In actual fact Beck is attacked by some in the religious right and by the liberal left but for different reasons. The former distrust Beck’s motivation in being nice. Many support this position because there is no sign that the evangelicals are about to abandon their attempts to convert us. They have adopted the approach of loving us to death. From my point of view, their support has many reasons. But they include that supporting Israel is the right thing to do and they believe, that so goes Israel, so goes the U.S. They support Israel politically and in particular support our right to keep Judea and Samaria. I am happy to have that support even though some evangelicals are hell bent on converting us. They think they are saving us or completing us by trying to convert us whereas we take their efforts, at best, as a sign of disrespect.
The liberal Jews on the other hand attack him for many reasons, first of which is that he is a declared enemy of Soros and Obama and their liberal agenda. Secondly, he is a Christian and that’s reason enough for some.. Lest anyone misunderstand this, I should explain that it is not because of the Christian theology but because these Jews want to live in a secular country not a Christian Country or a Jewish country for that matter. Therefore they want to separate Christians from the public square.
Finally I should remind you that these Jews are lousy friends of Israel. They support J-Street and Obama and want pressure on Israel to get her to capitulate. They want us to withdraw from J&S and even Jerusalem. So the evangelicals are undermining them. They support the settlers. Finally Christian Evangelicals and Jewish liberals are at the opposite ends of the political spectrum. So in a way they are political opponents. Ted Belman.
Get a load of this.
Dershowitz supports Beck rally
Ahead of major Jerusalem event on Wednesday, US law professor says he believes controversial commentator’s motives are genuine
U.S. Jews warn Israel not to get too cozy with Beck
By Shlomo Shamir, HAARETZ
NEW YORK – The warm welcome extreme right-wing media personality Glenn Beck has receiving in Israel has led to criticism of the American pundit by Jewish leaders in New York.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, told Haaretz he believed that Beck was very extreme and controversial even among right-wing groups in the United States. Yoffie pointed to the Fox News television network, which had canceled Beck’s show and distanced itself from him.
Yoffie said that Beck had mocked the distress of hundreds of thousands of protesters in Israel, referring to the right-wing pundit’s comments about the tent protests in Israel earlier this month when he compared protesters’ calls for increased social benefits to those of the former Soviet Union.
According to Yoffie, Beck’s comments on the protest in Israel are a slap in the face to hundreds of thousands of protesters, and expressed dismay that such a man is holding events in Israel with the participation of cheering masses.
Yoffie, who said he preferred not to speak about Beck and lend him undue prominence, said the pundit had expressed himself hatefully and rudely against President Obama, who is Israel’s important and faithful ally.
Seymour Reich, former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and a leading New York attorney, said Tuesday that he believed Beck was taking rude advantage of Israel in order to rehabilitate his television career and reputation.
Reich said he believed Israeli and Jews everywhere should be careful about embracing an extreme right-winger like Beck, who shows sympathy for Israel in order to hide his extreme-right ideology.
In contrast, Abe Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Tuesday that Beck had come to Israel to show support and solidarity with Israel and he should be welcomed as a friend.
Foxman also said the fact that Beck expressed views people did not agree with was no reason to ostracize him.
Is that like being not too pregnant?
Martin, my Judenrat friend, people like you helped to burden the rest of us with the most unqualified, uninformed, unpatriotic, inexperienced, irresponsible ane incompetent president in US history. The adjectives unpatriotic and irresponsible were added because of the standard that Obama applied to George Bush in a speech on July 3, 2008. Here it is, saved for all eternity on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kuTG19Cu_Q
Of course you would. You have made yourself abundantly clear. Now please do not misunderstand me. If Israel is exterminated, it will be because of the efforts people like you, aided and abetted by people like George Soros and the zombies he funds. Fortunately, because of most American Christians, NOT most American Jews, Israel will never be exterminated or even severely damaged, no matter what you liberal American Jews and President Obama do in his remaining few months before we flush him down the toilet into the septic tank of history.
