"There's an Irishman, who is the president of the school, instead of giving me the dean position, he gets a woman from India."

I then asked him if it was to reflect the student body. "Because I often hear that 55% of the engineering students in America are foreigners."

"No," he said, "it has to do with quotas, for women and people of color are favored in this country."

I then told him, "I have no problem with women of color getting these high positions as long as they are American and competent."

I then explained to him how I thought taking talent from other countries is a brain drain for the nation they are coming from. Also, it hurts the workers who are born in the U.S.

I asked him if he agreed with a moratorium on immigrants coming to America, until we can clean house amongst ourselves.

His mind shifted to something totally unrelated.

"The Arabs are causing all the problems in the world."

"I wouldn't go that far," I told him, "we do have a lopsided foreign policy in the Middle East."

His mind was very jumpy.

He asked, "How many Arabs live in Israel?" I told him, "About 20% of the country."

He continued, "There's no Jews living in Arab countries, why can't the Arabs who live in Israel move to the Arab countries?"

"There are Jews living in Arab countries," I told him softly.

I didn't realize I was talking to a Jewish-Zionist extremist.

He gets emotional and says to me, "Only an anti-Semite, would say there are Jews who live in Arab countries."

"But Jews do live in Arab countries."

"Impossible," he yells. "Now? Today? You think there are Jews living in Arab countries."

"Yes, what's so amazing about that?"

"Anyone who says that there are Jews who live in Arab countries is an anti-Semite."

I was so mindboggled.

After all this dialogue, he decides to ask if I'm Jewish.

"No," I answered him, "but he's an Arab-Jew." Pointing to an elderly man sitting next to me on the same park bench. I had struck a conversation with the old man sitting beside me, before I met this George.

The old man wants to correct me, "I am a Moroccan-Jew."

So I asked him how many Jews live in Morocco. "Now?" the old man asked me. I shook my head yes. "Maybe 5,000, but when I left in 1967 there were 200,000 Jews."

George then orally lashes out at the old Arab-Jew and accuses him of lying.

"Why would he lie?" I asked rhetorically.

This George was having an emotional breakdown over the fact that Jews still live in Arab countries. I was perplexed.

I then asked the old Moroccan-Jew if the 1967 war which Israel started was the reason for the exodus, "One of the reasons," he said. He left for France and settled in Paris. He explained to us why he left Paris 3 years ago, "There is too much anti-Semitism."

George, now accuses the old man of not knowing what he is talking about.

I asked George, "Who are you or me to say, that he did not experience anti-Semitism in Paris. Why would he lie to us about that?"

"It's only in dictatorships that Jews suffer from real anti-Semitism".

He continued, "Like Argentina in the 1970s."

Now I started to understand his thought process. "What are you taking about. There were more Jews living in Argentina in the 1970's and 80's then now. Now that Argentina is no longer a dictatorship Jews are leaving. They are leaving in droves for economic reasons. And Sharon is luring them with money and benefits to leave for Israel."

He asked, what I did for a living. That trigged something. I forgot for the moment that most of my clients from Arab countries are Jewish. Their families have successful ventures. These families have no intention of leaving. I explain this to him.

He then accuses me of anti-Semitism, for stating these simple facts.

He stands up from the park bench waving his arms, "What are we talking about? Some token Jews that are 90 years old."

Then I asked if he knew there are synagogues in Arab countries, with viable communities and a chief rabbi.

He then went ballistic, and he never heard of a such a thing in the year 2003.

"I don't want to sit next to an anti-Semite" and he walks away.

The old man and I looked at each other and I said to him, "This George has a Ph.D." The old man shrugs his shoulders.

Never in a million years would I ever think that someone, would say to me: "Only an anti-Semite would say Jews live in Arab countries."

I was lucky to have sat next to a Moroccan Jew who I just met a few minutes before. Later, he would be my witness to tell my girlfriend what just happened. If I was a lonely recipient to this, I would not have written about this episode. Who would believe such a dialogue could happen?

My walk in the park has taught me that being educated does not make one intelligent or wise.

Peace.

Michael Santomauro

Editorial Director

RePorterNoteBook@aol.com

253 West 72nd street #1711

New York, NY 10023

212-787-7891

The above is a re-print from Oct. 2003 and what follows below is a re-print from some comments concerning my experience.

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Thanks, Michael.

