Posted by Jeff Dunetz Jan 28th 2011 at 1:00 pm in Featured Story, Fox News, Free Speech, Media Matters, Religion, Soros As the Torah says: Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people (Lev. 19:16). The ancient Jewish Sages took that passage and said that there are three transgressions that would cause a man to lose his place in the world to come: murder, adultery, and idol worship, and that loshon hora (evil speech) is equivalent to all three (Bab. Erchin 15b). Jews believe that the harm done by telling tales about people is worse than the harm done by something like theft because one can repay stolen money, but harm done by speech can never be repaired.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, four-hundred Rabbis joined with a socialist Jewish organization called Jewish Funds for Justice (JFJ) to bring shame upon themselves, their holy profession and the entire Jewish people, and even worse have committed a Chillul Hashem (desecration of God’s name) with an open letter to Fox News against Glenn Beck (the full letter/ad can be seen here).
The letter states, “In the charged political climate in the current civic debate, much is tolerated, and much is ignored or dismissed. But you diminish the memory and meaning of the Holocaust when you use it to discredit any individual or organization you disagree with. That is what Fox News has done in recent weeks, and it is not only ‘left-wing rabbis’ who think so.”
Mr. Beck’s three-day series defaming Holocaust survivor George Soros sparked the letter from rabbis. At that time, Mr. Beck claimed Mr. Soros survived the Holocaust as 14-year-old boy by collaborating with the Nazis to send other Jews to the death camps. Mr. Beck said, that Mr. Soros “used to go around with this anti-Semite and deliver papers to the Jews and confiscate their property and then ship them off. And George Soros was part of it. He would help confiscate the stuff. It was frightening. Here’s a Jewish boy helping send Jews to the death camps.”
Mr. Beck’s three-day attack on Mr. Soros was hardly the first time he has misused the Holocaust to incite viewers. The rabbis’ note Mr. Beck has made “literally hundreds of on-air references to the Holocaust and Nazis when characterizing people with whom [Beck] disagree[s].” Beck routinely compares American leaders to Nazis, has likened his crusade against progressives to that of “Israeli Nazi Hunters,” and has said that putting the “common good” first leads to “death camps.
In the face of mounting criticism by Jewish groups, Fox News chief Roger Ailes dismissed criticism of Mr. Beck in an interview with the Daily Beast as nothing more than “left-wing rabbis who basically don’t think that anybody can ever use the word ‘Holocaust’ on the air.”
We respectfully request that Glenn Beck be sanctioned by Fox News for his completely unacceptable attacks on a survivor of the Holocaust and Roger Ailes apologize for his dismissive remarks about rabbis’ sensitivity to how the Holocaust is used on the air.”Loshen Hora is not permitted even when true, but in this case there is nothing to worry about because it’s not true.
I can guarantee you not one of these Rabbis are listeners of Beck, because if they were, they would know that he hadn’t as the letter they signed said made, literally hundreds of on-air references to the Holocaust and Nazis when characterizing people with whom [Beck] disagree[s]. According to Jewish law, if they sign a letter saying that Beck made hundreds of on air references they should see the proof. So I ask Rabbi Steven Wernick, Executive Vice President, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the movement of Judaism of which my family and I are members, where’s the proof? To Rabbi Daniel Nevins, Dean, Jewish Theological Seminary Rabbinical School which recognized my wife and me for community service who also signed the letter, I ask: is this what you want to teach the rabbis of tomorrow? I invite any of the Rabbis who signed this letter did you watch the three day Soros series or did you just read the partial transcript sent to you? Did you know that almost everything that Beck said in those three days came directly out of the mouth of George Soros?
If any of these 400 rabbis has any proof for the charges you signed, contact me and show me the proof if you can–but they can’t. Even worse, they didn’t even ask for the proof before they lent their names to organized loshen hora.
The Jewish Fund for Justice is waging this battle against Glenn Beck as an agent of George Soros. The group receives significant funding Soros’ Open Society Institute, which gave the organization $30,000 in 2008, $150,000 in 2009 and $200,000 in 2010, (H/T Ken Larrey). I wonder if any of the Rabbis who signed this letter knew the motivation, or that before Beck did his three day special on Soros, there was a meeting between senior staff of the two and Soros’ guy warned Beck’s not to do the expose? Of course not! A true rabbi would have called Beck and asked for his side; none did.
Soros’ funding is only part of the story, the Jewish Funds for Justice’ progressive message of redistribution of income and social justice, and the continued collective guilt of whites (especially men) is antithetical to Beck’s call for personal (vs government) responsibility and charity, along with a constitutional guarantee of equal opportunity for all (as opposed to a guarantee of equal result).
