Bush and the Jews
On Monday night, my wife and I attended President George W. Bush’s annual Chanukah party at the White House. Although other Presidents have held menorah lighting ceremonies, President Bush and his wife were the first to hold a party to celebrate the occasion. And it was quite a party-600 people replete with traditional Chanukah fare including potato latkes and jelly donuts and music to fit the occasion. The President said in the statement he released, “This year, as Jewish families light the menorah, the flame reminds us that light triumphs over darkness, faith conquers despair, and the desire for freedom burns inside every man, woman and child.” The President ended his statement by saying that “the forces of intolerance may seek to suppress the menorah, but they can never extinguish its light.”
When President Bush spoke before Israel’s Knesset on May 15, 2008- the day of the 60th Anniversary of Israel’s creation as a Jewish State-he gave an inspirational speech reflecting on what Israel meant to him, and what its existence means to the United States as a nation. One can say that it was certainly the most pro-Israel speech ever given by an American President.
Bush noted that the fight against terror and extremism was not just a clash of arms, but “a clash of visions, a great ideological struggle.” And he explained how Israel was a necessary ally in that fight, and why the United States could not capitulate to the demands of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. And, perhaps most important of all, he told the Israelis: “America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions.” Israel, he assured them, “can always count on the United States of America to be at your side.”
George W. Bush’s commitment to Israel and his solidarity with the world’s Jews led me to reflect on a great irony. Within the United States, a high percentage of Jews, who are overwhelmingly Democrats, have been opposed to the policies of the Bush administration and bear an animus to Bush personally.
When I returned home from the party, a friend had e-mailed me two statements that address this issue. The first came from the head of America’s Reform Jewish congregations, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffe, who delivered his remarks as a sermon at the Union Board Services in Tampa, Florida on December 12th. Reform Jews are as a whole the most liberal politically of all Jewish religious bodies in our country. On various issues, especially social ones, they stand firmly opposed to the Republican Party political agenda. Whether it is gay rights, stem cell research, the fight of a woman to have an abortion if they choose, and questions pertaining to civil liberties in the fight against terrorism, they stand on the liberal side.
Unquestionably the best friend of the Jews and Israel our government has ever given us. How sinfully.. the American Jews have treated him.
I’m surprised they haven’t thrown shoes at him.
Ambassador Sam Fox is close friend of mine. Our cousin. Brad Cohen, author of “Front of Class” was present at this very special celebration of Channuka.
Leonard Jay Newman
Dubya held the party this year. Will Obama hold it next year? If not, will the absence be noticed?
George W. Bush seems to have the best intentions. Nonetheless, he and Condi Rice have caused a lot of harm in the last few years. They have been far too eager to bring about an agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Such naivete has resulted in much bloodshed. And yet, the Clinton administration was even more reckless and foolhardy! Is Barack Obama a self hating American? This is presently the big question. The heck with those who merely “mean well.” Are their heads on straight? Let’s keep our priorities straight.
Maybe I am greedy in that I find it hard to consider anyone who pushes for a Two-State solution as a friend to Israel or Jews.
Excellent essay and site. I put a link to your compassion essay on my website. Good work.
Good intentions; yes, good actions and results; no.
Israel is on the brink of loosing another major war with much more casualties than ever before and the destruction of major property. Bush, Condi and Powell’s policies pushed them into this precarious state. Of course, Ohlmart, was the fool who listened.
With friends like this, who needs enemies?
What do the Jews have to worry about? Obama said if they get nuked, we will strike back for them (probably, unless he spoke inartfully).
We need to remember that someone advising President-elect Obama actually argue there could be a legitmate reason to invade Israel to enforce “peace”. That is truly frightening and the result of gross moral equivocation between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel and American Jews will likely miss President George W. Bush as soon as they see what President Obama is all about.
Blue Collar Todd:
Agreed: Obama will be worse.
George Bush has indeed been a very good friend to Israel, but the more important point is whether Obama will continue this incredibly biased outlook on international affairs or whether he takes a more ‘enlightened’ approach.
http://www.lettersfromatory.com
Mr Bush and his Family have always been good friends to the Jewish community. We have treated him and his family very badly over the last eight years. He has always tried to look at our interest but we have often failed to try and understand his.
so many Jews voted for The Messiah.
WHY??
God help the Jews
For all his faults (Condi Rice being a major one) George W. Bush (in contrast to his father) was a great friend of the Jewish people. As an American Jew I do not regret voting for him twice.
Princess:
God helps those who help themselves.
Great post. Thank you. President and Mrs. Bush have hosted a Hanukkah party every year while in the White House. No other president held even one on par with these. President Bush was the first President to light the Menorah in the White House residence. They opened the White House to our beliefs and customs like no other President has. I am not aware of another President who surrounded himself with so many Jews either: from his personal aide to chief of staff to his press secretary…we were not hidden in his WH!! As for policy, he called out Arafat within 6 weeks of taking office. He laid out an easy precursor for a relationship to begin: denounce terrorism. He was wise enough to know he could play like he was pushing for peace (hold meetings, retreat and conduct shuttle diplomacy), but if there wasn’t a partner to peace, there would never be peace (ie Camp David accords meetings). We will miss President and Mrs. Bush greatly…I just how those who have denounced them will thank them in the future once they realize how great it was!
After reading the article, and some of the comments, I have the same questin I have been asking for years. Why is it that Jews have a cultural suicidal tendancy? Look at the following (albeit a bit off topic):
2nd amendment- After the Holocaust,and the current Anti-Semitism, why do Jews refuse to see that they must protect themselves?
American politics- You mentioned all the good Bush has done, but why has American Jewry ignored all of Obama’s advisors with rabid Anti-Semetic and Anti-Israel policies (i.e. Brezinski)?
I could go on, but you have my point.
Thank you for shedding light on the surprising disregard (or at least apathy many American Jews have for the state of Israel. I wrote about this awhile back — http://dontdrinkthekingswine.com/2008/11/24/an-apology-on-behalf-of-22-percent-of-jews/ — but I still cannot figure out why so many Jews are such staunch Democrats.