There is no need for Israelis to be blind in their gratitude and appreciation for Glenn Beck’s steadfast support for Israel and his highlighting the dangers that you liberal Jews represent not only to Israel but also the US and the rest of the world with your support for statist ideological “soft-tyrants” like Barack Obama who are no less dangerous than the hard-tyrants like Jong Il, Castro, Chavez, Mugabe and the like in the results he is producing in his attempts to bring the US down to everyone else’s level, just “to be fair”. 20 million unemployed Americans stand in mute testimony to his “fairness”.
Fortunately the support for Obama in the US from Martin and his ilk is down to 54% from the absurd 78% of 2008, but that is still 54% too high. We need to get the support down to Soros and Martin, period. I wonder if Martin would hire Obama to run a business he owns.
@ zeev:
Well said zeev
At Comment 33, Steve: Totally Agree, Glenn Beck has been staunch for Israel and against American PC. I would add: Israel take heart, Almighty God is your Defender!
I have watched Glen Beck shows and regarding Israel, I haven’t seen any media personality in the US in 36 years who has come so powerfully and eloquently on the side of Israel. The Jewish state could not survive alone, in the wave of anti Israel hysteria that engolfed the Arab states and some over 100 other states members of the UN. Instead of using the help extended by real friends of Israel, these two so called experts Eric Yoffe and Seymour Reide are playing politics with the safety and security of the Jewish state. With “friends” like them we don’t need enemies. To brand a real friend of Israel “extreme right even among the right-wing groups” shows that for them his political options are more important and anything else. These two persons should be grounded off and disregarded by the rest of Jewish leaders for spreading lies and discrediting Beck’s views for no good reasons. In the face of the Arab relentless pressure world wide, Israel does not have too many friends and when one shows up so powerfully and unequivocally, it’s shameful that he is treated with such a disrespect. We need a lot more friends like Glen Beck world wide!
I am a politically Liberal American not-too religious Jew. I have reflected on the question whether Israel will survive as a nation and educated myself accordingly to understand the issues to some level of competency to have an opinion. I have no other concern, only the probability of Israel’s survival. [ I will email any reader the titles in my library. ]
Do not misunderstand me. If Israel were exterminated tomorrow I would still go shopping the following day.
So I say to those now reduced to arguing about Religion like college sophomores. Arguing about which Jews are “real” Jews. Praising or deploring the impact of Glen Beck on Israel all because he supports Israel notwithstanding his views on American political issues, his language and attitudes toward anybody to his left and most importantly his support of Christian morality. Should Israelis give Beck wide and welcome currency with blind loyalty and support?
YES, Israeli dimwits! Even if Hitler were resurrected and announced his new found love for Jews and would have the courage to fight to assure Israel’s survival I would embrace and support him.
That measures how close I believe Israel is on the razors edge of a war with Egypt and the possibility of national extinction by the stupidity of agreeing to permit Egypt to place troops in the Sinai. Israel’s first blunder was the failure to annex in 1967. Second blunder was the Oslo Accords. Third blunder was the Gaza withdrawal. And now this?
You only get three strikes!
My reply is that we badly need one rational voice to silence the magnitute of all these differen opinins. Plese God send us one. Celina
You have no way of knowing for sure whether it is accurate or not. It is your faith belief, which is fine. I only object when people use faith beliefs as evidence for their political point of view.
I respect your faith beliefs and that of others as well, regardless of what these are or whether I agree or not. I just don’t think these should be used as evidence in political discussions.
This is your faith belief. You have no way to know any of this for sure. It is illogical to believe that God is biased. Thus I believe it is disrespectful to God to assume that he would play favorites between various groups that HE created.
Of course I do, which is precisely why I believe that he loves all people equally and would not “choose” one group over all the others.
I believe all people are born special, whether they are Jews, or not. What they do thereafter is their individual responsibility.
If I respect all people why would I believe that I need to help them better themselves? This would mean I feel superior to them or think they are not as good as me. Such pretenses of superiority are not Christ-like beliefs.
So, do you believe that if someone is not a Christian who believes as you do, they are carnal?
