The Jewish Week has a column by its editor of a battle between Rush Limbaugh and Abe Foxman of the ADL.Rush is alleged to have said something about Wall St bankers that Foxman took as anti-Semitic.Numerous conservative Jewish groups came to support Rush.
I have no desire to get in the middle of that controversy. In truth,we have too many organizations fighting for the same dollar in the name of combating antisemitism.The American Jewish Committee,The American Jewish Congress,The Wiesenthal Center,Bnai Brith (if it still exists)and many smaller groups..
Of course skin-heads,Muslim hate groups plain old ultra-liberal and ultra-conservative anti Semites must be exposed .
The goal should be to consolidate groups fighting ant-Semites in a similar manner that groups like the Young Israel and the OU SHOULD BE MERGE.
There is no room in our community for a cult of personality.Unless an individual has a REAL constituency,such as the head of a Synagogue or Rabbinic group and has been elected by that group etc,they should not be speaking in the name of the JEWISH COMMUNITY. Even those individuals should speak only in the name of their own organizations.The Chairman of the President's Conference is such an elected leader.
When your financial support comes from massive fund-raising letters ( ie- world Jewish Congress-which belongs with the above group) then if someone sends you $18 ,they have not delegated to you the right to speak in their name on issues involving settlements,Israeli policy, and so on.
To think otherwise is nothing more than a fund-raising ploy,so that the world thinks you are "king of the Jews".
