The Final Call

The following is an open letter to Mr. Ari Hart.

On May 20, 2019, you penned an op-ed article in the Chicago Tribune wherein you publicly persecuted and fastidiously flogged Father Michael Pfleger for allowing the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to speak from the pulpit of St. Sabina Catholic Church in a response to a lifetime Facebook ban.

The article purports to be from a man whose righteous indignation would not allow him to remain silent in the face of what he perceives to be blatant “Anti-Semitism” coming from Minister Farrakhan. In fact, you eruditely educated readers about a phrase in the Jewish tradition, which states, “Shitkah kehodaah, which means silence is like agreement.” This saying highlights your hypocrisy.

Firstly, Mr. Hart, it is interesting that you and so many others unceremoniously label a person “anti-Semitic” if that person dares to say anything critical about a Jewish person or critiques the so-called State of Israel. My question is, at what point did the world declare only Jewish people are Semitic?

As you well know, a Semite is defined as “a member of various ancient and modern peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including the Akkadians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews and Arabs.” Thus, every time you and anyone else narrows the definition of Semite to solely apply to Jewish people, you are denying—or dare I say attempting to usurp—the rich and storied history of all the other non-Jewish Semitic people. This, Mr. Hart, makes you and your ilk the real “anti-Semites.”

Next, in your article, you castigated Min. Farrakhan for making a distinction between “the good Jews and the Satanic Jews.” Your lifting of that phrase should have put to rest the decades-old deceit that he hates all Jews. Unfortunately, you engage in overt subterfuge and deceit when you misled your readers by saying Min. Farrakhan believes all Jews are Satanic. You boldly lied and rewrote history to suit your need to cast Min. Farrakhan in a false light.

If he were truly anti-Jewish, he would not acknowledge any “good Jews,” but your sacrosanct selfperception will not allow you to give him any credit for that. By feigning victimization for all Jews because he used the phrase “Satanic Jews” after he said there are “good Jews,” you have seen fit to defend those people who claim the good name of Judaism but engage in devilish acts. This, on its face, makes you a defender of the megalomaniacs who mangle the Mosaic mandates of modesty and virtue. Your preoccupation with indiscriminately attacking anyone who dares to criticize even the less than pious of those among you renders your critique of Min. Farrakhan and Father Pfleger insignificant.

Min. Farrakhan has described some people as “Satanic Jews.” That phrase does appear to be an oxymoron because a real Jew subscribes to and practices, to the best of his or her ability, the Mosaic law. As he has said many times, the term “Satanic Jews” does not refer to “good Jews” but refers to those who claim to be Jews but act in a way that promotes disobedience and influences countless others to disregard Mosaic law. Mr. Hart, are there any people who claim to be Jewish who engage in heinous acts? Surely you can pick from those who have made national news in the past few months. Not even those would fit that definition?

You wrote in your article that “words lead to deeds.” You, then, surreptitiously attempt to link Min. Farrakhan with people who desecrated Jewish synagogues, yet, you cannot cite one instance where he has encouraged, directed or supported any such act or where any active member in good standing in the Nation of Islam has ever committed such an act. That, Mr. Hart, was disingenuous, at best, and serpentine at worst.

You implored Father Pfleger to accept the offer to visit the Holocaust Museum to learn of the atrocities that happened to the Jewish people 70 years ago under Adolph Hitler. Separation of families, forced sterilizations, experimentations and murder are criminal acts and should be condemned by any and all civilized people. Mr. Hart, is there a public record of your condemnation of the Israeli government’s decadelong program of forced sterilization of Ethiopian Jewish women who emigrated to Israel from approximately 2003 to 2013? If so, you are to be applauded. If not, you are a hypocrite.

You cry foul over one man’s words, but you cannot acknowledge the Satanic acts of sterilizing women without their consent. It was Satanic when the Germans did it to Jews during World War II and it is Satanic when it is done by present-day European Jews to Ethiopian Jews.

You narcissistically demand Father Pfleger “disavow Louis Farrakhan,” yet you have never stepped foot in the Black community for any extended period of time to help alleviate the suffering and injustice that is so well-documented. You acknowledge the Black community has been “so harmed and neglected,” yet you attack a man who has a 60-plus year track record of fighting the oppressors who caused the harm and fostered the neglect. You have not put yourself in harm’s way to defend the defenseless of our community, so why should Father Pfleger heed your call to disavow his comrade in the struggle because someone on the sidelines of this battle demands that he do so?

Mr. Hart, I appreciate you are an advocate for your community and, I am sure, you know there are advocates in other communities as well, including the Nation of Islam. Thus, I would end by noting there is a saying in the American tradition which says, “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” Since you live in a house made almost wholly of windowpanes, you might want to consider releasing the rocks you hurl so hypocritically at a man who has done nothing but told you and the world the truth.

Berve Muhammad, a proud member of the Nation of Islam, serves as student National Secretary and is based in Chicago.