New York, NY, March 1, 2010 … Louis Farrakhan, the racist and anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam, used his annual address to revisit vintage anti-Semitic and racist themes, with accusations that "Zionists" control Congress and that the "white right" was attempting to set up the assassination of President Barack Obama, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
During his annual Saviours' Day address in Chicago, titled "The Time and What Must Be Done," Farrakhan accused "Zionists" of having undue control of Congress and the Obama Administration and charged that elected officials from both parties align "whenever something comes up that Israel does not like … because the Congress is controlled."
"Anyone who thought the old Farrakhan was gone is sadly mistaken. He never was gone," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "This is vintage Farrakhan: anti-Semitism, racism conspiracy theories about Jews and money. Farrakhan's racism and anti-Semitism is as ugly as it ever was. Indeed, with age it appears to be getting worse."
Among the conspiracy theories and remarks from Minister Farrakhan during his 3-and-1/2 hour speech to an audience of an estimated 20,000 followers at The United Center in Chicago, Ill. on February 28th:
• Farrakhan claimed that Zionists are pressuring President Obama to launch a war against Iran. "The Zionists want Barack to bomb Iran," he said, adding that Obama, "…wants to write a new page from the Muslim world but the Zionists won't let him."
• "You have a Congress that can't vote on nothing together. But whenever something comes up that Israel does not like, Democrats and Republicans vote alike because the Congress is controlled."
• He asserted that potential conflicts with the Jewish community are resolved by the Obama Administration during closed-door meetings in the Oval Office. "Jewish leaders from every Jewish organization met him in the Oval Office and they said, 'Barack, if you have differences with us, you should keep it behind the doors.'"
• Farrakhan blamed "Zionists" for interfering with his visit to Panama City in the 1980s, during which he claims multiple hotels refused him entry. "That's the reach of the Zionists," he said.
• He claimed the "white right" was trying to assassinate President Obama. "The white right is trying to set Barack up to be assassinated." He added: "There are Christians praying for God to kill Obama."
• "And guess who made Goldman Sachs rich? Guess who made Lehman brothers rich? Did you know Lehman Brothers was a slave baron in Alabama? And he had so many slaves picking so much cotton, he was all over all the cotton in Alabama, and after he made so much money, he went into banking. Goldman Sachs was backed by Rothschild, that's Rockefeller and the boys."
For nearly 30 years, Farrakhan, 76, has marked himself a notable figure on the extremist scene by making hateful statements targeting Jews, whites and homosexuals, according to ADL. His bigoted and anti-Semitic rhetoric has included statements calling whites "blue eyed devils" and Jews "bloodsuckers" that controlled the slave trade, the government, the media and various Black individuals and organizations. In 2006, he blamed Jews and Israel for the war in Iraq, for controlling Hollywood and for promoting what he considers immorality.
Farrakhan's history of anti-Semitism and racism is detailed in the online ADL report, Louis Farrakhan In His Own Words.