Bush will be appreciated more and more as the negative frenzy dies down and people look at what he actually did – not what he was accused of doing
I often tell my liberal friends that if we in the West allow another diaspora and the destruction of Israel we will have lost our moral reason to exist as well. It’s all downhill from there.
#15 Princess:
Jews have traditionally voted Democrat because liberals were seen as the forefront for social change. The Democratic party of our grand-parents is NOT the same party as today. As a Conservative Jew, I never bought in to the myth of the, xenophobic, redneck Republicans that liberals loved to perpetuate ad nauseum.
The indifferent and callous behavior of FDR towards the Jewish victims in WWII, both before and after the war; Jimmy Carter’s disgusting and blatant anti-semitism, pre and post presidency and Bill Clinton’s thoughtless and self-serving ambition to bring about peace in the Middle East led to the disastrous Oslo Accords. This is the party that Jews continuously cling to. I cannot help but ask myself why, knowing what we know today about the Democrats, Jews refuse to admit the failings of the Democrats. The Jewish religious Reform and Conservative movements were born out of a desire to change and grow and progress. If we can re-think our religious practices, we can rethink our political ones too.
Why do “so many Jews” support Donk positions that are against Israel? Because they are not REAL Jews. They like the traditions (that don’t inconvenience them) and like having a “chosen people” label they can apply to themselves to feel special. They like to feel superior to others (an attitude to which many aspire) but there is often very little about them that has to do with Judaism.
The same can be said about many that call themselves Christian as well — they think because they were sprinkled at birth, or because Mom and Dad were Methodists, or because they go to church on Easter and Christmas Eve — that they are Christians. Of course many are not.
“But I still cannot figure out why so many Jews are such staunch Democrats.”
Actually, it’s pretty easy to figure out. Under right wing governments throughout history, Jews have been oppressed, deported, tortured and killed. It happened in Spain under the Inquisition, in Russia under the Tzar, in Iran under the Shah and in Germany under Hitler. That’s just to name a few. Jews have a much better quality of life under leftist governments and have had much greater opportunity. Republican are always the quickest to assert that this is a Christian nation and that American law and society ought to reflect Christain beliefs. Why would a Jew in his right mind want to be a member of a party whoe members believe that his religious beliefs garner less merit and should not have as much value as a Christian’s?
“…in Russia under the Tzar”
It also occurred in Russia—under the vicious anti-Semite Joseph Stalin! You simply do not have your facts straight. Leftist governments are inherently anti-Semitic. There are no historical exceptions.
“Republican are always the quickest to assert that this is a Christian nation and that American law and society ought to reflect Christain beliefs.”
Republicans usually point out that the United States is mostly a Christian nation—and that is quite accurate. Jews represent a very small percentage of the overall American population. But where are the significant differences between traditional Christians and orthodox Jews? You seem to imply that all Jews are secular left-wingers.
David Thomson: “It also occurred in Russia—under the vicious anti-Semite Joseph Stalin! You simply do not have your facts straight. Leftist governments are inherently anti-Semitic. There are no historical exceptions.”
Please. Jews have gotten the shaft in many governments and under many types of rulers throughout history. To say that Jewish oppression under Stalin is a good example of leftist anti-Semitism is laughable. Under Stalin, many religious groups were persecuted, not just Jews. The thing to understand here is that Jews generally do not do well under dictatorships of any ideology, left or right wing. And since Western liberal governments are typically less oppressive to Jews, many Jews prefer them. For every Stalin, I could name you ten right wing dictators who were not friends to the Jews. Using the phrase “There are no historical exceptions” just shows how ignorant you are. There are always exceptions. NO government is inherently anti-Semitic.
22. Steve P.:
Dec 18, 2008 – 9:04 am
The Nazis called their party National Socialists for a reason. They were left wing in their belief of government control of the people and the economy. That is government most famous for jewish persecution.
Stalin was more than happy to persecute jews for keeping their religion. Anothe rlefty government.
Anti-semitism runs deep in nep-nazi groups and the left here in the USA. Jews do not have anyting to fear from repubs and conservatives.
24. Steve P.:
Dec 18, 2008 – 9:37 am
I agree that anti-semitism is not inherantly a leftist trait, nor is it impossible for a rightist to be anti-semitict, but if your interpretation of right-wing government is always as flawed as thinking nazis are right wing, you need to look more in depth at the other governments.
No one can deny that European governments tend to be more to left left than ours is, yet anti-semitism is on the rise inEurope. The only times government officials try to take a stand against it is when more right leaning governments are elected.
Jews were oppressed under the right wing Shah? And they did better under the left wing Khomeini perhaps?
There is no doubt that today in America, anti-semitism thrives in some small extremist right-wing pockets, shunned by mainstream Republicans and conservatives. It also thrives in liberal and left wing circles, embraced by the core of the Democrat party.
Leonard, out of curiosity, are you just a friend of Mr. Fox, or are you related to him at all?
TomJW: “The Nazis called their party National Socialists for a reason. They were left wing in their belief of government control of the people and the economy. That is government most famous for jewish persecution.”
Yes, the Nazis did call their party National Socialist for a reason , and that reason was to hoodwink poor, socialist moderates into thinking their party was socialistic. It was obviously not. It was a right-wing authoritarian dictatorship that murdered commies, lefties and intellectuals of all shapes and sizes. I’ve heard this false argument that the Nazis were left wing before, but to anyone who has actually has a grasp of history knows it’s just a lot of stupid nonsense.
You says that “Jews do not have anyting to fear from repubs and conservatives.” which means that you obviously have little knowledge of American history as well. Read about Father Coughlin, about the Ku Klux Klan, synagogue bombings in the South in the 60s and about the rise of the right-wing Aryan Nation and other skinhead movements.
