Given that the majority of American Jews are loyal Democrats, it is neither surprising nor unusual that the Obama campaign would be able to assemble a large list of rabbis who endorsed the president’s re-election. But the Obama campaign, which has been falling over itself in the last several months to try and prove the dubious assertion that the incumbent is Israel’s best friend ever to sit in the White House, now finds itself in an embarrassing position as it turns out that a prominent member of the “Rabbis for Obama” who are being heralded by Democrats as truly representing Jewish opinion is an advocate for a well-known anti-Israel group.
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb is a member of the advisory board and rabbinical council of Jewish Voices for Peace, a nice-sounding title for a far-left radical group that opposes Israeli self-defense, supports the boycott of Israel (and by this, they mean all of Israel, not just the settlements) and promotes an idea of peace in which Arab refugees may swamp Israel consistent with its indifference to the survival of it as a Jewish state. Obama’s partisan opponents at the Republican Jewish Coalition are making a meal of Gottlieb’s inclusion in the Obama list. But that leaves the rest of the rabbis for Obama with a tough question. Do they really want to include among their number someone who is opposed to Zionism and outside even the parameters of what the left-wing lobby J Street would consider “pro-Israel?”
Gottlieb, who can be viewed endorsing the boycott of Israel here, previously earned the opprobrium of the Jewish community by speaking at a 2007 dinner in New York for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Anti-Defamation League lists Jewish Voices for Peace as one of the “top ten anti-Israel groups” in the nation.
Of course, Rabbis for Obama is free to offer membership to anyone it wants. But if it is going to be used by the president and his party as a prop in their effort to persuade wavering Jewish voters that they can rely on Obama to stick by Israel, then its roster ought to consist of rabbis who actually do support the Jewish state. If a notorious anti-Zionist like Gottlieb is a member in good standing of Rabbis for Obama, it raises the question of what exactly the group stands for? How can it put itself forward as proof of the American Jewish community’s trust in President Obama as a faithful friend of the Jewish state when it is willing to embrace a leader of the movement to vilify Israel?
The point here is that even those who call for inclusion of left-wing groups that often protest Israeli policies like J Street in community councils, understand that Jewish Voices for Peace is beyond the pale. Any group that includes it or its leaders can’t be considered pro-Israel. Is that the message Democrats want to be putting out about its rabbinical front group?
Obama Rabbis Must Disavow Anti-Zionist n nOr What? n nJohn Podhoretz or Jennifer Rubin won't vote for him,very scary.
Or, be condemned to being admired by folks like you, I guess. n nThat's pretty scary, because nobody seems to like you.
That's pretty scary, because nobody seems to like you.u201cI welcome their hateu201d LOL.
Or to paraphrase Romney: n n*Commenting on Contentions ain't beanball". n nWhat happened to the days at Contentions when 500 would respond to a thread. nOh yeah,now I remember,no comments were allowed for several years,and then,"they" nchanged their minds,but the commentators had moved on.
Don’t worry. Dershowitz will still vote for him.
And so will Koch.
I saw someplace that there are 613 Rabbis for Obama. Someone has a sense of humor or is totally ignorant.
His bubby must be so proud of him. n n n n
Rabbi Lynn Gotlieb should meet up with Reverends Wright and Farakhan. n nThey might have much to talk about. n n n n n n n. n n
nWhere do these people come from? n nSounds like the Beatles: n n"Where DO they all come from? Maine probably
I think it becomes pretty clear why the Israeli Government and Rabbinate has been less than enthusiastic about the 'reform' branches of Judaism. n nThey know that way lies appeasement and national death. n n
They know that way lies appeasement and national death n nDrama Queen, Boo Hoo n nSounds like Act 5 of Gotterdammerung n n
Act 3, I can understand, but act 5? You've got to be joking. n n
MM, nWe're not talking about "Kill the Wabbit"
"Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb" n nAll depends what your definition of "rabbi" is.
I think in the new judaism of the US it means "socialist".
Obama's people must have been so very excited about getting these rabbi's endorsements. n n nI note they didn't get the Tikkun guy, 'Rabbi' Lerner. n nThey probably figured he was too toxic. n nLittle did they know about Gotlieb and Brant Rosen. Oops. n nWonder how many more Rabbis who have kicked their culture to the curb are on the 'Rabbis for Obama' list. n n n n
My guess is that Obama was too far right for Tikkun.
