In 1936, pro-Nazi Americans formed an organization called the German American Bund. They held rallies and demonstrations supporting Hitler and the Nazi Party. On February 20, 1939, 22,000 members showed up at Madison Square Garden surrounded by Nazi imagery and speeches filled with Nazi propaganda. It was labeled “the day the Nazis took New York.”
The German American Bund was one of the main reasons America did not enter World War II until the attack on Pearl Harbor. This was more than two years after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. By the time America joined the Allies, more than 2 million Jews had been killed. In all likelihood, had it not been for the Bundists, the war would have ended sooner and millions of Jews would have been saved. Even though a large number of Americans felt that the Bundists were unpatriotic and anti-American, 40,000 showed up at Camp Siegfried in Long Island in 1938.
The Pro-Hamas protesters are not dissimilar to the overt racist and anti-American behavior of the German Bund. Masked hoodlums threaten Jews on subways and street corners. Violent keffiyeh-wearing thugs have taken over universities, blocked bridges, and most recently clashed with the NYPD at the Wall Street exhibit dedicated to victims of the Nova Music Festival massacre. The level of depravity and abhorrent anti-Semitism is beyond bounds. Banners reading “Long Live October 7” at the site dedicated to the memory of those murdered, raped, and kidnapped on that day is beyond repulsive. It is not only anti-Israel and anti-Semitic; it is anti-American.
Just as the German American Bund essentially disappeared after Pearl Harbor, I expect the same to happen to the pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah protesters. This won’t happen unless the “silent majority” of Americans speak up. Police departments across America have to be allowed to do their job. Government officials have to enact laws that make it harder for protesters to block bridges, airports, streets, and college campuses. The anti-mask law that was used to fight the wearing of hoods by the Ku Klux Klan should be reenacted immediately. Violent protesters have to be jailed. Hamas is designated by law in America as a terrorist organization. Support of Hamas by Americans has to be prosecuted. A crackdown has to be implemented at once. France learned to do this at the outset. America must do the same. America cannot be hijacked by anarchists, gangsters, and hooligans. It is time to realize these people are destroying the very fabric of American society.
Joseph M. Frager is a physician and lifelong activist.