Both Condi Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, are enemies of Israel. They are extremely friendly with the Saudi royals and very cold towards Israel and her politicians. Could it be that George Bush’s failures to exert control over the Justice Department and the State Department (the CIA too)were his undoing? Only many years from now will historians be able to see this in relief.
My advice to Israel: be your own best friend. Defend yourself vigorously. Intellectually, get right in the face of the self-hating Jews among you and challenge their wrong assumptions about the ongoing conflicts and threats to the nation. And if the United States of America commits troops to Palestine to enforce land grabs that Israel rejects, have the balls to declare war on the United States of America. Now THAT should be something very embarrassing for Foggy Bottom and Oobonga to chew on.
Pardon me STeve P, the Ku Klux Klan operated as the de facto terrorist arm of the national Democratic Party during Reconstruction.
Even the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which supposedly established the Democrats’ bona fides on race, was passed in spite of the Democrats rather than because of them. Republican Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen pushed the bill through the Senate, despite the no-votes of 21 Democrats, including Gore Sr. and Robert Byrd,
you distort history at your own peril.
Hmmm…let’s see, an anti-capitalist workers party that was supported by communists until it broke with Stalin…nothing left-wing about that! Nah, socialist statists have nothing at all to do with the left.
Steve P.
You think the KKK – straight out of the “solid south” – was REPUBLICAN?
You think REPUBLICANS were bombing synagogues in the South?
You strike me as one of these people who is determined to fit facts to conclusions instead of the other way around.
George Bush made mistakes and plenty of them (so do we all). But there is no mistaking his support for Israel — or Israel’s support for him. You might want to research how popular President Bush has been there during his eight years in office. Based on your comments, it will be quite an eye-opener for you.
Steve P. – Your twisting of history is awesome.
“Right Wing” – So Hitler was a small government conservative? Or a Liberatian? He didn’t seem like a real limited government guy to me.
The Nazi’s managed the German economy in a way that today’s socialist dream of. Strict civilian gun control, universal healthcare, wage controls, central economic planning – Nazi Germany had it all. There was nothing right wing about the Nazi’s. Calling them right-wing is just a gimmick to try to label Republicans as racsist.
The KKK was run by southern DEMOCRATS – some still in the Senate. It was the Democrats who fought a war to preserve slavery, then switched to Jim Crow laws after they lost.
Steve P.,
You cannot call out fellow commentators about ignorance of history following your mad examples and rationalization. The Nazis, like the Russian Soviets, the Polish Socialists, the Czeck, the Hungarian, the Georgian, the Serbian… were all socialist in the idea that the government owned the means of production in trust for the people. The Soviet brand of socialist was international while the Nazi brand was nationalist. Both brands were anti-Semites. Nazis, like the Soviets, were radicals who insisted on Change. Conservatives in this country ( I would argue that the following is not representative of today’s GOP) are for conserving individual freedom and individual control over the means for production.
Hitler’s murder of communists was no different then the Bolsheviks murdering other communist factions or Stalinists killing off Trotskyists or any other purge of the inauthentic rival.
As for your point regarding the KKK, every group has an unfortunate history. As a Jew, were I only to ignore current conditions and go only on history, I would have no national or political friends. It just so happens that the GOP oversaw the abolishment of slavery, the woman’s first vote, and most of the liberalizing laws which we call civil rights. The one era of individual liberty which Democrats can claim for themselves was the Civil Rights movement. All parties are a mixed bag. It just so happens that the growing influance of today’s anti-Semites is happening on the Left. The Leftist of this country and Europe are in support of the Arabs. The Left argues that Israel Lobby has too much influance. It is the Left which vilified Israel was holding sacred the Arab’s right to fight the mighty Jew. It is a Leftist former President that equates Zionism with apartheid. It was a left of center president who legitimized Arafat and bullied Israel into accepting suicidal term with this terrorist. I can go ok and on about current issues and I can also write more about how it was the Democratic party responsible for Jim Crow laws, ignored the Holocaust, refused to admit Jewish refugees or that the Reform movement under Steven S Weiss which lobbied Roosevelt to do so because they were not interested in the suffering of Jews in foreign countries or admitting those backward, traditional, representatives of their “race”. I could go on but perhaps I’ll wait for more idiotic rationalization from Steve P.
Pardon me STeve P, the Ku Klux Klan operated as the de facto terrorist arm of the national Democratic Party during Reconstruction.
Even the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which supposedly established the Democrats’ bona fides on race, was passed in spite of the Democrats rather than because of them. Republican Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen pushed the bill through the Senate, despite the no-votes of 21 Democrats, including Gore Sr. and Robert Byrd,
you distort history at your own peril.
32. Steve P.:
Dec 18, 2008 – 11:26 am
KKK was Democrat, ask Senator Robert Bird, the ‘former’ High Kleagle’ of the KKK. Aryan Nation and other skinheads may claim to be right wing, but you are not conservative when you think the government should be taking freedoms away from some groups – up to and including their lives.
At least with your opinions in plain site, we can better understand how some jews could think that voting for anti-semetic demograts is good for them.
Steve P:
Father Coughlin was a Fascist. Fascism is a progressive, left doctrine originating in the works of Radicalism and refined by the socialist thinker Benito Mussolini. Fascism is a collectivist, i.e., leftwing doctrine, built around a central organizing myth. Socialism, what you proudly call leftwing, is merely another central organizing myth and an inferior one at that.
Here is a trick question for you. Who was better for the Jews during the World War II era, socialist Stalin or Fascist Franco?
“Right” and “Left” is a very relative term. It depends on a lot of things, including the direction you are facing and the people to your left or right. It often will even depend on how the question is posed. That is why the “right-winged” element in a leftist government can be even more leftist, as we could see in the Soviet Union. Once you take those terms out of the context of discussion, it pretty quickly becomes a hodgepodge, as these comments aptly demonstrate.
Though, I never have been exuberant about Bush, neither have I fallen prey to the prevalent Anti-Bush sentiments that have run rampant. I believe history will judge him much more fairly. America (and the world for that matter) needs a stable Middle East. That is something that Bush does understand, believes and acts upon.
