"First they came for the communists..."

A dear friend and longtime BtB reader told me that he felt queasy about the Sultan Knish post on "Rick Perry and Islam" because of its concentration on Islam per se, as opposed to specifics such as jihad and sharia law.  I'm paraphrasing here, but his thought was that if you were to put it this shoe on the other foot, this same pattern of commentary could easily have been written by Walt and Mearsheimer, authors of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy.  

The idea is that if you decide to discuss "Islam" in general and political terms, you're opening the door to others who would discuss "Judaism" (or Christianity) in those same terms.

So I tried it -- with mixed results, I think.  Consider what follows as a satire of sorts, or an experiment in locating the fine line between political commentary and religious bigotry. To my mind, that line should be of the utmost importance, interest and concern... to Jews everywhere.

I hope Daniel will not be offended by this use of his post as a skeleton for my experiment. Certainly no offense is intended -- only provocation:)

 

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Rick Perry and Judaism

by "Welt and Marshammer"

 

 In August 2009 Gov. Rick Perry traveled to Jerusalem where he received the Defender of Jerusalem Award. Created in 2008 by Guma Aguiar, head of the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation, the award tributes dignitaries from around the world who have demonstrated strong support for the people of Israel. “I have long supported the right of a Jewish state to exist in the Middle East, ” said Gov. Perry. “After visiting several sacred and historic sites, meeting with business, civic and government leaders and seeing the day-to-day lives of the people on my trips to Israel, I am even more convinced that a safe, secure Israel is an essential part of stability in this part of the world.”

 

 

Some questions have been raised about Rick Perry's views on Judaism. Jewish infiltration into American politics means that every candidate deserves close scrutiny. Our purpose is not to attack Perry, but to conduct a preliminary discussion of the subject. Others have written their own articles, which add more pieces to the puzzle. As with every candidate, the discussion will go on as more materials are brought forward. 

First of all it's important to recognize that the Rick Perry question ... comes with every governor from a state with a large and politically active Jewish population. This question will have more serious implications as the size of the Jewish population expands even further.

Multicultural pandering ... has become second nature in American politics. There is hardly a governor who does not pay lip service to diversity or do roundups of all the religious groups in America. That's an unfortunate reality.

The initial good news is that Rick Perry did not try to influence the judicial system on behalf of a member of a Zionist organization, or appoint a Zionist to a superior court judgeship the way that Christie did.

The worst thing he seems to have done is played footsie with the Jews: 

Perry, a devout Methodist, was attracted to Israel from the launch of his career. One of his first acts after being elected agriculture commissioner in 1991 was to create theTexas-Israel Exchange, which promoted information and research sharing.

 In a 2009 interview with The Jerusalem Post, when as governor he led a delegation to Israel, Perry ... said the alliance was a natural one.

"When I was here for the first time some 18 years ago and I was touring the country, the comparison between Masada and the Alamo was not lost on me,” he told the Post. “I mean, we're talking about two groups of people who were willing to give up their lives for freedom and liberty."

As much as Perry’s heartfelt love for Israel makes him attractive to Republican Jews, it is the other reason that he was in Israel at the time - seeking out job creation initiatives, as he has across the globe - that has been the basis of his Jewish support.

“I became intrigued by Rick Perry when I read his book Fed Up! because it was exactly what I was feeling,” Robin Bernstein, who heads Perry’s fundraising in Florida, said in an interview. “His economic success in Texas is a model for the entire country.”

 

Then there's Perry's lobbying of Attorney General Holder, urging him to prosecute American participants in U.S. Boat to Gaza, the "Audacity of Hope," part of the second protest flotilla meant to break through Israel's blockade of the the Gaza strip.

Perry sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder this week calling plans by pro-Palestinian activists to protest and potentially disrupt Israel's naval blockade of Gaza an "unacceptable provocation." An international group of activists opposed to the restrictions have announced plans to launch a flotilla this week to protest the naval blockade. 

The letter, dated June 28, underscores the widening reach of Perry's interest in national and international affairs.

"As an American citizen and governor of one of its largest states, I write to applaud your recent efforts to warn and discourage those who have supported or plan to support a flotilla intended to interfere with Israel's maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip," Perry wrote. "I write to encourage you to aggressively pursue all available legal remedies to enjoin and prevent these illegal actions, and to prosecute any who may elect to engage in them in spite of your preemptive efforts."

According to the Texas Tribune, "this was not the first time this year" that the Texas Governor took sides with Israel, and criticized American foreign policy:

 In May, Perry issued a press release slamming the president for advocating an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal based largely on the land borders that were in place before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

"President Obama's speech today continues a misguided policy of alienating our traditional allies, in this case Israel, one of our strongest partners in the war on terror," Perry said on the day Obama laid out the new initiative. "As someone who has visited Israel numerous times, I know that it is impracticable to revert to the 1967 lines. President Obama is asking our Israeli friends to give up too much security and territory as a prelude to a renewed peace process."

Then there's Perry's friendly relationship withJewish religious leaders, and his cooperation with them on matters of education in the state of Texas. In this report from May 2009, Gov. Perry set up a "special task force" in the interest of these Jews.

