Can You Judge A President by His Jew-Hating Friends?

Yesterday’s release of the Barack Obama/Derrick Bell Harvard tape was seen by many as another example of the President’s long history associating with radicals. There is another interpretation however. When Obama urged people to open up their hearts and minds to Bell it was another case of him “cozying” up to an Anti-Semite.  Understand we are not talking about people who are Anti-Israel (although there is a huge crossover of the two) but people who regularly use Anti-Semitic stereotypes or more direct derogatory comments about Jews.

Here are some examples

 Derrick Bell: Bell was a teacher of Critical Race Theory (CRT), which focuses on the intersection of race, law and power. In their book Beyond All Reason: The Radical Assault on Truth in American Law authors Daniel A. Farber and Suzanna Sherry explain that CRT believes:

that Jews and Asians enjoy an unfair share of wealth and status. Thus, the necessary normative implication of the radical theory is that steps should be taken to redress the balance more in favor of white gentiles. In addition, the radicals cannot easily explain Jewish and Asian success. Although benign explanations for this success are available, they are logically inconsistent with radical multiculturalism; consequently, the radicals would be forced to explain Jewish and Asian success by deploying theories that parallel historic forms of anti-Semitism.

Jews they believe, have an ulterior motive for everything.  For example, in his novel “The Space Traders” Bell argued that Jews help blacks so they themselves won’t become the target of bigotry, and called Anne Frank “the symbol of Jewish hypocrisy.”

 Merrill A. McPeak: Co-Chair of Obama’s 2008 Campaign, McPeak is a believer in that old “Jews control the government” meme. In one interview he suggested U.S. politicians are afraid of Jewish voters in Miami and New York City and that American Jews are the "problem" impeding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  

Chuck Hagel: When Obama was first elected, Hagel a Senate friend was believed to be the president’s first choice for Defense Secretary. Another believer in the nefarious “world wide Jewish conspiracy,” Hagel was once quoted as saying

"The political reality is that... the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here."

Sorry Chuck but the only Jewish Lobby I know of is in my house and my wife says it needs a paint job.  

Khalid al-Mansour, the Nation of Islam and Saudi Arabia Did you know that Louis Farrakhan’s attorney Percy Sutton, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and Anti-Semitic Black Muslim Khalid al-Mansour were instrumental in getting the future President into Harvard?  

Zbigniew Brzezinski: The President once called Brzezinski someone I have learned an immense amount from", and "one of our most outstanding scholars and thinkers. Back in back in 2007 Brzezinski was schooled the future president on foreign policy The former National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter famous for helping to create the Taliban, is a Judeophoblic conspiracy theorist, who believes the Jews control U.S foreign policy and Congress.

Al Sharpton: According to the Wall Street Journal, the President turned to Sharpton turned to Sharpton to answer public criticism in the black community over his economic policy. Sharpton helped fan the flames of the Crown Heights Pogrom and was a leader of the anti-Jewish protest that lead to the firebombing of the Jewish-owned Freddy’s Fashion Mart. Sharpton called Freddy's Fashion Mart's Jewish owners "bloodsuckers" and "white interlopers", leading protesters to shout, "We're going to burn and loot the Jews."  Just a short time later they got their wish, the store was firebombed and eight people were dead.  

Jeremiah Wright: Shortly after Obama took office, the man who’s church the President sat in for 20 years complained about his lack of access to the Oval Office’

“Them Jews ain’t going to let him talk to me. I told my baby daughter that he’ll talk to me in five years when he’s a lame duck or in eight years when he’s out of office. They will not let him talk to somebody who calls a spade what it is. I said that from the beginning. He’s a politician; I’m a pastor. He’s got to do what politicians do.”

And there are plenty more where that came from, including the chairman of his transition committee, John Podesta who is now head of the Center for American Progress (CAP). Both CAP and its “child” organization MMFA have been cited by the Simon Wiesenthal Center for promoting the Anti-Semitic meme that Jews are not loyal to America (investigative reporter Aaron Klein has found more links between the Anti-Semitic CAP and President Obama which you can read here). Then there is Samantha Power  the President's Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs on the Staff of the National Security Council.who once complained about critics of the Obama's foreign policy by saying “So much of it is about, is it going to be good for the Jews.”

Many critics of this analysis will call the above, “guilt by association” at least that’s what they did to similar stories in 2008.

Please understand clearly that it is not my contention the President of the United States is an Anti-Semite; I have seen no evidence to that fact. I do contend that he has a nasty habit of associating with Jew-haters.

Why does Barack Obama seem to gravitate to Jew-haters? Is it because he agrees with their hatred, is he unaware, or is he just insensitive? Here is a man who called a Georgetown student because she was smeared by an insensitive misogynistic attack by a radio host, but he accepts associates with and hires Anti-Semites.