Chicago — When Jews are being harassed in Amsterdam and being hugged by Tom DeLay, you know things are quite goofy for the Chosen People. But so it is in the very goofy times in which we live.
As is our wont, we’re focusing almost all of our attention on our enemies, those who wish us ill and are expressing that desire loudly and clearly in words and actions.
That makes sense, since things are, indeed, quite bad. How bad was made clear when Jews in the Netherlands — the Netherlands for heaven’s sake — found themselves subjected to the sort of ugliness all too common these days, once again, in France, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia.
Jewish students attending Dutch schools are hearing shouts of “filthy kikes” and “Jews suck” directed at them. One child found a swastika on his locker, another a swastika on his desk.
One student, age 9, wore a cap with Hebrew letters to school, which his classmates kept knocking from his head. When his mother complained to the school, the principal told her, “well, he shouldn’t wear it. You bring this onto yourself.”
And so, yes, we must take our enemies seriously, and we must also recognize that we have enemies even in places we never suspected we did. Thanks to the Internet, which disseminates anti-Semitism faster and farther than anything ever, that’s only likely to get worse.
But while we must obviously be aware of and take action to deal with our enemies, we must also be very careful about who we decide to make our friends.
Don’t give up values
I was appalled that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, at its recent conference, not only invited House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tx.), but gave him a standing ovation.
Yes, his speech was a rousing defense of Israel. But coming from his mouth, it proved the wisdom of the old adage “Consider the source.”
The source here is a major creep, a man with whom the Jewish community has absolutely nothing in common, whose values are not our values, whose tactics must never be our tactics. He is a vicious, unbending, intolerant ultra-conservative in the worst sense of those words.
Now, I understand that when you feel you don’t have many friends, you aren’t picky about reaching out to those who seem to be on your side. But there is a real danger in doing that.
It might not seem like that in the short run, but it is definitely true not only in the long run, but in the eternal run. We should not give up Judaism’s values, the Jewish people’s deepest principles, just because those who do not share them are whispering sweet nothings in our ears about Israel at a time we welcome any show of support and understanding.
It’s nice that the right-wing kooks on Fox NewsChannel, the blowhard Rush Limbaugh, religious zealots like Revs. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are staunchly defending and passionately advocating for Israel at a time when many are either keeping quiet or aiming for us. But there is a very real danger in hugging them back.
Robertson and Falwell are not friends of the Jewish people. They are prejudiced, intolerant. Remember, for but one example, that it was those two who stated that Sept. 11 was the direct result of the existence of gays and feminists. Such people are the Jews’ new heroes?
I can’t tell you how sick it makes me to hear more and more Jews tell me they only watch Fox News now, that they actually like Limbaugh now, that they feel good hearing what Falwell has to say, that they are grateful that DeLay is leading the charge on Capitol Hill for Israel, egged on by Ralph Reed and millions of Evangelicals.
Sure, it’s nice the Evangelicals are so vocally pro-Israel, especially since the Bush White House pays a lot of attention to them. But let us not forget, even now, especially now, that in the broader picture, these new-found friends are not really our friends. Not at all.
Remember, please, that the Evangelicals support Israel because it’s an important piece in their end-of-days scenario. Having the Jews back in Israel is a vital prerequisite for the return of you-know-who. And once he comes back, guess who either joins up or burns in hell for all eternity?
They may be our friends now, but it’s not because they love the Jewish state or the Jewish people. It’s because they need Israel and Jews to get to where they really want to go, which is a place that doesn’t welcome Jews. Something to think about before we embrace them.
So, too, before we go gaga over politicians like DeLay who, if they ever have their way, would make things very uncomfortable for Jews in this country. Would make this country much more Christian, less tolerant for and open to anyone who didn’t share their fundamentalist, pro-school prayer, anti-environment, anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-everything-that-isn’t-their-way beliefs.
Back in the 1970s, when Israel was isolated diplomatically, it eagerly had diplomatic relations with South Africa and its apartheid regime. That is a decision that still stains Israel’s honor and always will.
A big cause of today’s widespread black anti-Semitism stems from that shortsighted Israeli decision to welcome a friend, no matter how odious, just because they were a friend when we had so few.
Jews today feel like we have a lot more enemies than we do friends. The natural inclination is to take any friend we can get.
But it is not the Jewish imperative. The Jewish imperative is to recognize that our true friends are those who truly share our truest values.
Joseph Aaron is editor and publisher of the Chicago Jewish News.
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