Posted on 10/27/2011 5:39:40 AM PDT by SJackson
Foxman and friends seem to have forgotten that debate, discussion and yes, even disagreement are precisely what democracy is all about.
The American presidential election may be over a year away, but two leading Jewish organizations are already gearing up to assist Barack Obama in his effort to win a second term.
In a highly unusual move, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) have joined forces to launch what is being billed as a “National Unity Pledge for Israel.”
The document, which is being widely circulated to garner signatures, ostensibly seeks to promote bipartisan support for Israel. It says “the Jewish community has had a strong interest in ensuring that American support for Israel is one of the critical strategic issues that unites rather than divides parties and officials,” and speaks of the need for American voices to be “raised together in unshakable support for our friend and ally.”
Don’t let all the gallant fluff about unity fool you.
This pledge has far more to do with domestic American politics than it does with preserving Israel’s standing in public opinion.
It is nothing less than a nakedly transparent attempt by liberal American Jews to bolster President Obama’s sagging support among members of the tribe and deflect criticism from his hostile record toward Israel.
Ever so subtly, the document suggests that the “US-Israel friendship should never be used as a political wedge issue.”
But behind that seemingly harmless rhetoric lies a far more calculated agenda, one that seeks to stifle debate and silence criticism of the Obama administration. A critical clue to the initiative’s real aim can be found in a statement that accompanied its release, by ADL national director Abraham Foxman.
“We want the discourse on US support for Israel to avoid the sometimes polarizing debates and political attacks that have emerged in recent weeks,” said Foxman, “as candidates have challenged their opponents’ pro-Israel bona fides or questioned the current administration’s foreign policy approach vis-à-vis Israel.”
Say what? Since when is there anything wrong with questioning a presidential administration’s approach to Israel? For decades, American Jews have stood up in defense of the Jewish state when presidents such as Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush sought to manhandle Jerusalem. They have gone to the political barricades, lobbied congressmen and organized rallies, petitions and protests when needed.
There is something ludicrous and un-American for the ADL and AJC to now suggest that challenging Obama’s policy towards Israel is somehow damaging or detrimental. It defies logic and common sense and should be thoroughly spurned.
Foxman and friends seem to have forgotten that debate, discussion and yes, even disagreement are precisely what democracy is all about. There is no political, intellectual or moral justification for this heavy-handed attempt to hush up Obama’s critics.
Those behind the move should be ashamed of themselves.
THE TIMING of this “unity pledge” is hardly coincidental. Just last month, a survey conducted by AJC found a growing sense of dissatisfaction among American Jews with Obama and his policies.
For the first time since Obama was elected, the number of Jews expressing disapproval of his presidency exceeded those who voiced approval, by a margin of 48 to 45 percent.
And when asked for their opinion of his handling of US-Israel relations, 53% said they disapproved while just 40% supported him.
While Obama is still likely to win a majority of the Jewish vote, hardly anyone expects him to come close to winning the 78% that he is said to have won in 2008.
Among the general electorate Obama is facing an increasingly difficult political environment, even as his Jewish support is declining.
Hence the “unity pledge” proffered by the ADL and AJC.
The two groups, which generally compete with one another for press coverage, donors and prestige, have suddenly found common cause in trying to help the president.
By taking political sides and casting their lot with the Democratic incumbent, the ADL and AJC have revealed themselves to be partisan players rather than truly impartial Jewish organizations.
In this light, their pledge only demonstrates just how unrepresentative they truly are of American Jewry as a whole.
Instead of defending Jewish rights and interests, they are acting like an extension of the Obama campaign.
I believe many American Jews will see right through this ploy and reject it out of hand.
A growing number of them recognize that Obama is bad for Israel; it is crucial that they continue to hammer this message home in the run-up to next November.
Israel does indeed need broad bipartisan American backing and support. But it cannot come at the expense of the most basic freedom of all: the right to disagree.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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The Jews and their support for people like Obama has always been too tough for me to figure out.
He spits in their faces and they ask for more.
American Jews seem to have something against their brothers in Israel.An Israel that Obama has abandoned.
Superb piece. One question..anyone know who/what is “Foxman and friends?”
The posted article mentions that, according to a September poll of American Jews taken by the American Jewish Committee, Obama’s job approval rating is 45%, with a disapproval of 48%. So things may finally be starting to change somewhat.