Two things Obama and his re-election campaign can never be accused of: (1) honesty and (2) truthfulness.
There should be more anti-Zionists for Obama – being an Orthodox Jew (not hasidic) it's obvious that the pro-Israel extremists and radicals are the ones that support Zionism which seem to be capable of rationalizing anything in the name of Judaism (murder, oppression, etc…). n nJust to be clear, no where does Judaism (the religion, not the repugnant version Zionists have tried to turn it into) endorse any part of the Zionist movement. Anyone who knows any history about Zionism knows that it's a political movement to create a country – the irony, of course, is that the zealots who founded the movement a little over 100 years ago were against the religious part of Judaism and just wanted a country for Jews (I guess for the "Jewish Culture" side of it – gefilte fish, matzo ball soup, etc..). Yet Zionists have been trying to leverage their Jewish ancestry to justify the creation of the State and everything that it does – if they really cared, they'd note that Judaism believes we are in exile and do not have a right to take the land (and certainly not kill, maim, torture for it). Zionists started the aggression with the Arabs 100 years ago and then accuse them of being anti-peace and terrorists. Really? Perhaps a little reading about the Stern Gang and the Irgun might clarify some of where it all started. Anyone with the slightest bit of objectivity along with reading and understanding the subject can look back on Zionism and see that it's indefensible. n nYet, through the AIPAC, they get support from the US to get away with, literally, murder – it's purely through political pressure (what politician wants to be accused of being Anti-semitic even when they aren't – being Anti-Zionist has nothing to with AntiSemitism, they are two totally different concepts, but of course the Zionists can't allow that distinction to be made). How many politicians have any kind of future if they don't support the State of Israel? Clearly honesty and integrity don't play any roles here with politicians or Zionists. n nZionism is not Judaism, never has been. Of course, if you separate the two, there's nothing left to justify the Zionists claim to that land and everything they do.
pretty much anything connected to Obama is ultra far left of most people: Rabbis, Jews and everyone else. Is anti-Zionist a surprise really when the Democratic platform is pro late-term abortion…compared to that being anti-Zionist is no big deal. nObama doesn't give a **** about Jews.
You aren't right about the Ultra_Left; n nthey hate Obama,many from that part of the left are urging their readers to vote for Romney,to teach BHO a lesson, nBelieve it,or take the time to read CounterPunch or other leftist sites,their criticism of Obama,makes Contentions look very tame.
Must be nice, coasting through life right to the Presidency, the international left, the Chicago underworld, and a certain segment of Black churches running interference and funneling money, homes and jobs to you and yours along the way. n n"If you can get a bunch of affluent, ahistorical, smug, guilty conscience Jewish fools to help, so much sweeter is the ride. They stole the money and jobs, anyways, just like they stole the land from the Palestinians. Khalidi laid it all out for me." n n
Nobody read it, Clare. For most, it was enough that he wrote it. It proved he was ' clean and articulate', just as Joe Biden said.
And the irony is that Obama's acknowledgments give much credit to his staff for writing big chunks, as I recall. Just as his acknowledgments in Dreams From My Father credit his mother's memory and her editing (?!) of the manuscript. Correct me if my memory falters. I read both books and was appalled, but you couldn't argue with liberals in 2008; they were intent on voting for "the first black president," notwithstanding his parroting of the "moral equivalence" line with respect to Israelis and Palestinians.
Obama became a deity or sorts. It was a real personality cult, strengthened by the racial 'absolution' many were looking for. n nQuite a spectacle. Never expected to see something like that in 21st century America, but in thinking about it, I guess it is a natural result of a generation of what passes for a modern liberal education. n nVery, very smart people were not immune – in fact, less immune.
A lot of American jews are leftwing radicals, and it includes rabbis. They will again march like lemmings over the cliff voting for their leader, 0bama. Thankfully, Israel has a great leader, Netanyahu. Compared to Bibi, 0bama is a little socialist nothing.
Aren't most anti-Zionists really Nazis in camouflage? If so, why not call a spade a spade?
'Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb is a member of the advisory board and rabbinical council of Jewish Voices for Peace' n nGottlieb's 'peace' is the peace of the grave. nIsrael's grave…
Add to the list of Obama financiers, George Soros, the unrepentant aider of the Nazis in Hungary during World War II.
some American Jews would vote for a Hitler before a Republican n nHow come there are rabbis for Obama but no ministers, priests or nuns for Obama?
