White like me
Zionist Organization of America’s Morton Klein takes off on Obama in a stream-of-consciousness catalogue of Wright quotes and Lasky allegations. The best part is the “P.S.,” where Klein explains:
PS: (Obama excuses some of Wright’s statements by saying, “Wright was a child of the 60′s.” In fact, Rev. Jeremiah Wright went to high school in Philadelphia from 1955 to 1959. The high school he attended was my own alma mater, Central High School. Central, the second oldest public high school in the country, was a magnet school attracting the elite, most serious academic students in the city. The school was 80% Jewish and 95% white. My experience was that the African-American students were treated with the same respect as the white students. The African-American students loved Central as much as the white students did. Many of them come to Central’s reunions. Also, it is interesting to note that Rev. Wright’s father was a prominent pastor and his mother was a teacher and later vice-principal of the Philadelphia High School for Girls, also a distinguished academic high school.)”
In other words, a white Jew like Klein knows better than Wright the kind of experience the minister had at their nearly all-white school.
And since he raised it, I guess it’s also fair to ask of Klein: of that 80% of Jews in his graduating class, are they, or any, as angry and activist as Klein? Has Klein “earned” his sense of outrage at those who disagree with him any more than Wright has?
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JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 
March 19th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Since most American Jews are Zionists, and very few have renounced Mort Klein, I think it’s fair to say, yes, most American Jews are as angry as Mort. It’s fair to say that they are more concerned about Israeli prisoners of war than they were about American prisoners of war. (Did you see any American Jews wearing POW bracelets in the ’70s? Me neither.)
I think non-Jews have the obligation to ask: Should an angry Jew be a heartbeat away from the White House? For that matter, do you want a presidential candidate who can’t take a tour of the Middle East without an Orthodox Jew — from a different political party! — whispering in his ear?
What I love about Mort is that he understands that it is only Communists who have to fear McCarthyism, and that the days of pre-political correctness, when the public sphere was ruled by innuendo and prejudice, were so much healthier than things are today.
Who the hell wanted to join their country clubs or stay in their hotels anyhow?
March 20th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I’m no fan of Mort Klein’s. But I have to wonder a little whether Rev. Wright isn’t being a bit disingenuous and using provocative language not because he necessarily believes it so deeply, but because it is what is rewarded by his congregation. How did he become such an influential and widely known pastor? Likely because he used language that was appealing to those who joined his church.
There are no shortage of Rabbis who are equally guilty of modifying or even wholly changing their personal views to satisfy their congregation’s particular political or religious proclivity. It doesn’t make it more or less right regardless of who does it.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:46 am
“I’m no fan of Mort Klein’s. But I have to wonder a little whether Rev. Wright isn’t being a bit disingenuous and using provocative language not because he necessarily believes it so deeply, but because it is what is rewarded by his congregation.”
You could say the same thing of Mort Klein: If he grew up comfortably in Philadelphia, why has he dedicated the second half of his life to defending the Jews of Israel? It’s not like he’s under terrorist attack, or rocket atttack, or defending his home. Has he “earned” the right to his sometimes strident advocacy? And crisis in Israel doesn’t hurt ZOA’s bottom line.
In fairness to Mort and the Rev. Wright, often the tug of peoplehood proves stronger than one’s personal experience. That’s why American Jews are Zionists; that’s why even upper middle class blacks feel compelled to speak for those less well off.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:56 am
I would say the same thing about Mort Klein – I think that he turns up the volume in order to satisfy his patrons desire for inflammatory rhetoric.
That doesn’t mean they either are hypocrites. They may very well believe much what they say, in general terms. But I suspect that they engage in hyperbolic speech in order to obtain an emotional response from their audience.
Critics then grab onto that hyperbole as if it were p’shat and ignore the d’rash
March 25th, 2008 at 12:33 am
[...] New Republic honcho Marty Peretz is impressed by this take on Wright; N.J. Jewish News editor Andrew Silow-Carroll — not so much. [...]