I don’t need the scripture to tell me that all good people will go to heaven, regardless of whether they are Christian or not, believe in Christ or not, or whether they have even heard of Jesus to make him their Lord and Savior.
My Catholic Church – the original Christian church – has officially rejected that interpretation because it makes no sense. We believe that all good people will be saved, regardless of whether they accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, or not.
BTW, not everyone who accepts Jesus as the Lord and Savior will be saved, unless they, too, have led a good life.
Since the Bible was written by men based on their beliefs I have no way of knowing what God’s word is. I just use normal common sense about what’s right and wrong based on a) The Ten Commandments, b) The Golden Rule and c) The Sermon on the Mount. Not because these were God’s word as written by some well-meaning men, but because they make sense to me and guide me in how to live my life on a daily basis.
God does not speak through earthquakes and tsunamis. That is patently absurd. Please excuse me from your Bible schools using English translations of the Bible. I do not want to be brain-washed about a God that is biased and unfair and punishes people through earthquakes and tsunamis.
Donna, I am a Catholic supporter of Israel, not because of what God is supposed to have said but because it is the right thing to do. They have been attacked and maligned throughout history for no apparent reason and deserve to have their own country where their ancestors lived before there was Christianity or Islam. Being a Jewish state is their choice as a safe haven for Judaism because they are surrounded by Muslim states wanting to wipe them off the map. I have a preference for secular states but as long as all minorities are protected by law I have no problem with the concept of being a Jewish state if that is what most Israelis decide.
How do you know what God said exactly?
What you believe was written by well-meaning men in Aramaic and Greek and subjected to numerous translations some of which are still being discussed.
Do you have so little respect for God that you think he would choose one group he created and pit them against all the other groups he also created? That would be biased and unfair. By definition, God cannot be biased and unfair.
The one thing that does make Jews special to Christians is that Jesus was a Jew in this world and built his philosophy on some basic Jewish principles like the Ten Commandments, while rejecting many others like the exclusiveness, suspicion, vengeance and importance of rituals over substance. However, the old Pharisees rejected his message of love, inclusiveness, forgiveness and redemption because it made them look bad. Thus they rejected HIM as the Messiah and Jews are still waiting for a train that may have come and gone 2000 years ago.
Getting Jews or anyone else to accept Jesus is not even on my list as a Catholic. I just accept people and what they believe as they are unless they shove their religious beliefs in my face. I learned that from Christ, by the way. I believe being a Christian means trying to be more like Christ in my daily life. I fail repeatedly, brush myself off, and try again.
Because God is fair, I believe Jews who do good on this earth and serve their fellow-man will be saved whereas Christians who do not will not be saved by blindly claiming to accept HIM as their Lord and Savior.
Jesus never demanded that anyone accept him as their Lord and Savior as a pre-condition to being saved.
God does not speak through earthquakes and hurricanes because of what some idiotic US president does. You need to wake up and start thinking for yourself.
The worst thing that Reform Jews have done recently is to help elect Barack Obama.
@ David Sternlight:My first interaction
with upper-class reform Jews was through the anguish that my father experienced when Pres. Roosevelt said to him:” Jerry ,why you so worried about the Jews (European) when the Jews (the leading reform Jews and those active in the Roosevelt administration) are not concerned”. My father, for the rest of his life,always felt he not done enough.
My next encounter was during the days when Israel was fighting for its life. 2 my high school classmates died in attempting to reinforce Israel. They drowned when a small boat of theirs was bumped by a British warship. My own personal participation was marginal. At that time I was a Army reservist who was attending a supply Administration school. I was pulled out of class to process records of Army surplus which had been sold and was being shipped to Israel. I was brought to the docks and for approximately 48 hours straight the Italian longshoremen, breaking all union restrictions worked round the clock to load the ships and get them beyond the 3 mile limit before the State Department embargo would be implemented. I watched several army officers expedite the paperwork and personally assure that there were no complications that would delay the shipment. They did this knowing that the State Department and much of Washington would be furious at them & their careers, in effect would be over. They did that because they witnessed the horror of the concentration camps, and for them, “never again” was emblazoned in their hearts.