It took me a long time to learn that even well educated and intelligent individuals can hold views that are objectively untrue, and act in ways that are irrational.

By the way, there is a significant Jewish community in Syria, of all places, and there are still some Jews in Egypt. In Iran, there's not only a Jewish community, but the Iranian constitution requires that at least one seat in the country's parliament (Majlis) be reserved for a Jew. (In addition, there is a reserved seat in the Iran parliament for a Christian deputy, and another for a Zoroastrian.)

Mark Weber

Weber@ihr.org

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Hi Michael:

You say "My walk in the park has taught me that being educated does not make one intelligent or wise." Quite so -- the worst bigots I have ever met have been the 'educated' oneself, Conversely, being 'uneducated', as indeed I am (autodidacticism does not count as 'education'), does not make one ignorant or stupid. See:* http://www.odeion.org* Social prejudices, however, rule our lives. Group identification is the name of the game.

My last Jewish 'friend', with a degree in architecture, disappeared from my life during a phone conversation. At long last, after many years, he raised the subject of Israel and suicide bombers, this being shortly after Ariel Sharon's deliberate act of provocation on the rock. I asked him if he did not think that the 'settlements' were the main cause of the problems - I did not use the word illegal. His response? "You're a Nazi!" -- slamming the phone down. Of course I am not a Nazi as I do not support any form of racial supremacist

doctrine, including the Jewish one.

Kind Regards

P.

sault@cyberware.co.uk

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Michael,

I am not in slightest surprised at your experience with George.

I have had similar experiences with the friends of my youth, most of whom are Irish Catholics. Who have benefited from having an excellent education and have done well in the world. When I expose my views on the "Holocaust" they shy away from me as if I had a foul disease. A nut case. I can see it in their eyes. Once in a fit of anger I asked a group of them (10 or 12 people) if any of them had ever read anything serious on the subject. I suggested a few examples. Needless to say the answer was "no". But their opinions were nonetheless quite firm on the subject and completely in line with the conventional wisdom. So, no, I'm not surprised. It's our biggest problem. Stupid goyim and stupid Jews!

Albert Doyle

ADoyle9876@aol.com

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Hi Michael:

Ditto to your last statement!

And you and George are wondering why people from other countries are coming here to take "our jobs"?

Perhaps they the immigrants are not so bias and most importantly are QUALIFIED! and there I say INTELLIGENT!

Judith_Lartigue@gap.com

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Hi Michael:

Not surprised one bit. THAT mentality has been the crux of my personal experiences with most Jews through out my life -- here and abroad. They never change. They conduct themselves in this despicable manner and wonder why they are so universally despised. So what else is new.

Professionally - I was involved in the 'needle trade' industry (garment associated business) several years ago. I was President of our mfg.co. and did most of the travel/pr/sales myself. I dealt almost exclusively with New York and Chicago Jews.

They were the most verbally abusive, crude, lying, Gentile hating, miserly people I had ever experienced. NO OTHER ethnic group even came close. If they were that bad or worse in Weimar Germany - and I was there as a citizen - I probably would have spearheaded a movement to get them the hell out of 'my' country.

JC

diverjc@verizon.net

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Michael,

The tragedy is that George was a PH.D...!!!! And there are Millions worse than him!!

Peace and Justice

Raja Chemayel

rajachema@yahoo.co.uk

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There are plenty of educated idiots on the planet!! True wisdom comes from the heart of the soul...

Anita

Anihernandez@aol.com

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Does Truth Trump the Charge of Anti-Semitism?

If the comments by the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (''Listening to Mahathir: NY Times, 10/21/03), that, ''today the Jews rule this world by proxy: they get others to fight and die for them'' were in fact true, should / would this still be considered ''anti-Semitic''? While it is certainly true that such statements ''hurt'' the Jewish community in as much as they may well promote hostility toward them, is this the sole criteria for hurling the thunderbolt of anti-Semitism at Mahathir? I was led to believe that to be anti-Semitic, a comment on Jews had to be irrational and without merit.

--Joe

GiuseppeFurioso@aol.com

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Mahathir is right!

Gavin

amband@bigpond.com

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"Many rabbis and professionals have told me recently that they fear for their jobs should they even begin to articulate their doubts about Israeli policy--much less give explicit support to calls for an end to the occupation."

-- Rabbi Michael Lerner

Published on Sunday, April 28, 2002 in the Los Angeles Times