It is, unfortunately, far worse than this! The Obama presidency, perhaps this dreadful man's whole political career, is in part a "creation" of a core of group of wealthy, far-Left Chicago Jews. It is my contention, based on both what I know about history and my sense that "this time we've gone too far," that sooner than later we American Jews are going to be called to account for what we've done to the US and its culture since the 1960s. n nIn any event, given our small and ever-dwindling percentage of the population, it is somewhat outrageous—and very dangerous indeed, from the historical perspective—that we believe it is our "right" to exert such an outsized influence on the way this nation is run, how the people educate their children, what appears both on tv and movie screens, and in general what the tone of life in the United States is. n nEven our politicians—i.e., the Democrats—make themselves highly conspicuous and sometime fairly obnoxious. Think Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Charles Schumer, Jerry Nadler, and—lest we forget—the atrocious Alan Grayson , the sleazy Anthony Weiner, former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer—need I continue? n nThen there are the Jews who run our economy, and the Fed, and our university departments, and on it goes. Is this possible to sustain, without risking (inviting?) a backlash? Some of you may know who Shmuel HaNagid was. He walked a fine line in Moorish Iberia. After HaNagid's death, his son tried walking the same line, failed. He wound up crucified on the gates of Grenada. n nAs for the over-sexualized, violence-soaked tone of our media and literature, at the risk of sounding like an anti-Semitic loon, is there any doubt that we have "pioneered" the new "openness?" Even our schools flirt with the "kids know best" thing because of our utopian nonsense! And look at what a mess they are today! As for the teachers' unions—they, too, were a Jewish creation and remain so today. What are we doing? Has it gone so far that we believe we know how to educate America? If that's what we do think, then let's see the results of our ideas, judge them by what they've accomplished. That should put an end to it. n nTo those who will, predictably, tag my comments as "self-hatred" or ignorant, let me assure you that neither is true in the least. I know what I'm saying here. It is just not something any of us wants to hear, much less take seriously. So before you attack, reflect. And then think about what narcissism means, on a macro level, and how it has managed to inflate our opinion of who we are, what we can do, and why we think the way we do. Few of you are equipped to do this, but I'm hoping there are a few older Jewish moderates who read these comments, who are capable of thinking against the grain, and are willing at least to use their grasp of Jewish history to understand my statements, even if they don't agree with them 100%. n nI am a 69-year old, pro-Israel Jewish patriot. I am also a deeply religious man. I say—enough is enough. We tried this once before—in pre-Nazi Germany. It didn't work out too well then, did it? And now, the hubris is building all over again, with Jews back in Germany, demanding their "right" to do whatever they like. Really? In Germany? And, oh, I can hear some of you now insisting: "But why shouldn't we do what we like, no matter where we are, including Germany?" That is what narcissism is all about. n nIt is a Jewish thing, to "create worlds." But let us "create" them among ourselves, leave the rest to live as they choose. When in Rome…… n nWe are entitled to do as we like in one nation only: the Jewish state of Israel. In any case, we are not entitled to do what we are doing to the US at this juncture. We are barely 2% of the nation's people. What about that don't we understand? n n
I agree with much of what you say and fear reprisal if and when the coming financial calamity is not halted.
To which I'll simply add: "God forbid."
to blackparrot: Thank you. Well said.
Excellent verbalization of a difficult subject to broach. Very much agree. n n nI think if it comes, it will rain down from both the left and right, both sides able to point out Jewish blame among their enemies, as Jews do succeed and become highly visible no matter the endeavor. n nIt is a danger. There is a serious book about this somewhere on my bookshelf. Will post when I find it. n n n n
I will add that never before has the world seen as tolerant and good natured a people as exist in the USA, in the aggregate. n nThe Jews have been blessed to live here, and in turn have blessed (and harmed) America with many achievements and actions. On balance, more good than bad, I would think, but that is no help when the fur starts to fly. n nThey did the same for Germany, but the Germans had less tolerance for Jews, for many different reasons. n n
The Christians have been blessed to live here, and in turn have blessed (and harmed) America with many achievements and actions. On balance, more good than bad, I would think, but that is of no help when the fur starts to fly. n nThey did the same for Germany, but the Germans had less tolerance fo Jews, for many different reasons. n nI offer you, MainesMichael the same advice I offered blackparrot about where your comments would be most welcomed and appreciated.
