Adbuster page for OccupyWallStreet.org

If one was trying to tack the label of antisemitism onto the Occupy Wall Street movement, (which apparently, everyone is) one needs to look no further than David Brooks' October 10th op-ed for The New York Times, entitled "The Milquetoast Radicals."  In it, he points to a 2004 article from Adbusters - the Canadian magazine that first put out the call to action for OWS way back in July - with the damning title of "Why Won’t Anyone Say They Are Jewish," which plays the guessing game of Republican NeoCon's religious orientation in relation to their pro-Israeli stance.

But isn't using Adbusters to discredit what is now an independent, international movement sort of, well, besides the point?

It's true that there is some really inflammatory rhetoric in the Adbusters' listicle of the Jewish neocons they produced, and even more in the response to criticism that editor-in-chief Kalle Lasn eventually gave. (Note: original spelling left intact):

The list of Jewish neocons we came up with is a provocation, I'll admit. And if it were a list of dentists or firefighters  or stockbrokers, then that would indeed be very offensive. However, the neocons are no ordinary group - they are the most influencial political/intellectual force in the world right now. They have the power to start wars and to stop them. They are the prime architects of America's foreign policy since 9/11 - a policy that is heavily weighed in favor of Israel and a key-source of anti-Americanism in the world. So I think it is not only appropriate, but necessary to put them under a microscope. And if we see maleness, Zionism, or intellectual thuggery there, then let us not look the other way.

On the ethnic question: Is it not just as valid to comment on the Jewishness of neocons as it is to point out that the majority of them are male or  white or wealthy or from the Western world or have studied at a particular university? If half the neocons were Palestinians, would the US have invaded Iraq?

Well, that certainly lends credence to the argument that this protest was founded by an anti-establishment, anti-American, antisemitic, (and worst of all) Canadian publication. Just like it would be easy to point a finger at Anonymous - another early supporter of the OWS movement -  and say that all of the people in Zuccotti Park (and across the country),  are all anarchist hacktivists. It's easy to say these things precisely because it's lazy journalism at best, fear-mongering at worst.

The Occupation of Wall Street may have originated from an Adbusters' call-to-arms, but the magazine does not speak for the protesters or their many differing beliefs. They aren't the "organizers" or "leaders" of the group, either.

If you are going to argue that OWS can not present a cohesive message because there are too many people with too many different grievances, you can not then turn around and dismiss the movement by saying its whole ideology is based on one inflammatory article criticizing America's pro-Israel stance from seven years ago. (As Fox News has done.) An article, we might add, that was given far more attention by the press itself than Occupy Wall Street, which has made its clear on its official website that it is "not affiliated with Adbusters, anonymous or any other organization."

Last night, The New York Observer joined hundreds as they marched, rallied, ate, and protested (generally) during the tenth straight day of Occupy Wall Street. Michael Moore was there. Depending on who you talked to, this event was set up by Adbusters, a group called General Assembly, or Anonymous. There was a press center, although not a lot of information being distributed. There was, at one point, free pizza.

But you don't need another eyewitness account of the bedlam down on Wall Street. Instead, we thought we'd do something a little different and show you the actual faces behind the protest...have them tell you what they considered the issues they were fighting for/against. Sure, the answers might be have been vague (at best), and apparently 90 percent of the current "Occupy Wall Street" crew ismade up of people who had heard something about it on the Internet, showed up as a bystander, and then decided to stick around. But as one of our more (in)famous faces would say, "At least they're not being complacent!"

(All photos by Marielle Solan.)

Luckily for us its neither: Just that Internet group Anonymous -- they of the "Standing outside Scientoligists' houses and yelling" brigade -- which organized a "Day of Rage" on Saturday against all the fat cats on Wall Street. Adbusters is also involved. Now the thousands of protests have apparently settled in to their new downtown surroundings, according to the group's official website, with a takeover of Zuccotti Park. (They're renaming it Liberty Plaza again, FYI.)

Why now? Shouldn't have these protests come before Goldman Sachs and Too Big to Fail? According to three people interviewed by The Guardian, they were at the protest because it's just really time to do something about all those financial types, you know?

"CEOs, the biggest corporations, and the wealthy are taking too much from our country and I think it's time for us to take back," said one activist who joined the protests last Saturday. Jason Ahmadi, who travelled in from Oakland, California explained that "a lot of us feel there is a large crisis in our economy and a lot of it is caused by the folks who do business here". Bill Steyerd, a Vietnam veteran from Queens, said "it's a worthy cause because people on Wall Street are blood-sucking warmongers".

Where were you guys with the masks a couple years ago? Having the protests this close to 9/11 just seems like a not-so-great-way to get the city's attention to your cause, you know? Oh, Mayor Bloomberg may have predicted this by comparing our use of social networking to that of Cairo and Madrid. Which means that any second now,  Martial Law will officially go into effect (Homeland Security has already put out a warning) and take down the cell-phone reception south of Broadway?

Unfortunately that would screw over the bankers probably more than the post-collegiate protestors who are assembling as we speak to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and generally chill out together in this currently relaxed mob vibe.