‘Jewish anti-Semites’

A May 13 editorial, “What is Wiesenfeld’s Worry,” makes the laudable point, “We believe in a big tent Judaism and a big tent Jewish community. Kicking people out of the tent hurts us more than it hurts them.” So far, so good. But the editorial directly above it, “Beyond the Fringe,” states, “although Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson loved Israel, he rejected Zionism.” The editorial cites an article by Rabbi Dovid Meir Drukman: “The late rebbe, he wrote, would neither permit the singing of ‘Hatikvah’ nor allow ‘Chabad printed books to sport a star of David, [because it was] adopted by Israel as a state symbol.”

So applying the same standard, do we think Mr. Kushner rejects Zionism? Mr. Kushner characterized the founding of Israel as “ethnic cleansing” and referred to the establishment of the State of Israel as “a historical mistake that should not have happened.” He also said the “world is in peril as a consequence of it.” Mr. Kushner also made the observation that “Israel is involved in a deliberate attempt to destroy the identity of the Palestinian people.” Or how about Mr. Kushner’s work on behalf of the BDS groups, (boycotts, disinvestments, and sanctions) to demonize Israel not only among Mr. Kushner and his friends but also to make sure that Israel is isolated among nations and unable to do business with American companies? Do you perhaps have an example of the Lubavitcher rebbe acting in such a manner? What exactly does someone need to say or do to remove themselves from your “big tent Jewish community?”

On Passover we celebrate our liberation from Egypt by reading the Haggadah, where we note that “in every generation they stand against us to annihilate us.” Israel has few friends in this cruel world, and certainly we should not expand that list. Nevertheless, Pharoah, Hitler, Haman, Chmelnicki, and Queen Isabella were members of a different faith. It seems to be the unique responsibility of our generation to confront Jewish anti-Semites who wish to cause our annihilation.

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