A few years ago I was on the phone with a Jewish activist from Florida who was well-known for being a Democrat and a feminist. I was interested to hear what she had learned from decades of service in the Jewish community, so I asked her what she considered to be the most important Jewish issue of our time – and why. Without a moment’s hesitation, she replied, “Abortion rights. The freedom to choose is what Judaism is all about.” I thought that she had not understood my question, so I repeated it with an added emphasis on the word “Jewish.” She in turn repeated her answer more forcefully, leaving no doubt that she considered abortion to be a more important Jewish issue than the security of Israel, Jewish education, intermarriage, theological delegitimization of Israel and Judaism, increasing anti-Semitism in Europe and Latin America, etc. Whatever one’s views on abortion, her argument is almost impossible to defend. Her liberal views on moral issues had clearly distorted her understanding of the priorities of modern world Jewry, and I soon discovered that she was considered by many of her peers to be more of a political activist than a Jewish one.
I was reminded of this conversation while reading a recent ” title=”already condemned” target=”_blank”>already condemned Beck’s irresponsible attacks on Soros’s Jewishness and actions during WWII, and agree with JFSJ and the rabbis that they are reprehensible. However, for the life of me I cannot understand why the signatories would invoke the considerable moral authority of the rabbinate on this issue, considering the source. Moreover, the text of the ad inexplicably (and carelessly) cites statements by Jewish leaders (e.g., Abe Foxman, Deborah Lipstadt) who in fact were less than enthusiastic about the ad. Mr. Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, expressed my sentiments exactly: “While we have said many times that Nazi comparisons are offensive and inappropriate when used for political attacks, in my view it is wrongheaded to single out only Fox News on this issue, when both liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, can share equal guilt in making trivializing comparisons to the Holocaust. Furthermore, the open letter signed by hundreds of rabbis is a trivialization in itself… at a time when Holocaust denial is rampant in much of the Arab world, where anti-Semitism remains a serious concern, and where the Iranian leader has openly declared his desire to ‘wipe Israel off the map,’ surely there are greater enemies and threats to the Jewish people than the pro-Israel stalwarts Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes and Glenn Beck.”
Both the respect I hold for the rabbinate and my desire to see the abuse of Holocaust imagery addressed in a more appropriate forum lead me to oppose the latest ad.
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Rabbi Lori Schneide and I will make a joint presentation on the role of Israel and the Abrahamic Covenant in our respective faiths on Wednesday, February 9 @ 7:30 p.m. @ USC Hillel (3300 S. Hoover Street, Los Angeles)
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Rabbi Arnold Rachlis, Dr. Armand Mauss, and Brett Holbrooke will conduct an LDS-Jewish dialogue at University Synagogue in Irvine on Friday, March 11 @ 8:00 p.m.