My next encounter was with the American Council for Judaism. At that time the membership was heavily upper-class German Reform Jews. They were adamantly opposed to the establishment of the state of Israel as somehow undermining their status in the United States. It was only later that I learned that the New York Times had full knowledge of the Holocaust and had suppressed it.
Some years ago what my close friends took it upon herself to join the group of American liberal Jews who met with Arafat, thus giving him great legitimacy in the eyes of Washington politics.Unfortunately, I see the current generation of J St., Rabbi’s fast for Gaza,etc.,And individuals such as the editor of the Los Angeles Jewish Journal as the reincarnation of these early reform anti-Israel Jews.
Just so no one gets the wrong idea, the medal was for marksmanship, not for violence.
In another amusing experience, I did not grow up speaking Yiddish, I studied German for several years in school, from a non-Jewish German professor with a pure ‘Hochdeutsch” accent. Since it was similar to Yiddish in many respects, I was able to hold conversations with Yiddish speakers, though they were always complaining that I was speaking German, not Yiddish. That is, until I ran into some German Jews whose daughter I was dating. (Not those of the preceding account.) They knew my family was of eastern European origin, so when I started to speak German to them, they turned up their noses and said I was speaking Yiddish, as if that e
were some badge of shame.
The irony is, that although the town my Grandfathe zt”l came from was in Poland at the time of the above experience, when he emigrated to the U.S years before it was still part of Austria. In fact he had served in the army of the Kaiser, who gave him a medal.
Reform Jews have no historical right to appear unbiased; during the waves of U.S. immigration from Eastern Europe, until at least the 1950’s, they (heavily of Gerrman origin) looked down on non-German Jews as second-class, discriminated against them overtly, and mostly wouldn’t let their daughters marry them. They embodied some of the worst characteristics, in this respect, of the “superior” German attitude which led to so much death in Europe. Once again, they are trying to tell other Jews what to do, and worse, siding with tyrants against them. Some of us were alive at the time, and have long memories.
Since reform Jews don’t accept the Torah as the divine word of Hashem, what they say about Israel is noise best ignored.
I learned all I need to know about reform Jews when I attended Yom Kippur services with a Reform Rabbi’s adult children (I was dating a cousin of theirs at the time). Afterwards, we went to his home, and in broad daylight at 4pm they started to eat. I hid my shock and asked, “Doesn’t Yom Kippuir end after Sunset.” They replied, “Yom Kippur is over when my father says it is over.” The Rabbi in question was one of the most famous Reform Rabbis in the country.President Eisenhower laid the cornerstone of his temple, the Washington Hebrew Congregation.
@ ArnoldHarris:Thank you for your information on the Democrats in the South and in Texas and on Rick Perry.
Your straightforward information is very useful to the background discussion on the various candidates. Again, thank you.
(Reply to Steve Smyser)
I have checked out Governor Rick Perry’s background. I don’t think he is a political chameleon. In the Texas tradition, along with much of the rest of the American southland, public offices were held mostly by what we would call today “Blue Dog Democrats”. They tended to be among the most socially conservative people in the US political landscape. Ever since the Reconstruction period ended after the American War Between the States, as Southerners still refer to the Civil War, no Republican could get elected to just about any public office from Virginia all to the way to Texas. All that began crumbling rapidly during Richard Nixon’s two successful campaigns for the US presidency in 1968 and 1972.
But times were not yet ripe for the Republican Party in Texas until late in the 1980s. Rick Perry was not the only conservative Democrat who signed up on behalf of Al Gore’s first campaign for the US presidency in 1988. Former governor Dolph Briscoe and Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis also traveled with Perry to Washington on behalf of Gore’s campaign.
In any case, the Democratic Party was sliding further leftward all the time, and Rick Perry switched parties the following year. He was elected on a Republican ticket as lieutenant governor of Texas, and when Governor George H Bush resigned to become President of the United States, Perry became the first Republican governor of Texas since the end of the Reconstruction era about 120 years earlier.
