Friday, March 01, 2013

Anti-gay leader Tony Perkins whines about 'Jewish lobby'

The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins seems to skirting on the lines of Anti-Semitism with his comments about the Democrats and the Jewish community:



Transcript:

But here’s the irony. Is that the Democratic Party and the Democratic senators that supported Hagel, in spite of the fact that he has a record that’s deplorable on Israel, it comes from Democratic senators who are mostly aligned with a lot of the Jewish lobby here in Washington and around the nation, enjoy the money coming from the Jewish community. The Jewish community tends to be liberal, not all, but a lot of it is, and it supports Democratic candidates. But yet the Democratic Party works against the benefit of Israel in many ways, and this is an example of it.

Right Wing Watch breaks down the interesting "significance"  of Perkins' words:

Speaking about the confirmation of Chuck Hagel, Perkins mused about the ‘irony’ that Hagel, whom he considers to be anti-Israel, was backed by Democratic senators who are “mostly aligned with a lot of the Jewish lobby” and “enjoy the money coming from the Jewish community.” Hmmm, “Jewish lobby,” where have I heard that before? Hagel has been savaged in recent weeks for having used the phrase in a 2006 interview. He has since apologized and said he should phrased his comments differently. In case it isn’t obvious, the ADL’s Abe Foxman explains the many problems with saying “Jewish lobby.” Notwithstanding Hagel’s apology, Sen. Lindsey Graham grilled him about his use of the phrase during his confirmation hearing. FRC also cited Hagel’s use of “Jewish lobby” in its background document opposing his confirmation. Meanwhile over at the website of the American Family Association, which broadcasts Perkins’ show, David Limbaugh railed against Hagel’s “bigoted accusation” about the “Jewish lobby” and said he failed to provide a “satisfactory explanation for his disgraceful terminology – because there is none.” “Bigoted” and “disgraceful” sounds about right, but don’t hold your breath waiting for conservatives to denounce Perkins’ comments.

My guess is that since it's rare that lgbt organizations call out Perkins for his continuous spoutings of homophobia, maybe he is getting so bold that he thinks the Jewish community will act the same way.

Let's hope not. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The real irony is that there is no "Jewish lobby." There is an Israel lobby, but it is not entirely Jewish. It is well supported by Christian fundamentalists who some how see the modern state of Israel as a key player in their end times fantasies.

Heck, the Israel lobby really isn't that significant compared to the gum and tobacco lobbies.

Elliot J. Stamler said...

This comment by Tony Perkins of the F.R.C. is not in the least bit anti-semitic and contains much truth. I am a Jewish Democrat and I despise Tony Perkins and his organization but this particular comment is not a bigoted one. The truth is that among the strongly left who are a minority in the Democratic Party, many are anti-Zionist and some anti-semitic. Among the Republicans, these sentiments are adhered to only by the old-right paleo-conservatives, such as Pat Buchanan. Truth is truth. I can say many terrible things about Tony Perkins and his org. but anti-semitic is not one of them.