot of players who aren’t black agree with the movement and are supportive of the movement. There’s just not a lot of Jewish players.”

The post Jewish football player ‘not surprised no one stood up for Jews’ when NFL star said ‘Hitler was right’ appeared first on World Israel News.