Steve P. wrote, “Jews generally do not do well under dictatorships of any ideology.”
I guess Moses missed that memo. Seems like they eventually did pretty well under God’s leadership…entered the Promised Land and all.
Jews have a much better quality of life under leftist governments and have had much greater opportunity.
This is one of the daftest statements I have read on PJM is a very long time. It shows a complete lack of knowledge of persecution of Jewry in Europe or in other parts of the world.
For instance I believe I have read recently that Jews in Venezuela are having a hard time of it under Chavez. You seem to be keen to declare any government “right-wing” if they don’t treat Jews right to assuage your warped view of political reality. You understanding of the NAZI movement speaks volumes to this view.
NAZISM is a Marxist heresy not a right-wing one.
“NO government is inherently anti-Semitic.”
Nonsense. A leftist government is always anti-Semitic. If nothing else, religious and more secular Jewish traditions encourage self reliance and personal accomplishments. Jews don’t like perceiving themselves as “victims of the establishment.” This inevitably puts them at odds with radical left-wing leaders.
“Father Coughlin was a Fascist.”
Charles E. Coughlin was also a radical socialist! He thought FDR was too wimpy—the New Deal did not go far enough. Both Hitler and Mussolini were convinced socialist ideologues.
TomJW: “KKK was Democrat, ask Senator Robert Bird, the ‘former’ High Kleagle’ of the KKK. Aryan Nation and other skinheads may claim to be right wing, but you are not conservative when you think the government should be taking freedoms away from some groups – up to and including their lives.”
KKK was and is a right wing organization. always has been. Yes, historically southern democrats were part of the oragnization, but so were republicans. Party politics are irrelevent here. Also, You confuse Libertarianism with Conservativism.
Steve:
Well which one leader was better for the Jews? Stalin or Franco. Come on, answer the question.
Steve,
You seem to confuse Republinanism with fascism. You confuse liberalism with the left wing and you seem to mix and match history to fit your bigotry. Piss off.
Steve wrote:
To say that Jewish oppression under Stalin is a good example of leftist anti-Semitism is laughable.
Steve: try googling “the Doctor’s Plot.” Stalin turned very anti-Semitic in his later years. “The Doctor’s Plot” persecutions were the tip of an iceberg that probably would have consumed Soviet Jewry if Stalin had not died before they felt his full wrath. As it was, many prominent Soviet Jews were killed and shipped off to the gulag as a result. Lists of Jews (which included both their Russian and Hebrew names) were published in Pravda. I am sure Ron Radosh knows the details.
And while Stalin was busying himself killing Soviet Jews, left-wing American Jews as determinedly ignorant as yourself were aiding and abetting his crimes.
(Another name to Google: Lillian Hellman.)
But, gee, since Stalin didn’t actually make Jews wear gold stars and shove them into gas chambers, he couldn’t have been that bad, I guess.
Here, Steve P., is a tidbit of information about the Doctor’s Plot, since you clearly have some holes in your education regarding the treatment of Jews under Communism:
Doctor’s Plot (1953)Alleged conspiracy of prominent Soviet medical specialists to murder leading government and party officials. In January 1953, the Soviet press reported that nine doctors, at least six of them Jews, had been arrested and confessed their guilt. Because of Joseph Stalin’s death in March, no trial occurred. Pravda later announced that the charges against the doctors were false and their confessions obtained by torture. In his secret speech at the Communist Party’s Twentieth Congress, Nikita Khrushchev asserted that Stalin intended to use the doctors’ trial to launch a massive party purge.
Although it was officially denounced shortly thereafter as the work of renegades within the security services, most scholars suspect that Stalin played a major role in the affair. Some believe that the inflammatory press coverage was intended to provoke a massive wave of pogroms that would give Stalin an excuse to deport the Soviet Jews to Siberia. Adherents of this view differ over what precisely was to catalyze such a wave of popular anti-Semitism. According to some commentators, the court philosopher Dimitry I. Chesnokov was to publicly justify the sequestering of the Jews in Marxist-Leninist terms. Others suggest that the campaign in the press would climax with the show trial and execution of the Jewish “doctor-murderers” on Red Square. But the most common story involves an attempt to publish a collective letter to Pravda signed by approximately sixty prominent Soviet Jews that would condemn the traitorous doctors and propose that the entire Jewish community be “voluntarily” deported to Siberia to exculpate its sins. In each of these cases, the exiling of the Jews was to be accompanied by a thorough purge of party and state institutions, a murderous act that would apparently combine elements of the Great Terror with the Final Solution
I am proud to have supported President Bush who supported Israel under extremely difficult circumstances,which include the bad advice of people in own administration such as Powell and Rice. I believe that he has made some mistakes in an effort to navigate the shark filled waters of the Middle East. However, the alternatives would not have been better and would probaly be a lot worse. I am glad that I voted for him and proud of our effort in Iraq and our efforts to keep America safe via the patriot act, Guantanamo, etc. It is a serious question whether Obama will do as well.
Steve P… Better quit while your behind, buddy!
SteveP,
Let me guess… Public education? State College?
Sorry, was that too class-ist for you? I recognize the symptoms (I’m a product of the same), the cure is go further to educate yourself. Wherever you came from, there are gaps..
Bush “has been a good friend to the Jewish State and the Jewish people.”
True. And this goy, wishes he’d been a better friend to the USA and the American people instead. Bottom line folks, while there is much to respect about the state of Israel, it’s interests are not identical with those of the USA. If you have trouble deciding whose side you are on that is telling you something. Make aliyah and leave, or put America first. Pick one. Of course Israel is in a tough neighborhood and some risks are to be expected if you so decide. I expect to be called anti-Semitic for that comment btw. Flame on. I’m not. I do agree strongly with Teddy Roosevelt who said… “A hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts ‘Native’ before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”
“On foreign policy, some conservative Jews feel he did not do enough to confront Iran- he should have taken military action to stop them move to obtaining nuclear weapons.”
