Sunday, March 1, 2009
Following is video of Geert Wilders' appearance in Stoughton last Wednesday. Wilders showed his film, Fitna, spoke, then took audience questions.
I was not able to be there as I was at a dinner with the inimitable (whatever that means) Michael Graham and around 20 others at the Harvard Club in Boston. (Lovely folks, by the way, hello out there -- you know who you are!) Graham has posted his own radio interview with Geert Wilders, recorded the same day he gave his Stoughton presentation. Link here.
I've only now had a chance to watch the video and am very favorably impressed with Wilders. Europe is facing an onslaught, a tidal wave, and Wilders is desperately trying to hang on to Western Civilization for dear life.
Here is the Motionbox video (good quality) Part 1 of the entire talk, including Q&A. Links to the remaining YouTube three parts (due to YouTube's 10 minute lmit) follow below. I've embedded Fitna in the extended entry.
[Update: Omnia21 was there:]
The Stoughton hall where Wilders spoke was filled with hundreds of admirers who rose as one as he entered and applauded and applauded. For many, including this writer, we knew we were in the presence of a great man. We knew that he was telling a truth that people did not want to hear or think about, but they must. Wilders faces prosecution and jail for telling the truth in his native land, so far gone in Holland is the cause of free speech. While we in America can still speak out we must follow his example. It is our responsibility to take the message of Geert Wilders and spread it far and wide if America is to be saved from this spreading evil...
[Update 2: Jerry Gordon has an excellent interview with the Rabbi who does the introduction: An Interview with a Local Hero: Rabbi Jon Hausman.]
YouTube Links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Fitna:
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Video: Geert Wilders in Boston.
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Jerry Gordon has a good interview with the Rabbi who introduced Geert Wilders in Stoughton last Wednesday: An Interview with a Local Hero: Rabbi Jon Hausman. So refreshing to read the views of that rare bird of a Rabbi who... Read More
JTA has a write-up of Geert Wilders' Stoughton appearance: Synagogue hails Dutch lawmaker as a hero. It's an OK piece, but still gets hung up on Wilders' call to ban the Koran, which isn't really true. Wilders wants Europe to... Read More
Jeff Jacoby has an excellent interview with Geert Wilders, conducted during Wilders' swing through Boston. Jacoby finally digs in on some of the tougher questions that Wilders often gets a pass on, such as his views on free speech, the... Read More
Geert Wilders,
You are a man of great strength! I hope that you can accomplish what you have set out to do! The world is on the wrong path. There are those that don't believe this. You MUST be the spokesperson
for all of us!
Thank you for your courage!
C.Rubin CT
"First they came for Geert Wilders......."
and I did not stand up because it wasn't me....
May Allah Bless ALL Kaffirs.
Solomon,
I was able to attend Mr. Wilders' presentation because I read about it here. Thank you very much for spreading the word. It was a unique experience; it's rare to have the chance to see such a prominent public figure in such a intimate setting. Despite the lack of publicity, the event was well-attended.
Mr. Wilders is an example of what has become a truly rare breed: A statesman, rather than a politician. He promotes not his own interests, nor merely his immediate constituents' interests; instead, he promotes his nation's and our civilization's interests. And make no mistake: The minority of Muslims who would see Shari'a trump civil law throughout the world are anathema to our civilization.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Rabbi Houseman for organizing the event. Well done.
The left has alot to answer for. Biblical prophesy always said that evil will come with a smiling and benevolent face.
I interviewed Mr Wilders six years ago, when he visited a Dutch-Israeli parents' home here in Haifa. At that time he still represented the liberal party VVD in Dutch parliament. Although I did not know him at all, two of his main characteristics were clear to me - as can be read in the article that I wrote about his visit: http://yonathanbert.blogspot.com/2003/04/te-vinden-op-www.html ( in Dutch, sorry ) -: his passion ( today I would say: his single-mindedness ), and his straightforwardness. He was fair and honest, it took ( and still takes some ) some electoral guts for a Dutch politician to say in front of a Jewish audience in Israel that you support a Palestinian state.
One observation that I wrote down in 2003 I have corrected in recent years. I had the impression that his sympathy and support for Israel were the result not only of a hatred for Haman but also of a certain love for Mordechai. Today I fully believe that hatred for Haman is what mainly leads Wilders and his party towards supporting the Jewish state. For instance, one of his party's MPs led a fight against hallal AND kosher slaughter after hallal kebab was served in the parliament's restaurant one day. A ban on kosher and hallal slaughter is a favorite topic for rightwing ( and some leftwing ) extremists and animal activists. Both in Germany and in the Netherlands - and elsewhere - a ban on kosher slaughter was one of the first measures taken by the Nazis after they took power.
I still have great respect for Mr Wilders' courage - for more than four years he has led an absolutely abnormal life because of his beliefs - and do believe that most other parties in Holland ignore Islam(ism)-related problems that should be addressed. Still, I think that the PVV's style, extremism and obsessive focus on one issue has only served the islamists and their Dutch apologists: whenever Wilders or one of his party members raises a subject - no matter how relevant and important - hardly anybody else dares to touch it in a serious way, it instantly turns into muktseh.
As for his 'movie', it is basically some kind of Powerpoint presentation, and not a very good and original one. Videos like that one can be seen all over the internet, for and against Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and almost everything else. With another subject, and without the violent attention that it received in the Muslim world, it would have received a few thousand hits on YouTube, and that's it. That does not mean that Geert Wilders should not be allowed to show his piece of art wherever he wants, but that piece also does not justify having him show it all over the world.
The readers and feedbackers of the Dutch daily De Telegraaf have a lot of sympathy for Wilders and the PVV. They often praise the party's views and complain about the islamization of the Netherlands. On the site of the same newspaper you can also see some of the worst examples of today's mainstream brand(s) of Dutch anti-Semitism, sometimes written by the same commentators who had something bad to say about Muslims. This is just another proof of the fact that, while people like Wilders can in certain cases be allies for us, they will never be true friends.
why do you host this evil man of hatred. havent you learned from the hatred of the nazi's.