As the author states, the ADL-AJC “Unity Pledge” is nothing more than a political ploy to bolster sagging support for Obama and the ‘Rats within the Jewish community. It's hardly ironic that one of the organizations initiating the pledge also took the poll.
AJC poll results:
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=846741&ct=11229303
The posted article mentions that, according to a September poll of American Jews taken by the American Jewish Committee, Obama’s job approval rating is 45%, with a disapproval of 48%. So things may finally be starting to change somewhat.
As the author states, the ADL-AJC “Unity Pledge” is nothing more than a political ploy to bolster sagging support for Obama and the ‘Rats within the Jewish community. It's hardly ironic that one of the organizations initiating the pledge also took the poll.
AJC poll results:
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=846741&ct=11229303
Foxman is Abe Foxman, the longtime left-leaning honcho of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Time to restore Jewish sovereignty and Rabbinic civil authority!
What about Mel Brooks?
I prefer Brother Theodore.
I do. But I'm the only one knowing that. And I'm not Jewish. The whole thing's a mess.
I'd say that "No one." would be the best answer.
These “groups” do not speak for me any more than Al Sharpton speaks for black people who respect the law, respect themselves, and respect family.
It's a shame for the American Jewish community that the ADL and, more recently the American Jewish Committee, have been hijacked by individuals who have been hell-bent on moving their organizations away from their original purposes (advocating for the welfare and dignity of the Jewish people as a whole by opposing antisemitism) and toward left-wing political activism.
Unlike the situation in many European countries where some individual or group had official authority to represent the minority Jewish community in dealings with the government, American Jewry does not have and has never had an official representative as such to speak for all. There were times, however, when some widely respected Jews and Jewish organizations had the moral authority to wield influence on issues of utmost importance to the Jewish community. Though the ADL and AJC were once among them, their current leaders (Abe Foxman at ADL and David Harris at AJC) have abandoned this legacy in favor of political partisanship toward the the Democrat Party.
Foxman, though, is a whole 'nother ball game from the ADL of old, even the most liberal one.
Actually, the Gedolei-HaTorah and Nesi'ei-HaDor officially represent the Jewish People. Even the secular government of Israel can't do it.
Its been a problem for a while now. Since the 70’s, actually. Many Jews just threw up their hands regarding the ADL and the Jewish Federation because they felt nothing was being accomplished-they became too political.
Back then, one of my uncles, a Rabbi, was so disgusted with their ineffectiveness, that he took his savings, gathered money from the rest of the family, his congregation, and the funds gathered by other Rabbis, and went over to the Soviet Union with 2 other Rabbis, bribed a bunch of Soviet officials, and brought out close to 100 Jews to the US and Israel ( We started calling him Moses...lol) From there, he, and the others, found them housing, training, jobs and schooling. He and the others did what others could not do. And since then, we learned to go directly to the need to give support.
The problem is that when there is a problem concerning the Jewish people as a whole- as there is now, the organizations, because of their political contacts, are afraid to actually do something. To take down these agencies would be a bad idea because they have the far reaching apparatus in place to effectively serve- and on a world-wide scale.. The solution is new leadership. And, the only answer is to cut the funding to the organizations until they replace the existing leadership with those people who would be effective, determined, and not bound to any political party.
Thanks justiceseeker93.
You might like my latest book “I Am No Longer A Democrat” available on Amazon Kindle.
You’re correct, though I don’t know anyone who considers the ADL or AJC representitive of Jewry, any more than they consicer the ZOA. I think that’s the way it should be.
Actually it's a ploy to stifle dissent, much more ominous. Though I don't think it's the role of these institutions, liberal Jews have the right to advocate for Obama. To attempt to stifle disagreement on pseudo religious (these are not religious organizations) flies in the face of the very bigotry at least the ADL opposes. Because I'm a Jew, I can't critize Obama's Israel policies, closer to the position of oppressive regiemes than this nation. Imagine if a group took the reverse position, Jews can't criticize, say, Paul Ryan.
If Obama wins a second term it doesn’t matter what Foxman and Friend did in 2011 - they will go under the bus. Does Foxman think he is more important to Obama than Reverend Wright, Acorn, Bill Ayers, Mubarak, and Israel itself. The man who bowed to the Saudi prince?
Man I hope those images of him bowing are used in the 2012 campaign.
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