Daniels Gets The Threat Posed By Muslim Terrorism

Gov. Mitch Daniels proved himself worthy of the Man of Achievement Award he received last month from Indiana's Anti-Defamation League. Daniels spoke out forcefully against growing anti-Semitism from "very new and strange quarters" and "the astonishing virulence and widespread nature of anti-Semitism" in accepting the award. Daniels expressed dismay that former allies of the Jewish people have gone astray. He cited the United Nations, the academic left and some in the African-American community, such as Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan, as examples of former allies against anti-Semitism who now regularly engage in "vigorous attacks" on the state of Israel. Daniels quipped that when he was a child, he and his friends went out on Halloween to collect candy while young Jewish children collected money for UNICEF, a U.N. relief organization. Now, the U.N. has become a hotbed of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments he observes.

In listening to Gov. Daniels' remarks, I was particularly impressed by his disregard for political correctness in this moment and willingness to speak out about what needs to be said about the problem of Muslim anti-Semitism and terrorism in this world. "And then most dangerously, a very large sector of one of the great religions of this world openly and unapologetically commit to the threatening and hoping for extinction of the state of Israel, not a fringe movement of that religion but a mainstream portion," Daniels said. "It must be called for what it is." Note that he goes out of his way to disabuse us of the notion spoken by so many in the mainstream media and on the Left that anti-Semitism is "not a fringe movement" but is represented by a "mainstream portion" of the Muslim community.

Gov. Daniels' singled out Indiana's Muslim Alliance for praise because of their immediate response condemning the terrorist attack by Maj. Hasan on his fellow Army soldiers at Ft. Hood. Daniels was less generous in his comments towards Indiana U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, one of two Muslim members of Congress. Noting the lack of universal condemnation of the attacks within the Muslim community, Daniels said, "The congressman from this district in which we are meeting dismissed [Hasan's terrorist attack] as a matter of mental illness, ignoring the fact that there was once a theory called Nazism that encouraged openly hatred of the Jewish people, and encouraged violence against the Jewish people."

Daniels told the audience that the loss of old allies means that it is all the more important that we reach out to find new allies. Daniels expressed disappointment that so many seem willing to turn a blind eye to the growing anti-Semitism in the world today. He lauded Indiana University for its recent announcement that it is establishing the Institute for the Contemporary Study of Anti-Semitism. Indeed, about 67% of documented hate crimes in the U.S. have been committed against Americans because of their Jewish faith according to the most recent federal hate crimes statistics. There were at least 10 times as many anti-Jewish hate crime incidents or offenses in the U.S. last year compared to the number of anti-Muslim hate crime incidents or offenses. Many of the anti-Jewish hate crimes in the U.S. and elsewhere are committed by persons of Muslim faith. This past weekend, a rabbi in Vienna, Austria was savagely attacked by a Muslim man following a menorah lighting ceremony.