‘Harry Potter’ star accused of anti-Semitism

[yankeedoodle]

'Harry Potter' star accused of anti-Semitism
Emma Watson's post in support of Palestine unleashed a furious debate online
https://www.rt.com/news/545139-emma-watson-israel-palestine/

Israel's current and former ambassadors to the UN have hounded 'Harry Potter' star Emma Watson online for sharing a message of "solidarity" with Palestinian activists. The diplomats have since been slammed by all sides.

Watson shared an image to her Instagram account on Sunday depicting a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters and the text "Solidarity is a verb." Her non-specific call to action also included a poem by activist Sara Ahmed describing "solidarity" as "the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground."



The post quickly drew the ire of Israel's diplomats, with current UN ambassador Gilad Erdan musing about using magic to "eliminate the evils" of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and former UN ambassador Danny Danon tweeting "10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite."

Danon's tweet was met with furious backlash from all sides of the conflict. Israeli writer Abraham Gutman described the former envoy's argument as "dehumanizing to Palestinians *and* a mockery to actual antisemitism."

"I remember back when Israel's apologists made an effort to justify their smears," Al Jazeera analyst Omar Baddar tweeted. "Now they don't bother ... It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry!"

"Equating support for Palestinians to antisemitism presumes that repression of the Palestinian people is an inherently Jewish quality, which is the real antisemitic sentiment here," another commenter wrote.

Meanwhile in Israel, Defense Minister Benny Gantz hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in his home last week, the first time Abbas has met a senior Israeli official inside Israel in over a decade. Though the meeting was criticized by the right-wing opposition and hardliners within Israel's coalition government, Gantz said he would sit down with the Palestinian leader again, arguing that those responsible for sending soldiers into war must "do everything to prevent it."

As Gantz and Abbas met, however, Israeli tanks shelled Hamas outposts near Gaza City, in retaliation for the wounding of an Israeli civilian near the border fence between Israel and Gaza, near the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

[abduLMaria]

Now the J-Whiners are whining about Rowling's portrayal of Goblins -

https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/545205-harry-potter-rowling-jews/

[yankeedoodle]

Jon Stewart had come out fighting, refusing to be framed for calling, or even insinuating, that JK Rowling or Harry Potter are "anti-semitic."

JK Rowling, a brilliant and talented woman, is opposed to degeneracy promotion, and has been vilified for her bravery.  They have used Stewart's comments to brutalize Rowling, and Stewart is pissed off about it.

Here are some recent RT article on the subject.
- https://www.rt.com/news/544867-jk-rowling-transgender-views/
- https://www.rt.com/uk/540979-rowling-address-twitter-police/
- https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/543413-rowling-name-removed-trailer/
- https://www.rt.com/op-ed/540565-harry-potter-reunion-rowling/
- https://www.rt.com/news/540526-jk-rowling-harry-potter-reunion/
- https://www.rt.com/uk/540644-school-cancels-rowling-churchill/

Comedian says he wasn't serious about JK Rowling's 'anti-Semitism'
Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart still believes that certain "tropes" are "embedded" in society and sometimes "invisible" in films
https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/545261-jon-stewart-rowling-antisemitism/

Jon Stewart has claimed he never meant to accuse JK Rowling or the 'Harry Potter' films of being anti-Semitic, despite fallout from a previous conversation on the topic.

On his podcast 'The Problem with Jon Stewart,' the comedian said he was surprised to see a previous podcast conversation trending on Twitter, as more and more people highlighted Stewart's comments comparing the goblin banker characters in the 'Harry Potter' films to Jewish caricatures.

"JK Rowling was like, 'Can we get these guys to run our bank?' It's a wizarding world... we can ride dragons, you can have a pet owl... but who should run the bank? Jews," he said in the clip. Stewart claimed the segment of film featuring the goblin characters and the Gringotts bank resemble imagery from the 1903 fabricated anti-Semitic book, 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'

Stewart is now claiming, however, that he was merely "having a larf" – or laugh – and that Rowling was brought up as part of a longer discussion.

"There is no reasonable person that could have watched it and seen it as more than a lighthearted conversation between colleagues and chums, having a larf," he said, specifically name-dropping Newsweek as an outlet committing "f**king arson" in its coverage of his remarks.

https://twitter.com/jonstewart/status/1478791577573199875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1478791577573199875%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rt.com%2Fpop-culture%2F545261-jon-stewart-rowling-antisemitism%2F

Stewart at one point addressed the camera and revealed he does not think the 'Harry Potter' franchise is anti-Semitic, nor does he think Rowling is. The author's books inspired the massive movie franchise, which continues to this day with the 'Fantastic Beast' series, but Rowling was only credited as a producer on the final two 'Harry Potter' films.

Though Stewart disputes how his words have been characterized, he did say that his conversation on the 'Potter' movies – which he claims to "love" – was about "some tropes" being "embedded in society that they're basically invisible, even in a considered process like moviemaking," though he did not immediately specify any particular "tropes."

Stewart said in his original talk that he was "surprised" more people hadn't come to the conclusion he did.

"It was one of those things where I saw it on the screen and I was expecting the crowd to be like, 'Holy s**t, [Rowling] did not, in a wizarding world, just throw Jews in there to run the f**king underground bank," he said.

[yankeedoodle]

against Israel: "Solidarity with our Palestinian brothers"
More stars join Emma Watson in support of Palestinians • Susan Sarandon, Mark Raffaello and others join an organization called "Artists for Palestine UK"
https://www.israelhayom.co.il/celebrities/world-news-celebrities/article/7047083

About two weeks ago, the British star, who is also known as an activist and human rights activist, published a post on her Instagram account in which she called for solidarity and support for social struggles. The post was accompanied by a photo from a demonstration in which Palestinian flags are hoisted. Politicians like Gilad Ardan and Danny Danon condemned her remarks and even accused her of anti-Semitism .

Now, a cultural organization called "Artists for Palestine UK" has released a statement of support for Watson, signed by more than 40 well-known names in Hollywood. Among others, the letter is signed by names such as Susan Sarandon, Mark Raffaello, Jim Jarmusch, Ken Loach, Gal Garcia Bernal, Vigo Mortensen and others.

"We join Emma Watson in her simple statement that 'solidarity is working,'" the organization said in a statement. "By this we mean solidarity with our Palestinian brethren, who are fighting for their rights under international law."

The organization accuses the Israeli government of an imbalance of military force vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority, and of its implementation for the purpose of establishing racist policies and removing people from their homes. At the same time, the statement condemns all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

[abduLMaria]

Wait till Princess Di's sons start asking questions about Israel's murder of their mother.

[yankeedoodle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_IthLAM7l0