Agudath Israel joined with religious leaders from across Texas to meet with Governor Rick Perry in the state capital of Austin. Rabbi Asher Block, Agudath Israel’s Texas Regional Director coordinated the meeting....

 

  (L-R) Rabbi Yehiel Kalish, National Director of Government Affairs, Agudath Israel, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Rabbi Aryeh Feigenbaum, Rav Ohr HaTorah (Dallas), Rabbi Asher Block Director, Agudath Israel of Texas (Houston).

 

Governor Perry discussed with the attendees possible strategies to advance school choice legislation in the Texas statehouse. A focal point of the meeting was sharing with Governor Perry the benefits of the proposed Texas Education Tax Credit Scholarship Program. This initiative would enable Texas businesses to take dollar for dollar tax credits on charitable donations to qualifying scholarship granting organizations. The scholarship dollars will then be allocated to non-public schools.

A long-time vocal proponent of school choice, Governor Perry publicly praised the Jewish community’s active role in grassroots advocacy efforts on behalf of education reform. Governor Perry also stressed the importance of faith leaders continuing to engage their legislators on the issue and emphasize to them the tremendous benefits of the various school choice programs being considered.

The attendees were appreciative of the time Governor Perry devoted to their meeting and his decision to act immediately to set up a special task force coordinated by the Governor’s staff and led by Mr. Robert Scott, Chair of the Texas Education Agency.

Believe it or not, all this is the good news. It's a sad commentary on the state of Jewish infiltration that this is business as usual in state politics. The bad news is that this means Perry's as bad on Judaism as George W. Bush. Maybe worse.

 

Gov. Rick Perry joined in the celebration of Chanukah and its message of “religious freedom for all” on Dec. 11, with rabbis from Chabad Lubavitch of Texas. Among the 16 rabbis in attendance were Yisroel Greenberg (El Paso), Dov Mandel (Fort Worth), Shimon Lazaroff (Houston), Chaim Block (San Antonio), Mendel Block (Plano) and Lazer Lazaroff (Houston)....Last week’s ceremony with Perry was the first of its kind with a Texas governor, and was made possible, in part, by the efforts of State Senator Florence Shapiro of Plano.

 

....some have pointed out [that] Perry is pro-Islam. So was Bush. It didn't stop him from toadying to the Jewish state.... It's possible to be pro-Judaism and pro-Islam. And when the scales are weighed, then Judaism comes first. If you doubt that, go look at what happened when Bush made a "deal" with the Zionist, Ariel Sharon.

 

But this isn't about Israel. It's about Judaism. Specifically it's about addressing the threat of Zionism. 

 

A Palestinian man stands next to Hebrew graffiti sprayed on the wall of a mosque in West Bank village of al-Mughayyir near Ramallah June 7, 2011. Suspected Israeli settlers damaged the mosque in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday when they threw a burning tyre into it and scrawled Hebrew graffiti on its walls, an Israeli police spokesperson said. The graffiti reads "Price tag - Eley Ain". (Photo: REUTERS / Mohamad Torokman)

 

 

Perry has pandered on Mexican illegal immigration and on Judaism and Zionism, as Bush did before him. Will he keep it up once he gets elected the way that Bush did? Hard to say, but the odds are good that he will.

Some will note that this article is not particularly harsh compared to my original piece on Christie. And with good reason. There's no fundamental breach here, just a slow erosion of ideas and values. But there's a larger reason too.

.... We don't know how much Perry knows or understands. Which is the larger reason why I'm not harshly attacking him for what he did and said at the state level. A slow trickle of criticism may move him to the left, better than a complete rejection. Pandering to Jews was part of Texas politics. But he's running for nationwide office in a country where Jews are [even more] of a political force than they are in his state....

The last four years are a reminder that we could do worse than Bush II, but maybe we could do better. With Perry in the race, the two frontrunners, Romney and Perry will be clones of each other. Two aggressively business oriented governors with no real interest in protecting American manufacturing or resisting the Judaization of America. One of whom looks like a Tea Party friendly populist, but more in style than in substance.

Perry may shoot a gun into the air, but his rhetoric is the same old Compassionate Conservatism. He may be more authentically Texan than Bush, but the substance of his ideas is the same. NAFTA, education for illegal aliens, and Judaism is a great religion.

Whatever we say and do, he may be the inevitable candidate. The man who merges the strongest points of Huckabee and Romney into one populist friendly package. Who sells a pro-business compassionate conservatism that comes off as a low pain alternative to Obama. But before that it might not be such a bad thing to pore over the details of his record in office.

Perry is certainly an improvement on Obama. But in a race where others have spoken out about the dangers of Judaism -- everyone is gathering to cheer a man who celebrates it. Is this what the struggle of the last 3 years comes down to? Did we go through all this just to put Bush era policies back into office?

 

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MEANWHILE,

 
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing. FFRF, a 16,600-member state/church watchdog based in Madison, Wis., filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District Court of Texas in Houston seeking to block Texas Gov. Rick Perry from ... the evangelical Christian prayer rally he initiated at Reliant Stadium in Houston....