Sorry, don't agree. While it is not just, minorities are vulnerable in all human societies since forever. As a Jew, if you are one, you should be aware of this. n nAs wonderful as the USA is, it is likely not immune to repeating other nations' patterns when it comes to dealing with Jews. n nI will add that Jews in the USA are more visible as shapers of culture and mores than they ever have been in any other country since the fall of the Second Temple. n nThose websites you refer to are the warnings.
There is no disagreeing about the precarious place of minorities, Jews especially, in troubled places and times. Jews are truly the proverbial canaries in the mine. But there are things implied by what you have said and by what blackparrot has said and you have concurred in. n nYou won't disagree, will you, that Christians, like Jews, have been blessed to live here, and in turn have blessed (and harmed) America with many achievements and actions? And that the same was true for Germany? There is neither reason to assign Jews disproportionate responsibility, whether in the form of credit or blame, where the US is concerned or where Germany was concerned. To assign them excessive blame for social or economic problems in the case of Germany, supports Holocaust apologists who would have it that the Jews brought it on themselves, which is not only false, but viciously so. Unless I have misunderstood blackparrot, and I have invited him more than once to tell me if I have, he think Jews did do their part in bringing about the Holocaust.
J Street, and worse like JVP, are bad for the Jewish people, but they can't be cited as evidence in support of blackparrot's crazy thinking ("In any event, given our small and ever-dwindling percentage of the population, it is somewhat outrageous—and very dangerous indeed, from the historical perspective—that we believe it is our "right" to exert such an outsized influence on the way this nation is run, how the people educate their children, what appears both on tv and movie screens, and in general what the tone of life in the United States is."). And when he intimates that Jews had a hand in bringing about the Holocaust ("We tried this once before—in pre-Nazi Germany"), that thinking goes beyond simply crazy, becoming both false and loathsome. n nAre you advising Jews in the US to somehow (how?) trim their sails so as to be less "visible as shapers of culture and mores, if they are that, in order to avoid giving offense? The websites that I referred to are not going to reconsider their attitudes about Jews no matter what Jews do, that is unless what Jews do is accommodate them by committing suicide. n
" I say—enough is enough. We tried this once before—in pre-Nazi Germany. It didn't work out too well then, did it? And now, the hubris is building all over again, with Jews back in Germany, demanding their "right" to do whatever they like." n nYou should post to one of those Jew-hating blogsites where they are very receptive to the idea that the Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves, especially when that is asserted by someone who claims to be a deeply religious Jew.
To those who will, predictably, tag my comments as 'self-hatred' or ignorant, let me assure you that neither is true in the least. I know what I'm saying here. n nWell, thanks for the assurance that you are not ignorant. And I certainly don't think you are self-hating. Actually, "hating" is too strong a term — rather, you dislike certain others. n nI, too, agree with much of what you say. I think that in certain realms, Jews must be uncompromising, especially when it comes to the defense of Israel. But I think your brush is a bit broad. A couple of examples: n nwith Jews back in Germany, demanding their "right" to do whatever they like. n nYou mean, like bris? What do you mean by "whatever"? n nIn any case, we are not entitled to do what we are doing to the US at this juncture. n nYou know, I've never liked much what the extreme Orthodox "do to this country," either. They carry their shtetls on their backs and weave this cocoon around it and themselves and say, "We want nothing to do with you," and you know what? They can, not because they are permitted but because it is their right. In the United States they are entitled. A Reform Jew can "do as we like" here because he is entitled. n nBut he can NOT "do as we like" in Israel because of Orthodox hegemony. Israel was not founded that way — it was founded by secular Jews — but it is that way now, rather like Plymouth Colony, a refuge from persecution for Puritans to set up their own persecution. Rather like Holland, a refuge from persecution for Jews to set up their own persecution. Israel is for all Jews, not just those who believe they are the only real Jews and the rest are treif. n nWhat you seem to be saying is that in Israel "we can do what we like," only if one happens to be one of you. Actually, in the United States, I can't think of anything to which everyone else is entitled but to which you are not. Can you?