On its website the Jewish Funds For Justice has a online library of articles, leadership and facilitation exercises, templates, and other helpful resources for you to utilize in your organizations. Feel free to download and share any of these materials.
An entire section of the library is about the “White Man” as the oppressor. A series of articles which say even if they don’t know it, the Caucasian is a racist and an oppressor, which gives insight into their beliefs behind social justice. This position seems to echo some of the positions of black liberation theology, which have been exposed by the Fox broadcaster. The thought that we are collectively guilty and our salvation will only come if we collectively repent against the social crimes that we have done.
For example, one of the articles in their library is called “Male Privilege and White Privilege” by Peggy McIntosh
I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. This paper is a partial record of my personal observations and not a scholarly analysis. It is based on my daily experiences within my particular circumstances.
I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, code-books, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks.Another called “The Culture of White Supremacy” argues that the culture in the US is “White Culture” and that culture:
…is intertwined with other major cultural manifestations of the is U.S: the greed competition and individualism of capitalism; male supremacist fear and hatred of the power of women; historical Christianity’s hatred and fear of sexuality, and its compulsion to divide humankind into the “saved” and the “dammed;” and the militarism’s glorification of war and conquests as proof of manhood and nationhood that has roots in European culture going back thousands of years.The document also claims that calls for people to take personal responsibility is just another way of keeping the non-white races inferior.
White culture is a melting pot of greed, guys, guns and God. Its a deadly brew.
Many of the other documents in that section promote the same view that all whites (especially white men) are racist oppressors including:
- Systemic Racism, Injustice from Cradle to Grave
- Interview with Lani Guinier, Tracking the Miners Canary
- Being a Strong White Ally
- Basic Tactics
- Article: “Building Diversity in Organizations” by Tyra Sidberry
- A Few Thoughts on Racism and Leadership
- STAND UP: An Exercise on Oppression for Leaders
- Class Race Exercise
- Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
- Quotations
JFJ has developed seminary programs to prepare rabbinical students for “the challenges of engaging their communities in the critical and profoundly Jewish work of meaningful social justice” — i.e., the redistribution of wealth. These seminary programs are outgrowths of JFJ’s emphasis on “congregation-based community organizing” (CBCO), which is described by Benjamin Ross, JFJ’s Director of Organizing, as “a social change strategy developed by Saul Alinsky.” Aiming to “challenge [religious] congregations to address systemic issues relating to poverty and social injustice,” this type of organizing is spearheaded by four major national CBCO networks: the Alinsky-founded Industrial Areas Foundation, the PICO National Network, the Direct Action Research and Training Center, and the Gamaliel Foundation. JFJ works in partnership with local affiliates of each of these organizations.Another part of the motivation behind the attacks is many of the key figures of the JFJ are involved with other organizations/people who have been exposed by Beck. For example:
- Rabbi David Saperstein, who is on the JFJ Board, serves on Obama’s faith advisory board and served on many boards with of Rev. Jim Wallis who has also led attacks on Glenn Beck. Saperstein is also on the board of the People for the American Way Foundation, which was formed by the Tides Foundation. The Tides Foundation gets much of its funding from George Soros.
- Mik Moore Chief Strategy Officer at Jewish Funds for Justice is the former Deputy Political Director at SEIU Local 32B
- Until 2008 Simon Greer attended the residency program of the Windcall Institute, a project of the Common Counsel Foundation. Van Jones serves on the advisory board of the Windcall institute.
- Si Kahn who is on the board of JFJ was the founder and until last year the Executive director of Grassroots Leadership, which received $130,000 from Soros’ Open Society Institute in 2008 (which was the latest tax return I could find).
In the end what the Wall Street Journal ad today represents is a slander made by 400 Rabbis who did not even bother to check to see if what they were signing is true, driven by JFJ a political organizations whose politics run contra to those of Glenn Beck. Both the organization and its leadership are beholden to George Soros who sent a Representative to threaten Beck for his expose’ and/or others who have campaigned against Glenn Beck. In other words, this “open letter” published in today’s Wall Street Journal, is nothing but an attempt to slander someones name for political reasons.
I hope that the 400 rabbis who have committed this Loshen Hora, caused all of this shame, and have desecrated the name of God – Chillul Hashem (desecration of God’s name) – realize the error of their ways, not that their offense could ever be totally rectified.
As an old Chasidic tale teaches: A man once went around spreading lies about the rabbi. Eventually he began to feel remorse for the wrong he had done. He went to the rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything to make amends. The rabbi said, “Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds.” The man followed the request gladly. When he told the rabbi that he had done the task, the rabbi said, “Now, go try and gather the feathers.” The man said, “But Rabbi I cannot gather the feathers they are all scatter to the winds.” The rabbi replied, “Exactly! You cannot take back the damage your words have done, the same way you cannot than recollect the feathers.”
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