Things People Blame the Jews For, Volume LXXIX: Egypt Losing in the World Cup

(It's a TPBTJF double-header -- click here!)

I've been watching some of the World Cup, though not every game. For example, I missed the Argentina/Egypt game -- unfortunate for me, since apparently it had a very exciting ending, with Argentina coming back from down 2-0 with three goals in the last fifteen minutes of the game to win.

There also was a lot of complaining about the officiating in that game, with the Egyptian coach going so far as to claim the game was "rigged" (most of the controversy centers around a disallowed Egyptian goal earlier in the game).

I'm no soccer expert, so I can't speak to whether the complaints are justified. Of course, anyone who knows anything about FIFA knows that both incompetence and corruption are hardly inconceivable possibilities. And anyone who knows anything about the internet knows that someone will have a different explanation for the outcome of the match.

Since Egypt’s dramatic World Cup exit on Tuesday, French referee Francois Letexier has become the target of intense scrutiny around the globe.

[...]

Within hours of the game ending, someone had edited Letexier’s Wikipedia page to say that he was “born to an Orthodox Jewish family.” The editor later added that the referee’s grandfather fled Nazi persecution.

There was no evidence for the claim — the anonymous editor’s only citation was an article that made no mention of Letaxier’s religious background. But after a screenshot of the edited page was posted on X, soccer fans quickly pounced. 

“Born into an Orthodox Jewish family,” wrote one X user. “That explains a lot of things.”

When one user questioned the claim’s veracity, Grok, X’s artificial intelligence tool, confirmed the misinformation, citing Wikipedia. The Wikipedia page was then updated again to cite Grok.

The referee’s fabricated Jewish identity stayed on the page for nearly eight hours before it was removed, enabling the claim to spread widely. On social media platforms where antisemitism often goes unchecked, simply sharing a screenshot of the Wikipedia page was enough to start a feeding frenzy.

Even after the claim was taken down from Wikipedia — and the responsible editor banned — others shared screenshots of the removal as proof of a coverup.

Grok coming in with the antisemitism assist is, of course, transcendent. And there's something extra to be said about the double-bind Jews find ourselves in, where correcting obvious antisemitic misinformation is proof of a coverup.

In any event, I can't root for Argentina since they ousted my beloved Cape Verde. So who's my team now? Norway, I guess? Their Sam Denby lookalike is pretty good!

Things People Blame the Jews For, Volume XV: Jewish Friends Edition

This one is a little different from other entrants in the series. An Argentine labor leader referred to a government minister as the "little Jew boy". Then we went through the usual cycle: "That's offensive", "How dare you call me anti-Semitic", "We condemn it", "Everybody uses the term," until we get to the inevitable apex:

I didn’t discriminate against him. I have Jewish friends.

Ah yes, the classic "I have Jewish friends" defense. It is so ubiquitous that maybe it's time I stop closing my eyes to the pattern. Maybe the real cause of anti-Semitism is ... Jewish friends.

Think about it. When's the last time somebody who says anti-Semitic nonsense hasn't immediately referred to their many many Jewish friends? They go together like bacon and eggs latkes and applesauce. Obviously, we're doing something wrong. Either we're not very good friends, or we're subliminally feeding our goyish pals anti-Semitic messages so they can humiliate themselves in public.

Or having Jewish friends isn't a bar to anti-Semitism. But obviously that's the least likely hypothesis here.

Negotiated Roundup

You'll get it, but you got to give me something in return.

* * *

For the record: That North Korea published this propaganda picture does not in any way constitute an admission that they sunk the Cheonan.

The judge as defense counsel.

Ta-Nehisi Coates on the culture of excessive force.

The IDF specifically lauded B'Tselem for its assistance in providing information leading to the indictment of several IDF officers for war crimes during Operation Cast Lead. Gerald Steinberg of NGO Monitor, a frequent B'Tselem critic, also acknowledged that "B’Tselem really does have a credible research capability."

There is no such thing as too conservative to get on TV. Birtherism, rampant racism, conspiratorial paranoia -- it's free range out there!

Star Wars subway action.

Argentina considering legalizing gay marriage.

Latin America Celebrates its First Gay Marriage

Congratulations to the happy couple, who were wed in southern Argentina yesterday.

....And So Is This

Argentine Left Calls for Open Season on Misbehaving Jews:

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, holder of the Nobel Peace Prize, Federico Shuster, Dean of the Social Sciences Faculty of the University of Buenos Aires and Osvaldo Bayer, a writer regarded as something of a guru on human rights, are just three of the pillars of Argentine progressive and left option who have signed a petition calling for the release of detainees being held in connect with an attack on Jews and others celebrating the 61st anniversary of Israel’s independence in Buenos Aires on May 17th.

The intellectuals and human rights activists say that those who attacked - with clubs and chains - the crowd celebrating Israel’s independence, and their comrades who were later arrested on premises where illegally held firearms were found, are neither violent nor antisemitic and were simply protesting against the war-loving and imperialist Israeli government.

That's a total reprint, except for the last line, which closes it perfectly: "Further comment or analysis would be really, really, superfluous."

Don't Cry For Me, Argentina

Harry's Place has the story on violent activities by a far-left Argentinian group, who assaulted a pro-Israel march in Buenos Aires. Five members of the gang, possibly affiliated with the Revolutionary Action Front, were arrested, and an investigation revealed they possessed arms and bombs in possible preparation for a more severe attack.

In response to the attacks, 200 leftists rallied in protest ... of the arrest of the attackers. Sickening.

Iran Pressures Argentina Over Bombing Investigation

I haven't been closely following the story of Argentina's continuing investigation into Iran's links to a 1994 bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center. Last I had heard, prosecutors had asked to put out an arrest warrant on former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani and several other top Iranian leaders in connection with the attack, which killed 84 people.

But it appears that the investigation is still live, because Iran is starting to push back. An official Iranian news organ is reporting that their own prosecutors are threatening to lodge a complaint against Argentina with the ICJ. I can't figure out what the grounds for the complaint are other than "attempting to damage international prestige of Iranian government," which (though this may come as a surprise to the Iranian government) I do not believe is a crime outside the state of Iran. International Law professor Julian Ku likewise doesn't know on what the Iranian's are staking their claim, even if the Argentine allegations are false (and there is no particular reason to think that they are).

You'd almost think they were worried about this case receiving more exposure.