How’s about Israel do that for itself? It has the most to lose. Why is America to blame for not doing what Israel won’t do for itself? Yes it’s a very nasty issue with no easy solutions. We’ve paid quite a price in blood and treasure to attempt to fix things in the Middle East. And for many reasons, some of them quite noble. Israel has enemies and should, for it’s own sake deal with them. Harshly. I and many other Americans would support such actions as self-defense.
“Some take it for granted. “But they should not,” he warns, “be so casual with a friend.” In fact, Neusner argues that Bush was “more Zionist than many Israelis, more mindful of Jewish history than many Jews…and we American Jews can be thankful at least for that.”
Indeed, many liberal Americans (of both Jewish and other faiths) take far too much for granted. Civilization isn’t mandatory. And gratitude, is not a Jewish tradition – at least if I remember the Exodus story (the Torah one that is, not the movie). Something about a golden calf?
Steve P., there were no Republicans in the KKK. Zero. Republicans were closely identified with blacks and Reconstruction, and thoroughly hated (hence the “Solid South”). There were no more Republicans in the KKK than there were Jews, Catholics, or blacks, and for exactly the same reason: they were all groups that the KKK was formed to fight.
Did you know that in the Reconstruction era, when many white Southerners could not vote, many Southern Congressman were black Republicans? True.
Even MLK Jr. was a Republican at the beginning of his career. So while it may be an awkward fact to admit, any fair-minded investigation will confirm the above.
I’m a lifelong conservative who has some liberal Jewish friends who suffer from severe Bush Derangement Syndrome. They hate Bush for a number of reasons, hatred not moderated by his support for Israel.
I’m coming to believe that for some–not all–American Jews, Israel has become something of an abstraction, and that I’ve been naive to think for so many years that Jews here feel some unbreakable bond with Israel as a Jewish refuge, their second homeland. Maybe that’s because America doesn’t seem the sort of country that will ever turn on Jews, so this is their home and will always be their home, and Israel is just another country.
Before the 1932 election Jews tended to be Republicans.
Properly viewed, the “Right” is a reactionary movement, following the template of Jacobite Tories in Britain or Bourbon Ultras in France. As believers in nationalism, and likely in an established church as well, they’re not for self-declared outsiders like Jews. But as people who are keen to extract revenue from all their citizens, they will in practice often extend Crown protections to Jews against the local demagogues. Remember that the Right’s existential enemy isn’t the Jew; the Right’s enemy is the rabble-rouser, the heretic, the Dissenter. Admittedly the Right has had a spotty record vis-a-vis the Jews, when the Right for whatever reason grubs for popular support. Edward II Longshanks, for instance.
The Left’s existential enemy is the established tradition, and this includes whatever established traditions are held by the local Jews. “Extremely Reform” Jews will do okay in the Left if they proclaim themselves agnostic citizens of the world. Orthodox Jews punch tickets to the trans-siberian railroad.
Fascism is an opportunistic movement which appropriates the symbols of the Right in carrying out a programme of the Left. If you’re a Jew it’s the worst of both worlds: you’re a foreigner AND you’re a reactionary.
In the 1998 survey, blacks (34%) were nearly four times as likely as whites (9%) to fall into the most antisemitic category (those agreeing with at least 6 of 11 statements that were potentially or clearly antisemitic). Among blacks with no college education, 43% fell into the most anti-Semitic group (vs. 18% for the general population), which fell to 27% among blacks with some college education, and 18% among blacks with a four-year college degree (vs. 5% for the general population).[19]
The 2005 Anti-Defamation League survey includes data on Hispanic attitudes, with 29% being most antisemitic (vs. 9% for whites and 36% for blacks); being born in the United States helped alleviate this attitude: 35% of foreign-born Hispanics, but only 19% of those born in the US.[20]
From the wiki
Getting back to the gist of the article which is why so many American Jews hate George Bush even after he has been a staunch friend to Israel:
Lost in the passing of the generations is the fact that the Eastern European Jews that immigrated to the US a hundred or so years were divided into (putting it simplistically)basically 3 factions: the Orthodox, the Zionists and the Socialists. The real fight in the Jewish community was between the Zionists and the Socialists who were adamantly opposed to the Jewish repopulation of Eretz Israel. In the present day Jewish community it seems that the Socialists have won the battle. I can think of no other reason for the suicidal spectacle of so many Jewish left wing radicals, on college campuses aligning themselves with Jew hating Muslim fundamentalists simply because they both hate George Bush.
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By the way, I hope all you rich liberals out there are going to pay a bunch of taxes because Joe Biden said it’s your patriotic duty to do so and I am waiting for my share of the free stuff Obama promised me.
Jews are lefties because they believe the left is morally superior, and moral superriority is something to which they aspire. See my post: http://miriamsideas.blogspot.com/2008/12/bigot.html
Not all Reform Jews are BDS victims. I am Reform, registered Independent, voted for Bush and McCain. I know of other Reform Jews who are more conservative politically than me. Even tho my rabbi is politically liberal, he is an ardent Zionist and often mentions the hard and dangerous work that our women and men in uniform are doing for us. I have also met some very liberal Democrats who are Orthodox. Maybe it’s all statistically insignificant, but I’m just sayin’. It’s complicated. Most of the Jews I know seem to be fairly moderate when you take them aside and get them away from their bumper-stickers.
we have to be careful with who we define as a jew. the offspring of a jewish mother does not cut ti anymore. there are religious jews that have a different commitment to israel than non religious jews and likewise there are some, particularly young men and women who are commited to justice and equality as a complete plate.
i am of the older generation and was driven to my core with the events of the nazi party and jew hatred in europe , south america and the u.s.a. with a corallary need to protect israel and jewry everywhere from that menace
i think that this concern is vital and it is substantially diluted in the next generation to the point that it is barely recognizeable.
it is very sad that a brilliant religion is rejected by a generation that was denied a chance to ever know it,and for this they are not to blame. guess who is?
