It’s no secret that Islamic totalitarian regimes like Iran have a long history of anti-Semitism, even with aspirations for genocide. But the continued dismissal of threats against Israel, as well as the reactions to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent UN speech, reinforces other evidence that anti-Semitism is a growing and dangerous threat, not only abroad, but also here at home.

In Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly last Thursday, he again pleaded with the world about the serious and impending danger posed by a nuclear Iran. It seems that as his pleas have fallen on the deaf ears of the Obama Administration and leaders of other nations in the recent past, Netanyahu decided to back up his words with a visual aid in hopes that possibly this approach would finally cause the western world to wake up to this dire reality.

The prime minister warned that Iran will have sufficient enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb by next summer, at the latest, and urged the world to draw a clear “red line” to join him and the nation of Israel in stopping this threat. For those who have not yet seen it, Netanyahu’s visual aide consisted of a diagram outlined with the shape of a simply drawn vintage bomb with a burning fuse. The diagram was labeled to its outside from bottom to top: 1^st STAGE, 2^nd STAGE, and FINAL STAGE. A bold dark line was drawn from left to right across the diagram, about two-thirds of the way to its top, which was labeled with the figure 70%.

Netanyahu explained that “Iran is 70% of the way there and well into the second stage” and that it was getting “late, very late” to stop Iran, with only a few weeks into next summer by which any of the world’s nations might safely respond. These sentiments further supported his statements from earlier in September when he said that “The world tells Israel, wait, there’s still time. And I say, wait for what? Wait until when? Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

Clearly, the prime minister intended to finally drive this point home Thursday as he went on to draw a bold red line across the top of his diagram, marking the beginning of the FINAL STAGE. This line represents the point in time when he hopes for a military response from the U.S., but as he has previously indicated, he would settle for support by way of official words from his allies, or at least that Israel’s allies would resolve to not hinder the nation’s national security interests.

He went on to state that “Red lines don’t lead to war, red lines prevent war. Nothing could imperil the world more than a nuclear-armed Iran.” Netanyahu continued, “I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down, and it will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy.” He also related the Iranian threat to the time of the Holocaust, saying “Those who opposed that fanaticism waited too long to act,” with the final defeat of Germany coming years later “at a terrific cost.”

This historical parallel cited by Netanyahu becomes ironic when considered alongside the response of two big players in the mainstream media. Two shameless freeze-framed photos of Netanyahu were published by Reuters and the AP which seemingly feature the prime minister engaged in a Nazi salute, of all things. Obviously, the photos simply captured a frozen moment in time during Netanyahu’s speech as he used flowing hand gestures to reinforce the points of his speech.

As was pointed out by The Weekly Standard, “Of the hundreds of professional photos taken at this speech, the AP and Reuters decided to push these onto the wire.” We need not be so naïve as to believe that these photos were coincidental or accidental. Instead of a sign of self-hating on the part of the prime minister, could this be a blatant sign of anti-Semitism in the mainstream media? It seems that they have now, very plainly answered this question in the affirmative. Practically across the board, other traditional news organizations of the mainstream media have also been quick to criticize and mock the prime minister’s speech and visuals.

We should bear in mind that all these events have transpired just days after the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in our own New York City, making statements that denied the Holocaust and described Israel as merely a “disturbance” and “noise” in the history of the Middle East that would be “eliminated.” He was also quick to make a statement that nonchalantly dismissed speculation that Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear facilities before the American presidential election in November.

He was then allowed to take the floor at the UN to unleash a hate-filled rant against the nation of Israel in which he scolded “the uncivilized Zionists” for “intimidating” Iran. That’s right. He really said it, “intimidating” Iran! His point of view seems a little backward, but realistically, Iran should probably feel a little intimidated at this point. His wacky statements continued as he dared to suggest that he hopes for the second coming of Jesus, along with that of “a perfect human being named Imam al-Mahdi” the “disappeared” 12^th imam revered by Shia Muslims, who also pray for his return. It is hard to imagine that this raving lunatic is given more time and respect by the U.S. government than Prime Minister Netanyahu, leader of America’s most important and loyal ally.

It is also unthinkable that even the mainstream media would sink to the depths of intentionally depicting the leader of Israel in a way that suggests Nazi symbolism. As the mainstream media increasingly displays a sinking code of ethics in their reporting, it’s no wonder that their ratings likewise continue to sink. The growing popularity of anti-Semitism in the U.S. can also be observed in many of our workplaces, organizations, and on the Internet among everyday citizens. Many citizen bloggers joined the MSM in mocking and undermining Israel and Netanyahu, following his UN speech. To paraphrase, apparently one blogger thought our outrage at anti-Semitism toward the leader of our ally to amount to “kissing Netanyahu’s [posterior].”  It is dangerous ground for a nation to tread upon when its leaders, traditional institutions of information and private citizens begin to stand against Israel. Devoted Christians and students of the Bible in America and across the world understand this as well as anyone. They take the words of the Lord to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 very seriously, when he said of Israel, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Photo Credit: kudumomo Creative Commons