We’re jammin’, jammin’…
This week in the NJJN:
- NJ Jews with Cuban roots consider Cuba “after” Castro.
- Johanna Ginsberg interviews a Jewish roller derby queen.
- Was Shakespeare a black Jewish woman?
- My column: Obama and the “Kishkes Factor”:
Maybe they’ve grown spoiled, but you hear in the pro-Israel, anti-Obama rhetoric the notion that Obama’s spotless Senate voting record on Israel and meat-and-potatoes speeches to AIPAC are not quite enough. “Window dressing,” as someone dismissively described it to me. A certain kind of pro-Israel voter wants to know that candidates feel for Israel in their guts - their kishkes - and not just in their heads.
JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 
February 27th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Unable to silence concerns about whether a President Obama would be a strong supporter of Israel by smearing all who raise the issue as either right-wing partisans or gullible fools , you have now decended to the lowest of depths: accussing Jews who aren’t comfortable with Obama of racism.
Have you no shame? Is this the message about Jews you want to send out around the world on the internet, especially since you have no proof that Jewish racism is motivating Jewish questions regarding some of Obama’s troubling associations and past statements?
Let me understand the logic: It is wrong for people to question if a relatively unknown Presidential candidate’s pro-Israel voting record since 2005 reflects a devotion to the cause or political convenience. However, it is fine for you to speculate–based on what evidence?– that there are many Jews who won’t vote for Obama because of racism.
You said, “… Obama will never convince his antagonists that he doesn’t share his pastor’s sympathies with Farrakhan.”
I don’t believe he shares his pastor’s great admiration–or as you call it “sympathies”–with Farrakhan? I am, however, troubled that he is so tolerant of his pastor’s embrace of Farrakhan.
Would you belong to a synagogue where the Rabbi embraced a racist? I wouldn’t. Why does Barak Obama? Would you belong to a synagogue that embraced white supremacism or separatism? I wouldn’t. Why has Mr. Obama belonged to a chuch that preached a black separatist message for 20 years?
I am not accusing Senator Obama of being an anti-Semite. I am not convinced he would be bad for Israel. What I am saying is that the Jewish press has a responsibility to investigate these issues more thoroughly, rather than hurling epithets at those with concerns.
Interview people who spent time with Obama prior to this campaign. Look at his statements, read his writings, check out what charities and organizations he donated his money and time to. This should be standard procedure for all candidates for President, but it is most important when there is a candidate who is so new on the scene and who has given off mixed signals as to where he stands on the most important issues facing our community.
But unless you have heard more than a few Jews make racist remarks about Obama–and I’ll bet the farm you haven’t–don’t assume the worst about your people and then broadcast that baseless assumption to the world, especially when your byline identifies you as the editor of an American Jewish newspaper.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I didn’t suggest “all who raise the issue” are racists. But I’ve been doing this long enough to be on the receiving end of plenty of emails, letters and conversations from some — I’ll emphasize some — fellow Jews whose racial attitudes are shaped by suspicion of the black community, and especially black leaders. The Crown Heights riots, Al Sharptons’ demagoguery, Jesse Jackson’s hymietown remark, Amiri Baraka’s anti-Israel paranoia — these have seared a legacy of resentment among many Jews, and, to judge by the emails I receive, informs many of their attitudes about Obama.
Scientific? No. But the idea that animus between blacks and Jews is a one-way street is a myth we like to tell ourselves.
But I think “racism” in my column is too strong a word for the phenomenon I describe and I regret it. I am confident in saying there are a good number of Jews who distrust Obama because they assume he represents an ethos they associate with the black political establishment. I would describe that ethos as tolerance for anti-Semitism, solicitousness towards Farrakhan and his ilk, sympathy for the Palestinian cause, and hesitation to denounce or reject a fellow black leader in the interest of unity and loyalty. Is it “racist” to attribute political trends to an entire group? No more racist than saying Jewish leaders tend to support Israel, are protective of the Holocaust’s legacy, are sensitive to even a whiff of anti-Semitism, and are wary of the Christian Right. (And I know, not every Jewish leader fits all these descriptions, but they point to clear trends among at least a majority of them). It’s not racist or ant-Semitic to say this — it is certainly prejudicial to assume that because one shares another’s skin color or religion, one shares his politics and failings as well.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Jews should not hold Obama accountable for the hostility toward our community from people like Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, Amiri Baraka and Cynthia McKinney. He should be judged as an individual.
Part of judging him as an individual includes considering his close relationship with a minister who has said that Farrakhan “epitomizes greatness,” preaches a black separatist message and demonizes Israel. Doing so certainly doesn’t make one racist, even if some see similarities in those views to statements from other African-Americans with anti-Jewish or anti-Israel animus. (Would you have a problem with blacks that link racist statements by a white politician to the larger history of anti-black political activity in America?) It is fair to wonder if Mr. Obama can tolerate his pastor’s message and associations, would an Obama administration have similar-minded folks in influential positions?
The fact that some high-profile black leaders have communicated anti-Israel or pro-Muslim sentiments doesn’t taint Senator Obama in my eyes. Mr. Obama through his own employment of Nation of Islam staffers, his own history of pro-Palestinian sympathies and his own connection with an anti-Israel and black separatist preacher give cause for concern and require further investigation.