Maybe ” Israel is for all Jews “, but Israel is not for those “liberal Jews” who take funds as NGOs from European govts., JStreet (Soros) and others and use it as the NIF has done to undercut the security of the State for ” All Jews “!
I don't think it is about religious observance as such, though blackparrot seems to think it is something along those lines. I do think he is wrong, and offensively so with his implications of collective blame for Jews ("my sense that 'this time we've gone too far,' that sooner than later we American Jews are going to be called to account for what we've done to the US and its culture since the 1960s.")
I scanned the "Rabbis for Obama" list to see if anyone I knew of was on it. Yes, I recognized a few names in western Massachusetts, but none of them have a congregation, so I wonder how many of them actually do have a congregation. n nSomeday, the world will blame the Armenians for a global conspiracy. I can dream…so tired of the rivers of Jew-hatred that run through America. n
I also found about 3 rabbis that I know. Shame on all those Rabbis who are on the n"Rabbis for Obama" list. They are truly "useful idiots.". Maybe they should call the list "Useful idiots for Obama."
K2K, Really lousy research on your part. One of the rabbis does have a major reform congregation in W. Mass. I know, too, that he's into "causes", as a component in his congregation. Those causes are not necessarily Jewish ones. In a video that I viewed of members of his congregation, available to everyone on-line, a strong theme for the reason for membership expressed by some members was "social justice", whatever that means. A Jewish theme for maintaining or joining the temple, if memory serves me well, may be an important component for members, but it surely wasn't expressed well.
For those worrying about the Orthodox Jews controlling Israeli policy regarding Reform, just remember that the Naturei Karta and others are only too willing to sit with Ahmadjinejad and trash the State.r nThen again please distinguish between Reform Judaism practiced by conservative people and the extreme left progressive mindset that has infected a part of the Reform movement.
You're an a** for even linking to that website. n nIt is hard for me to know, without talking to these 'rabbis', if they are simply stupid, believing Israel has something to apologize for, given her history and who her enemies are, or malicious. n nI tend to give most the benefit of the doubt, and assume stupidity. n nWeiss of Mondoweiss, however, is malicious. n nYou, Rabbi, sound like you really believe what you say. n nYou fall into the stupid category (with all due respect). n n
"Stupid" is exceedingly generous when the person in question is a rabbi endorsing Mondoweiss and the BDSers, like Gottleib and Rosen.
Democrat Jews are not Zionists and undermine their own position even in the US. They are dumb. nThey have little or no interests in Israel and the Jews outside the US. Most remind me of the Jews of 1940-45.
(this is a little confusing because of the way comments and replies are nested, sometimes leaving in doubt who/what is being responded to) n nYou endorsed what blackparrot said above, "Excellent verbalization of a difficult subject to broach. Very much agree." Is a substitution of "this happened once before" for "'We tried this once before" the only change you would make now to what he said? How about his intimation that Jews somehow had a hand in bringing about the Holocaust, are you on board with that or do you want to gainsay him on that one? _
On the whole, I believe it was very well written. n nI am sure he did not mean to say the Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves. That would be ridiculous and wrong. n nThough I agree that is an interpretation one could take away from it. n nThe thrust of the argument is correct. Jewas are drawing attention to themselves in an obnoxious manner. Obnoxiousness is OK, I suppose, until people start to think it is costing them something important, likel the way their country is going, their econmic wellbeing, and future of theri children. Then, they look for scapegoats, and we all know the perfect scapegoats. n nIn the case of modern America, certain Jewish personalities have signs around their necks that say 'Look at me – I'm loud and obnoxious and effective, and I support all the trends and policies that are hurting you. I'm also part a very small minority that can't hit back. ' n nYou do the math. n n n
Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, okay? And I'm not afraid to say it. … Hollywood likes anal sex. [William Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, in an interview with Pat Buchanan when the later was subbing for Joe Scarborough on his MSNBC show 12/8/04.] n nJews were pioneers in Hollywood almost 100 years ago and have been prominently involved in all aspects of the movie business since. Do you think that if they "trim their sails," or better yet quit the industry altogether, Messrs. Donahue and Buchanan will reconsider. and the larger Jewish community will be safer because the bigots will quiet down? _
You'll pardon me for living, but I never read it. nAnd I still didn't vote for him.
The Jewish fear and self-interest at any price = Anti-Zionism.