What am I doing in this religion? I was raised as a reformed Jew and I am not liberal and neither are my parents. I certainly do not have any problems giving up some of my civil liberties in order to stay alive when it comes to fighting terrorism!
However, there are also a lot of liberal Jews who observe conservative Judism, so reformed Jews are not the only ones who are liberal.
It never has mattered who was president, the professionals in the State Department called the tune, and they are entirely pro-Arab.
That’s what was so refreshing and surprising about Bush. For the first six years he set the agenda, and it was fair. The Arabs have never budged from the positions that Israel must return to 1948 ceasefire lines including half of Jerusalem, the capital, and that untold millions of Arabs somewhere claiming “a right” to settle in Israel must be accommodated. In 2004 Bush declared there would be new borders and the “refugees” are not coming back although something would be done. Clinton had strung Arafat along and that led directly to the vast wave of terror starting in 2000. The declaration took a lot of courage on Bush’s part and he had nothing to gain politically from it.
Bush’s approval rating in Israel consistently ran upwards of 70 per cent and he was favored by at least that in polls during the election against Obama.
Rice eventually became the tool of the State Department professionals. One of the goals of the Lebanon War II was to prevent Hezbollah from rearming. Against Bolton’s advice, she pushed through a UN resolution which was supposed to do that, rather than let the war run its course, and today Hezbollah is better armed than ever and has gained the official sanction of the Lebanese government. Then she ran around pushing for a peace agreement now while Hamas controls Gaza and any agreement under those circumstances would be mad.
RKV #57:
American foreign policy is or should be to maintain and perpetuate the United States of America as a free and independent federal republic.
Israel is amenable to that goal.
Iran is not. Neither are any of the other
enemies of Israel.
That means America and Israel get to play that
game called “Fire and Movement”.
Whatinhell is your objection?
Israel cannot tolerate too many more friends like President Bush. A president who is a true friend to Israel is willing to tell the Jewish nation when they are wrong, or at least walking in the wrong direction. This is true of anyone who is a friend to another person. Being willing to tell Israel that it is wrong is different than telling the rest of the world the United States will not tolerate nuclear aggression against Israel.
I copied this from above.
“Republican are always the quickest to assert that this is a Christian nation and that American law and society ought to reflect Christain beliefs.”
Whenever I hear that America is a Christian nation, I cringe, because anyone who is a Jew knows what can come next.
To #19 Mghirsch,
I have often asked the same question as to why most Jews are staunched democrats and I have come to the conclusion that most Jews prefer a bad democrat over a good republican. Jews will vote for a candidate no matter how bad they are as long as they’re a democrat. Their party is more important to them then their country or Israel.
I am neither a democrat or republican. I do not have a strong alligance to any party. I go by the candidate. Unfortunately a lot of Jews spit at their friends and suck up to their enemies
For anyone that remembers, such stark contrast to the last days of Mr. Clinton’s embarrassment, so long on self promotion so short on substance. How does it feel America to finally have a self depreciating, sincere, thoughtful, devout and patriotic president? To bad the lot of you were to preoccupied by his humanness.
Why are there “leftist” Jews who would throw an absolute defender of Israel under the bus (Bush) to overwhelming support a man (Obama) who closely associates with an absolute Israel hater (Rashid Kahlidi)? I think I’ve figured it out, finally. Most leftist Jews appear to be very “social justice” oriented. But they’re really not. Most of it is just blind emotion. “How can government provided univeral health care not be a good thing?”, a very liberal Jewish friend of mine once asked. He never even bothered to consider the pit-falls involved. But the more important element is Jewish FEAR. They’re so very scared of whatever bad may happen if they’re “not nice” (and who can blame them, considering how abused Jews have been), that they fall into a kind of total 24-hour, default appeasement mode. Some of these leftist Jews would hand a gun to they’re killer out of fear for possibly insulting their murderer if they were to refuse the request for a gun. It’s really amazing how so many Jews act against self-interest in the name of some vague idea of universal social justice. It all well to try to care for others and to try to make peace with others. It’s quite a different story to attempt peace to the point where your very existence becomes threatened.
My advice to Jews: don’t put your trust in horses or chariots. Trust only in the Lord God.
Before we get all misty eyed about President Bush and his stances toward Israel, we need to recognize that President Bush, during his last years in office, has shown multiple personalities in this regard. In his early years in office, President Bush matched deeds to words, and was, indeed, the best and staunchest friend Israel had ever had in the White House. He continues to talk a great, even inspirational, game, and part of him may really still believe what he says, but the old saw is true: actions speak louder (and truer) than words. The facts of what his administration has done these last years, presumably with his approval, do not jibe with his words. Some years back, for whatever reason, President Bush sold out to the Council on Foreign Relations/Brezinski/Gates/State Department arabists. U.S. foreign policy toward Israel, Iran, and the Middle East in general did an abrupt about-face, and has since followed the CFR/Brezinski/Gates formula that is certainly not friendly to Israel. Bush & Co. sold out Israel years ago. We must look at the facts, not the words.
Along with his party planning for Monday night’s Chanukah celebration, President Bush had already put into motion plans of another sort, arranging for a UN Security Council meeting Saturday to discuss a resolution tailored to strait-jacket Israel’s next government with the failed Annapolis initiative. Read the following, and weep:
• From Wednesday’s Jerusalem Post, Fundamentally Freund: Bush’s December surprise.
It all went down at the UN the day after the White House Chanukah celebration. The Bush/Rice Resolution 1850 not only enshrines the Annapolis process, it “Declares the Negotiations Irreversible”, which is supposed to nicely tie Binyamin Netanyahu’s hands when he likely will be elected to lead Israel in February. So much for the sovereign rights and freedom of Israel as a nation, and of her elected officials to decide a course of action for the state. President Bush’s parting gift to Israel, and just in time for Chanukah too. All noted on the superb Eye on the UN website:
• Security Council, 6045th Meeting (!!!), Resolution 1850, Security Council Reaffirms Support for Annapolis Outcomes.