As the song goes:
“Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton,
old times there are not forgotten,
look away, look away, look away, Dixie land”.
And any Jew, above all, ought to be able to discern and appreciate other tradionalists.
Back to Rick Perry. Most of the bad vibes being spread about his long-ago Democratic Party affiliations come from Ron Paul, who, now that he’s turning 76 years of age, ought to know all about the historical context of what I’ve described in this comment. And you certainly must agree that Congressman Paul, as one of the leading candidates for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2012, has an axe to grind in regard to Rick Perry, who apparently is now the leading GOP contender.
Can Perry beat President Blacksnake in next year’s election? If he can’t then I’m not sure any Republican can.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Donna, I am a Catholic supporter of Israel, not because of what God is supposed to have said but because it is the right thing to do. They have been attacked and maligned throughout history for no apparent reason and deserve to have their own country where their ancestors lived before there was Christianity or Islam. Being a Jewish state is their choice as a safe haven for Judaism because they are surrounded by Muslim states wanting to wipe them off the map. I have a preference for secular states but as long as all minorities are protected by law I have no problem with the concept of being a Jewish state if that is what most Israelis decide.
How do you know what God said exactly? What you believe was written by well-meaning men in Aramaic and Greek and subjected to numerous translations some of which are still being discussed. Do you have so little respect for God that you think he would choose one group he created and pit them against all the other groups he also created? That would be biased and unfair. By definition, God cannot be biased and unfair.
The one thing that does make Jews special to Christians is that Jesus was a Jew in this world and built his philosophy on some basic Jewish principles like the Ten Commandments, while rejecting many others like the exclusiveness, suspicion, vengeance and importance of rituals over substance. However, the old Pharisees rejected his message of love, inclusiveness, forgiveness and redemption because it made them look bad. Thus they rejected HIM as the Messiah and Jews are still waiting for a train that may have come and gone 2000 years ago.
Getting Jews or anyone else to accept Jesus is not even on my list as a Catholic. I just accept people and what they believe as they are unless they shove their religious beliefs in my face. I learned that from Christ, by the way. I believe being a Christian means trying to be more like Christ in my daily life. I fail repeatedly, brush myself off, and try again.
Because God is fair, I believe Jews who do good on this earth and serve their fellow-man will be saved whereas Christians who do not will not be saved by blindly claiming to accept HIM as their Lord and Savior.
I think loving and serving God on a daily basis should mean being more like Christ, which means serving your fellow-man unconditionally in any way you can. Jesus never demanded that anyone accept him as their Lord and Savior as a pre-condition to being saved.
God does not speak through earthquakes and hurricanes because of what some idiotic US president does. You need to wake up and start thinking for yourself.
Arnold, why is an old warrior like you pussy-footing on this issue? Is Moshe Feiglin whispering? Is Yamit whispering? Are the other anti-Christian bigots in this forum who agree with them whispering?
As an American Christian friend of Israel I oppose these Jewish saboteurs of Israel’s security as vehemently as I oppose the Islamic terrorists.
This is a blood libel!
Character assassination. Rick Perry was a Democrat in 1988 when he supported Al Gore in the Democrat primaries which he lost to George Dukakis. That’s 23 years ago, not “a few years ago”. Al Gore was not the liberal wing-nut then that he is today. Perry has been a conservative Republican since 1989. That’s 22 years ago.
ADL defended Glen Beck. Israel has a right to defend itself.
Amen. Glenn Beck is a man of faith. That is first and foremost what is needed in this world. People from faith communities have no problem
recognizing Truth and moral principles in others. When someone feels they can go it alone (atheism) and that their individual selves are the
ultimate determinant of right and wrong that’s when trouble sets in.
The so called Palestinian Nationalist reveal themselves when they refuse to acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state. Anyone who claims to be a friend of Israel should repeat their endorsement of Israel as a Jewish state and reaffirm its historical past as a Jewish state and stand for a future for Israel as a Jewish state. Israelis should question the claims of friendship of political and religious movements and personalities who cannot seem to do this.
