ADL's Hypocritical Abe Foxman Executes a Perfect Clintonian Deflection

As much as I criticize the Grand Poobah of the Anti-Defamation League for putting progressive politics in front of his group's mission to prevent the defamation of the Jews, I must admit the guy is talented, he can spin and deflect with the best of them. He possibly is as good as the master, William Jefferson Clinton.

In this week's Jewish Star he wrote a letter supposedly critical of an article I wrote for the paper, without addressing any of the points in the piece.

Some of you might remember a post that ran on this blog almost two weeks ago which criticized the ADL and the AJC for trying to stifle Jewish debate about Barack Obama's middle east policy which many Jews (OK most Jews) feel is Anti-Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have joined together in an effort to encourage other national organizations, elected officials, religious leaders, community groups and individuals to rally around bipartisan support for Israel while preventing the Jewish State from becoming a wedge issue in the upcoming campaign season. Join the ADL and AJC in taking the “National Pledge for Unity on Israel” -- and sign our pledge.

Israel is at a crucial point in her history, surrounded by terrorists who are appeased by most of the world, and a president who, because of incompetence or intention, is throwing the Jewish state to the wolves. Many Americans feel this is the most anti-Israel administration in the 63-year history of the Jewish State.

Although the prose in their pledge is tame, its purpose is to isolate Jewish groups who wish to point out the failings of President Barack Obama's policy towards Israel. These organizations have a vested interest in ensuring that the Jews continue to vote Democratic and re-elect this president. They fear losing access to he White House.

These two groups never opened their mouths when Jewish groups disinvited Sarah Palin from an anti-Ahmadinejad rally in 2008, fearing that she will divert many Jewish votes away from Obama.

 The full post can be found here and IMHO its a very good one.

A revised version of that post appeared as my weekly political column in the Jewish Star, a newspaper serving Long Island's Jewish community.

Who knew, but Abe Foxman, the progressive power broker himself, reads my column. Or at least he read that particular column.

This week's Jewish Star included a letter from the Obama-first-er.

Abe says what I wrote was a distortion. That the ADL has been outspoken in its criticism of the President.


Abe's little "Shut the Hell Up" pledge and his letter to the editor both claim the purpose of the ADL/AJC action was to maintain the bi-partisan support of the Jewish State to put Israel in front of partisan politics.

America’s friendship with Israel is an emotional, moral and strategic bond that has always transcended politics. Support for Israel has never been merely a plank in a Republican or Democratic Party or candidate’s platform. It is a core American policy that serves our nation’s most fundamental national interests. Indeed, for the past six decades, every American President and Congressional leaders in both parties have championed the shared values and outlook that bind the two nations.

Well except for Jimmy "Israel is Apartheid" Carter and  George HW Bush who's Secretary of State once commented "F**k the Jews, they wont vote for us anyway and of course Barack Obama.

But here's the deflection.   My article was not about  Abe not  criticizing Obama, it was about Foxman using the ADL as his personal progressive politics headquarters. His support of abortion, the start treaty, and gay marriage for example. It talked about how Foxman was silent when Obama tried to use Israel as a wedge issue in the case of the ZOA, or when his campaign had Sarah Palin removed from the guest list for an anti-Ahmadinejad rally in 2008, fearing that she will divert many Jewish votes away from Obama.

The article was about how Abe Foxman used the ADL to demonize groups who criticize Obama, like during the 2008 campaign, when they showed the most extremist elements who talked about the future President's Marxist history,   his liberation theology church, or his association with radicals, indicating to readers that only nut-jobs felt these reasonable concerns should be explored. It was about when ADL issuing a "White Paper" promoting the progressive's negative (and fake) PR spin about the Tea Party movement. They said the Tea Party was part of the "New Rage in America"

The article was about the hypocrisy of Abe Foxman trying to reign-in politically conservative Jews, while using his supposedly non-political organization to promote progressive policies and candidates.

Abe Foxman didn't address any of that, he just whined about something else, that he does too criticize Obama, and what his vision of bi-partisan support of Israel is. But then again, that depends what is...is.