• And here are the comments to the Security Council from Secretary of State Rice. Read this, and you enter alternate reality land. If she really thinks and believes that this is the history of the Palestinian/Israeli situation these last years, one has to wonder about her mental state. Whatever that state, the purpose of this, frankly, anti-democratic resolution is to do an end run around the sovereign rights of Israel, and to dictate a course of action to the Likud leadership the Israeli people will probably elect in February. World Government anyone? Welcome to the totalitarian future, right now, with a big helping hand from, amazingly, the U.S. administration of President George W. Bush.
Jews voting dem – why?
Well, some Jews in America value their country (AMERICA) just as much as they do Israel. But many Jews today are biased toward their “homeland” Israel – to the point of overlooking everything BUT that when voting in AMERICAN elections. Bush may have been good for Israel, but he’s taken America to the brink of destruction. Further, anyone who knows anything about politics should know that, when a president is willing to override the constitution, it’s dangerous for all involved. First he did away with Habeas Corupus. Now that’s reinstated, but unfortunately we now have the Patriot Act which, if you read it, you see takes away the most fundamental rights of American citizens. Thanks a bunch for helping to destroy this country with your biased votes – jews and christians alike! I can understand having a love for Israel, but if you insist on determining you choice of an AMERICAN president on nothing more than “what it will do to Israel,” you need to move the hell to Israel. Some people care about America, you know, their HOME!
PRINCESS # 15 – I take it you’re Christian? Tell me, have you helped set the table the for antichrist to take over? Meaning, has your vote aided in the removal of our basic rights? Read the Patriot Act that Bush signed. It’s clear to see how, if the bible is true, the end is nigh.
And the majority who call themselves “Christian” have been fooled. So many Christians voting into office the one man who helps bring closer the end times prophesy, little by little setting up more and more restrictions, taking more and more rights – the antichrist will have it made when he gets here. I’ll see you in hell – all of you. BTW – I’m not Christian – I just don’t understand the stupidity of Christians, and the selfishness of Jews. All of you – it’s your fault America is dying now. Republican Jews – move the F..k to Israel. Republican Christians – go the f..k with them.
48. Steve P.:
Dec 18, 2008 – 1:09 pm
Name a former High Kleagle who is a repub, you liar.
Eisenhower tried to pass the Civil Rights act and was defeated by dems. The one Johnson got passed, with solid repub support, was just a copy of what Eisenhower tried to do. The KKK was and is a dem stronghold.
Dave, My objections are few. Very few, in fact. One, it’s up to the government of Israel to act, we’ve done the battlefield prep. They’re not acting, and given the state of their politics, there is no Churchill apparent who will step up to do what must be done, Two, as Michael Ledeen (sp?) says “Faster, please.” The mullahs in Qom are going to get their bomb soon, as in maybe this year.
I think the reason social Jews are not so sympathetic to Isreal is that they (nor their forefathers)never had to leave their belongings and flee their homes, never rode a boxcar to a concentration camp, never wandered the roads of Eastern Europe after WWII looking for a home, never sat on a rusty ship hoping for a place to land, never had to fight three invasions aimed at destroying them, never had to endure indiscriminate rocket attacks, suicide bombers or kidnappers. They are soft, fat and happy in a safe environment. The story of the Jews since the Dispersion is one of the epics of European history and the State of Israel stands as a monument to the success of that great struggle.
6. P. Ami:
“anyone who pushes for a Two-State solution as a friend to Israel or Jews”
If Israel wants to remain a one-person-one-vote democratic country, the Palestinians will out vote the Jews in One State. Or do you propose to push out all the Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza?
Piddle, you are a bitter man. May God help your soul.
I’m not Jewish but I think I understand why Jewish people are wary of republicans and wary of evangelicals in particular. Being wary of the former just comes from the territory of being a minority. The latter? Because you get the sense that evangelicals care more about Israel then they do about Jewish people. It’s like the fringe left seems more likely to be anti-Israel, and the fringe right seems to be more likely to be anti-Semitic.
The mistake so many people make is the assumption that all Jews are Zionists. Unfortunately, many Jews do not have Israel’s best interests at heart. Some of the most Anti-Zionist people are Jewish by blood, and there is no greater enemy of Israel than an apostate Jew, cf Hitler and Marx. However, you can trust that Christian Zionists will always be friends of Israel no matter how much Jews spurn us, because the Master commands us to be friends of Israel.
Piddle, you are a sick, evil man. People like you make the world truly a scary place. May God have mercy on your soul. Something or someone has poisoned your mind and heart.
#75, V.B. Bart,
Any nation can reneg on an agreement that nudges it towards suicide or extinction, which the Annapolis Accords to. Sometimes in this world you have to be ruthless. There truly are acts of ruthlessness that are not bad, just as there are acts of ruthlessness that embody evil.
I agree that President Bush had Condi Rice emasculate Israel in certain ways. It’s unjust, I know. And people can change their minds and break agreements that are not truly done in full freedom and full understanding. If I were Bibi Netanyahu, I would tell our Pres. Oobonga and our State Department that I am tearing up those agreements and if they don’t like it to piss off.
IT IS AMAZING THAT THE HISTORICALY LEFT-WING LIBERAL JEWS HAVE TREATED GEORGE BUSH THE WAY THEY HAVE. I MEAN EVEN IF MARXISM IS YOUR REAL PRESENT RELIGION, GIVE THE MAN SOMETHING , THROW HIM A BONE , ANYTHING .
HE LIED FOR YOU (IRAQ WAR) HE SACRIFICED AMERICAN LIVES FOR ISRAEL’S STRATEGIC BENEFIT , HE RAN COVER FOR ISRAEL’S CONTINIUING OCCUPATION OF THE WEST BANK , HE GOT INTO A “WAR OF CIVILIZATIONS” WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD ESSENTIALLY BECAUSE OF ISRAEL, YET THE RICH JEWS STILL GAVE MILLIONS TO A MAN-CHILD NAMED “HUSSEIN” WHO NOBODY REALLY KNOWS JUST BECAUSE OF TWO REASONS , HE IS “BLACK” AND HE IS A DEMOCRAT.