I’m one of the far right wing evangelical Chistians that support Israel that has been discussed. The reason that we (and this is the reasoning in my field of friends) is what God said in His Word; that Israel is the apple of His eye; that God protects Israel and whoever comes against Israel fights against Him. Why would we want to come against the God we so ardently serve? As far as trying to convert the Jewish people, God will handle that. Would we like for the Jewish people to acknowledge Jesus as their savior, absolutely. Is it at the top of the priority list…no. Our priority is loving and serving God on a daily basis, wherever that may lead us. We want the USA to return to our moral and Christian conservative roots. We want our President to support Israel because of the Word, which apparently he does not know. This President is supporting the Muslims over the Israelis and we want to change that. The earthquake and the hurricane are a result of his policies against Israel….God is speaking. Glenn Beck is an excellent voice for Israel and the conservative right. And, by the way, we don’t consider ourselves far right at all; we haven’t moved. The political left has forsaken all Godly principles in our point of view.
@ abie:Sorry able. The sources I’ve seen “documenting” anti-Semitic remarks by Glenn Beck, on closer research ,have not quoted him but Quote other left-wing sources that claim to quote him.
Or they take specific phrases and sentences of long and involved discussions out of context.
I have been in numerous state department meetings where vicious statements against Jews and Israel were made. Brezinski was a particular offender. So was Jimmy Carter. in the current administration include Susan Rice , Samantha Powers, Rashid Khalidi, and nearly every other foreign policyadviser in the Obama administration and you will find the remarks much more hostile to Israel and Jews.
@ Laura:You are correct. A leading economist
analyzed their demands in a talkback to the Jewish Journal. He described his own efforts as leader in Johnson’s great Society. And how he and his associates, sincere, energetic, well-educated, etc. lead to disaster and warned that the well-meaning platitudes of those organizing the protests would doom Israel to second-class economic status and a marginalized growth rate. He objected to the emphasis on entitlements and the emphasis on government as a vehicle to do it. Anyone familiar with the Israeli bureaucracy Wants less of it , not more.
Abie, prove your accusation that Beck had an anti-semitic past. Provide links to authoritative sources.
Even if you are right about Beck’s past, which I don’t believe and won’t unless you do provide me with smoking gun evidence,
Beck is about as far as a non-Jew can get from being anti-semitic and is right up there as a stanch defender, protector and supporter of Jews and Israel.
Don’t say “sorry Bill” when you don’t mean a word of it. Its disrespectful!
Prove your accusation. If you can, then tell me what that has to do with anything in the here and now regarding Beck?
Think you can handle answering my questions and challenges? I frankly doubt it, but surprise me Abie!
Mr A. H. (posting #6) Enjoyed your post – I agree with all you say with one minor exception – This Rick Perry guy is a political chameleon.
A few years ago when Al Gore was seeking the Presidency, Rick Perry was his Texas campaign manager. My advise is to not trust R.P., as he is a very slick character. He is under neath it all, a Globalist. (Look at all the Hispanics still crossing the Texas border, even tho R. P. has been Governor for quite some time).
@ Bill Narvey:
Sorry Bill- But Beck has an antisemitic past.
wwww.foxhollow.5te
I’ve been a Jew for 77 years. But I never even heard of Yoffie and Reich until I read about them on Israpundit. In addition to being an unapologetic Jewish nationalist, I’m also a pro-gun activist who has served as the NRA-ILA election volunteer coordinator (EVC) for Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District for about 13 years. So I wouldn’t be welcome in the salons or social circles of the the Yoffie and Reich quasi-Jews even if I were willing to read the shabat prayers in English on those occasions when I show up to make a minyan in the local Lubavitcher shtiebl. Oops, I forgot. They don’t talk to the Chabadnikim either.
Glen Beck suits me fine. Like me, he’s on the rightwing side of public events. Would he and his Evangelical Christian buddies try to convert me to Jesus? They can always try. But I’ve been a Jew since April 2, 1934, and I will check out with the same fundamental designation, when it’s my time to croak.