Comments

[Mannie Sherberg]

A brilliant satire, Yael. Whether it also proves provocative, I cannot say. If by "provocation" you mean "stimulating thought and discussion," it will surely do that. If by "provocation" you mean "stirring up a hornets' nest," I see no reason why it should -- but I plainly am not, say, Pam Geller, who may have a very differnt view. We all bring our own biases to whatever we read -- and my bias at this moment is definitely pro-Perry. I say "at this moment" because, if Paul Ryan or Rudy Giulani were to enter the race, I might switch my commitment. I haven't given the matter serious thought, and I won't unless one of the other two guys declares his candidacy. For the moment, Perry is my man. I say that with no trepidation whatsoever. It is possible, I admit, that I and the Israelis who gave Perry the Defender of Jerusalem award and the writer for the Jerusalem Post who wrote yesterday that Perry is a "friend of Israel" and the Orthodox Jews in Texas who are among his supporters are all dupes and shlemiels -- possible but not likely. Beyond that, I can only say that your if-the-shoe-were-on-the-other-foot experiment is a terrific idea -- and we all might be better off if we tried it ourselves occasionally. Many thanks.

[yeshiva son]

I don't understand this at all. You can't draw a distinction between "Islam per se" and "sharia law and jihad," because the latter is an integral part of the former. Also, the comparison of Judaism to Islam is awful. If Judaism in fact preached and practiced Jihad, then yes, such an article would be appropriate. But it doesn't; Islam does.

[Yael]

Mannie, I did mean "provocative" in terms of stimulating further thought and discussion. I had enough hornet's nest yesterday, and certainly did not post this to create more friction. // YS, I agree with you about the fundamental differences between Judaism and Islam, of course. My point, though, is that Government, Government in America, or Government officials (like governors or presidents) in this country may not, and don't have to, understand all those differences on the deep level that we do. I am opposed to the idea that presidents or presidential candidates (or even the local sheriff) should be in the business of making judgements about religions. Daniel wanted to know what Perry's position is "on Islam," but I don't think government officials - at least in this country - should TAKE positions on religions. It seems to me that if it's okay to ask of Perry his position "on Islam," then some other candidate or official could (and would) be asked their position "on Judaism." And when you put the shoe on that foot, it's scarey. Certainly our government has to take a position on jihad and sharia because they are THREATS to our safety and the rule of law. And while Islam is obviously the origin of those threats, I think Government would be WAY overstepping its bounds to address it in those terms. Don't you think that it would threaten all religions - as well as religious people and practices - if in their official governmental capacities, people started taking public positions "on {a religion}"?? Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't want government officials taking a position on MY religion, so how could it be alaright if they take a "position" on another? Sure, fine, take a strong position against the pursuit of jihad &/or sharia law, but I think it matters hugely HOW that's treated, and should be treated in terms of actions, not simply religious identity. Once you start treating Muslims differently than Jews or Christians UNDER THE LAW, or in official capacity, then I think we're all sunk. I do hope that makes sense?

[Mannie Sherberg]

Yeshiva Son -- You're correct: sharia and jihad are integral to Islam just as Torah and halacha are integral to Judaism. But as I read the post, it's trying to make a larger point: Just as one of us could take some of Governor Perry's statements about Islam as evidence that he is insidiously trying to advance and strengthen Islam in the United States, someone else could take his statements and behavior toward Jews and the State of Israel as evidence that he is insidiously trying to advance and strengthen Judaism in the United States. Thus, depending on one's point of view, one could ultimately depict Governor Perry as a fifth-columnist working on behalf of the global jihad or as a fifth-columnist working on behalf of the "Elders of Zion." In the end, of course, all of this is less about reality than it is about the uses and abuses of rhetoric. This post reminds us of something many of us too easily forget: Language -- as the doctrine of lashon hara teaches us -- is a two-edged sword that can -- if used carelessly or with wrongful intent -- easily prove lethal.

[Yael]

YS, I had another thought. The fact that you thought it was so AWFUL to see Judaism substituted for Islam, proves my point. It may not bother us when it's done to "them," but you turn that same approach around and direct it toward us instead, then you can see how awful it is. I did that because I felt strongly that Daniel's framing his discussion in terms of "Islam" opened the door, gave a kind of permission, for the same to be done to others - in this case, US. You can't start asking that government or its representatives discriminate among religions, and start taking "positions" on them. To me, that's really scarey stuff, which is what I meant to illustrate. Rick Perry, in his capacity as governor of TX, dealt with Christians, Jews and yes, Muslims equally openly. I don't see that he had much choice, and I certainly don't think he should be criticized for "celebrating Islam" any more than he should be criticized for "celebrating Judaism" simply because it's his job to deal with ALL Texans, and if elected, it would be his job to deal with ALL Americans, not just non-Muslim Americans. I think we Jews have good reason to identify and call out religious bigotry when we see it, because we know better than anyone the horrendous destruction it can lead to. No?

[scp]

"...and I certainly don't think he should be criticized for 'celebrating Islam' any more than he should be criticized for 'celebrating Judaism' simply because..." Spoken like King Manesseh.