GO FIGURE ,THIS IS WHY FANATISCISM IS ALWAYS BAD IT BLINDS EVEN INTELLIGENT PEOPLE , MAKES THEM ACT EVEN AGAINST THEIR OWN INTERESTS
It is odd to me that We as Christians can`t remember that we were Grafted into the Covenant of Abraham by the death Of our lord Jesus Christ–although we are not bound by the “laws we are still bound by the covenant!Most of the comments I have read are at best uninformed and “if” the people would take the time to actually read the Bible” they could make bettercomments. For all that remember that The Lord was a Jew and Preached not to the Gentile but to the Jewish Nation –Israel!! We got the message thru His deciples and Paul–get it straight and then let`s hear from all who care to comment !!
I am an American Jew: being good for America is what I require of my president, good for the world.
Good for Israel?
I’m supposed to like Bush because, bad for the US, bad for the world, some Jews think he was good for Israel? fooey.
The United States is a democracy: I expect my country to act honorably and in support of justice. The notion that Israel is the arbiter of what is just, that what Israel does is right and my country should support her, I cannot agree.
God how I am sick of this crap.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry in the world feels entitled to have an opinion about “the Jews” — mostly without knowing a damn thing that might be relevant to understanding anybody at all outside of their own hometown neighbors, and perhaps not even their own hometown neighbors.
Here are a couple of facts to reflect on:
Western civilization has, apart from Europe’s local prehistoric cultural roots, three sources — Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.
The history of the Jews and Jewish culture and the history of Europe and Europe’s culture are so deeply and pervasively intertwined, at so many levels and in so many areas as to be incomprehensible without mutual reference.
The same can be said about the relation between Europe in general and either Rome or Pre-Roman Athens.
Imperial Roman law and military and civil history, later Roman Christian philosphy, religion and culture, Athenian philosophy and literature, Jewish religion, law and ethics are woven into the very fabric of western culture and society.
One cannot live as a civilized westerner without having the legacy of the Emperors, the Popes, the philosophers, the “prophets” and the rabbis hard-wired into the basis of one’s language and indeed one’s sub-concious mind. They are inseparably a part of us all — like it or not.
I am heartily sick of the way the Jews are mythologized and viewed as alien — ancient Jews or modern.
===========
There are only about 10 or 15 million Jews in the world, which is shocking when you consider that the only other cultures in the world with a comparable history of continuity and literacy are China and India, both of which have HUGE populations by now.
The main reason is that it has been on-and-off open hunting season on Jews for the most of the last couple of thousand years.
Most of the world’s larger cities have more people in them than there are Jews in the world.
Why does anybody even think about the fact that we’re still around?
Ever wonder about that?
Sure there’s the Bible. But there’s lots of stuff in the Bible that nobody bothers to remember or discuss.
I mean, who’s excited about the Assyrians? I assure you there are still Assyrians alive today (and suffering terribly in Iraq). But really, who talks about Assyrians?
There’s only one reason — the breathtaking, disproportionate and unprecedented productivity of the Jews, considered as a group of individuals over time.
That’s it.
==========
I’ll add another little tidbit. There’s loads of excitement in the world over besieged and maligned Israel.
Does anybody even remember that Lebanon exists?
Lebanon used to be a lovely part of Christendom and is about to disappear into the insatiable maw of sharia and jihad.
Lebanon also represents a respectable stretch of the east coast of the Mediterranean.
But is anybody worried about the disappearance of Lebanon. No! Let’s all get agitated about the Jews and Israel.
Curious.
============
So yeah. The political alignments of America’s Jews is interesting, puzzling and upsetting.
But do I really want to discuss it with outsiders?
Not if they’re going to ask to see my horns and tail.
Orthodox Jewry voted Republican and recognized the man for who he was, G-d fearing upright individual, and we are having the children
ic,
I certainly think a migration of Arabs out of Israel, Judea, Sameria and Gaza to another Arab country (Jordan for one), is the just solution. A country like Jordan (where over 70% of the population is Palestinian) would let the refugees living on Jewish land move to a place not controled by the terrorist thugs they have chosen as their leaders. Better the king of Jordan then Hamas or Abu Mazan.
For those idiots who think the Iraq War is fought for Israel just consider, if a stable, Democratic Iraq is the outcome of these efforts, what reason does the US have to support what is no longer it’s “only ally” in that part of the world? Iraq replaces Israel and the Saudis as allies.
So President Bush is a friend of Israel? And your point is?? Should we overlook the other atrocities – the 1,000,000 Iraqis killed? The damage to young US men and women in uniform (physically and mentally)not to mention their families – and the shoddy treatment they receive on their return?
I am really pleased that Bush assisted Israel during his “reign”, but I live in the US as do you; and I cannot overlook the harm he did to the other country I love – The USA!
P.Ami,
What if they don’t move? What if instead of moving they continue to babies at a much higher birthrate than Israel? What then?
Unless you can find a way to force Egypt to take Gaza, and force Jordan to take the Arab population blocs of the West Bank, the ONLY way that a Jewish majority state can continue to exist in the long run is for there to be two states west of the Jordan, one for Jews and one for Arabs.
I am a jew and I do not like Bush or his polices. i appreciate that he tries to do good, but i think the policies are not very good for Israel or AMerica. I also think most republican and liberal websites are mostly just full of crap and super biased, and so one sided as to be idiotic, but at least this site allows people to express their view about things.
I just finished watching several documentaries: Protocols of Zion, Paper Clips, etc…
One cannot help entertaining thoughts of helplessness after watching several documentaries where the worlds economic woes are being blamed on the Jews in a stunningly irrational fashion. I have seen several comments, “With friends like George Bush, you needs enemies?” I would imagine, that would depend on who the real enemies are.
In the coming years, I wonder if Jews will find a ready welcome even in America? Truly, it will have to be God, who helps the Jews.