Big political change is coming to America. Beck and the Tea Party crowd signify that change. But next year, I’m fairly certain we all will see the exit from power of Barack Hussein Obama Jr — the one and only Mr President Blacksnake. As things stand today with the latest polling, it seems that Texas Governor Rick Perry has galloped into first place among Republicans, way ahead of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Romney, as a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons), never could and never will make it with the Evangelical Christians, who consider Mormons as none-Christian schismatics. The ECs whom I know well enough to talk about religion and politics tell me they never ever will vote for Romney or any other Mormon. In fact, they would probably vote for a hard rightwing Jew in preference to any Mormon.
Will Perry be good for Israel, if he gets the GOP nomination and flattens Blacksnake in the general election? Infinitely better then Blacksnake and probably better than George W Bush, who got suckered into starting a war in Iraq before he had finished the one in Afghanistan.
But presidential elections in the USA are not won or lost in regard to whether or not this or that candidate is “better for Israel”. We have America to worry about, and the combination a broken and de-industrialized economy and not enough money to pay for all the entitlement programs as well as our super-expensive armed forces, mean that everything around here will be going to hell in a handbasket before there is even a hint of national turnaround.
Meantime, stop the whispered hysteria against Beck and the American Christian friends of Israel. Until you all become a client state of the Chinese, Russians and Indians, you don’t have too many folks on your side outside of Israel. And maybe not in Israel, either, unless you can induce a large number of the Israeli leftists to emigrate and go live in the United Kingdom, or somesuch other place where creeps like them are honored rather than having the shit beat out of them on the streets, which is what Jewish leftists really deserve.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Note Shamir begins his report by calling Beck an extreme right-wing media personality.
Shamir quotes Rabbi Yoffie as describing Beck as very extreme and controversial even among right-wing groups in the United States.
Could Shamir and Yoffie be left wing? You bet they are.
The left typically calls anyone, anywhere to the right of them on the political spectum and whom they disagree with, as being right wing. For those whose views really bother the left wing, they dub them, “extreme right wingers”. Yoffie, doubtless speaking for the URJ elites and the new URJ head Rabbi Jacobs must be really pissed with Beck because he calls Beck so extremely right wing, that even the right wing disagree with him. I didn’t know someone could be such an extreme right winger that even the extreme right wing won’t have anything to do with them.
There are many Jews who have had it with many positions left wing Jewish leaders take that are not in Israel’s best interests. These positions are heavy on personal opinion and pre-conceived notions and light on facts, reason and logic. In a word some of these leftwing positions are disingenuous at best.
Many of those Jews however, are also fed up with left wing Jewish Rabbis who resort to the most vile and viscious name calling to dismiss and demonize those who disagree with their views.
I had thought for years that if one could get these Rabbis and URJ leaders to get off their pedestals-soap boxes, leave their pre-conceived notions behind and come down to earth for a civil discussion on real facts against which reason and logic were applied, that those opposed to such left wing ideologically based Rabbinic/leadership public political views, would see a measure of success in moving these left wing Rabbis and leaders off their collective left wing asses to stand with facts, logic and reason.
I am losing hope of that happening.
Perhaps it is time to try a much more aggressive approach.
That could possibly involve publically taking left wing Jews like Shamir and Yoffie with public stature to task with the objective of using fact and logic to discredit them in the eyes of the Jewish community at large. Throwing in tit for tat accusations that these Jews comprise the very loony extreme left wing that advocate against Israel, wittingly or not, might help too.
What do others think about how to deal with the Jewish left wing camp?
@ Laura:
Mr. Yoffie would do better not to talk about matters he does not seem to understand, if he still thinks that Obama is Israel’s ally and Beck the enemy. He is, obviously, the leader of that part of the so called jews in US that have given a bad name to the rest of us, probably like his predecessors in pre-war Germany who cozzied to Hitler.
Well said, Bill.
My comment will not go through.
This is the same Rabbi Yoffie who engaged in outreach with islamic groups, but he thinks Beck is too extreme for Jews to befriend.
Distressed protesters, my foot. These are affluent spoiled brats pushing for a more socialist Israel.