Bradley Burston

Not Jewish

enough for Glenn Beck

defend. willstand. will speak. And in the end, if itbe His will, will die rightalongside my brother. That is the stand." "And yet he was more them than they were," wrote Howard Jacobson of very

in June, and by the fallvision program out from having compared the victims of to Hitler Youth, Norway massacre July's should have drawn the imsudden tent city Beck has assumed intonation prophet's of rain in August. Or that Glenn in urging his followers to stand with him in possibility Beck has arrived from America to teach us Jerusalem on August .42 But Beck, true to mercurial form, could about the meaning of courage, the Israeliand the likelihoodof not resist taking potshot at IsraelisbePalestinian conflict, Islamic radicals under the protest fore boarding jet save Israel.In segto finding ment titled"Radical leftists on Rothschild Boulevard. canvas protest in Iscomrael,"he and two co-commentators on his Next week, conservative political Beck plansto hold mass mentator rally GBTV webcast dismissed the hundreds of His thousands of demonstrators as "obviously to "Restore Courage" in Jerusalem. and their demands reminiscent to goal: save Israel and the United States hard left," of Soviet-style destruction in the form communism. from apocalyptic Beck also hinted that an "Islamist moveof the two-state solution. Beck remains if he was self-se- ment" had likely curious choice, even joinedthe protests."I hate to even bringthisup,"he said,apparlected,to save Jews from themselves. But in " certain bizarre ambivalence, especially ently jest,but the Islamists in Israel are sayingthat they'd like to have these riots I'm sorry, these gatheringsevery is to Fridaynow. Because theycan help. They can go to the mosque, and then bringevwho knows man It's erybodyout to the streets on Fridays. better than the Jews gonna be good." Beck, with trademark sarcasm, then reare and calledhis firstvisitto Israel 10 years ago. in how Jews "Those Fridaynights, they'd out of the get mosque, itwas so great,because theywere the so moved by the spirit, were so fullof they God and His and theywould go right love and joy, there to the Wall and drop giantstones on the Glenn heads of Jews who were prayingunderneath beautiful gesture ." Last May, buoyed by the turnout at his to to Jews, has done little when it comes Honor" rally in him in the past. August 2010 "Restoring stop Beck, at times seeminglyon Twice in lessthan year, the Anti-Defa- Washington, the verge of tears, assumed the slow cadenounced mation League has scathingly dence of statements by Beck. In February, ADL prophetto unveil new goal. "There are forces in this land, and forces conFoxman national director Abraham all over the globe, that are trying deoffensive and outrato demned as "highly the upcomstroy us," he said, announcing geous" radio broadcast in which Beck which Beck viewed, comparedReform Judaism to "radicalized ing Jerusalem rally, wrote religion scholar Joanna Brooks on Reform rabbis as Islam," characterizing the online Religion ispatches in nature" rather than D magazine, political "generally as "a latter-day crusade to save the Holy of "Glenn Beck's comparison religious. Land from the Palestinians." Reform Judaism to radical Islam demonFoxman "They are goingto attack the center of strates his bigoted ignorance," faith,our common our faith, and that is said. B Three months earlier,eck had already Jerusalem," Beck continued. "And itwon't be with bulletsand bombs. It willbe with enraged Foxman, who survived the Hotwo-state solution that cuts off Jerusalem, bcaust as young child,with radio and from the rest of the world." the Old City, Fox News televisionbroadcasts about the The irony, course, isthatthe two-state of youthof billionaireGeorge Soros, born farther from reality is in Hungary to Orthodox Jewish parents. solution probably than ithas been at any time in the last now radio audience that Soros Beck told "used to go around with this anti-Semite 18 years. In fact,smart money might well and deliverpapers to the Jews and confis- bet on the actualEnd of Days coming true them off. sooner than two states. and then ship cate theirproperty man for whom But what is ironyto He would And George Soros was partof it. not Orthodox enough and helpconfiscate the stuff.It was frighten- most Jews are therefore not Jewish enough, for whom send the Jewish boy helping Here's ing. are not hard-line enough and most Israelis Jews to the death camps." therefore not Israe'i enough -to man for Foxman called Beck's account "offenHolocaust survivors have not whom some to that "to have the audacity adding //'re/' who knows betsuffered enough, man !ay inaccurately that there's Jewish what Auschwitz means, rer than the Jews 50y sending Jews to death camps, as part of broader assault on Mr. Soros, that's who Nazis are, what Israelneeds, and how i Jews figuren the greaterplanof God and horrific." His Apostle Glenn? the Hundreds of rabbis, including heads that And lest one suspect for moment of the Reform, Conservative and Reconhe's not entirelyerious,Glenn Beck tells s structionist movements, along with Orfollowers that he's readyto givehis allfor thodox rabbis, publicly rged Fox News u the Jewish state. On his website, standing owner Rupert Murdoch to sanction Beck he before an Israeliflag, declares in profor the Soros remarks. Undeterred even " motional video clip:I will protect. will by beingdropped from his Fox News tele

non-Jewish character who wishes he were Jewish, in the appropriately riotous and 2010 novel "The Finkler Quesperplexing tion." He "felt more for what they stood for than they, far as he could see, were as for themselves. He capable of feeling wouldn't have gone so far as to say they needed him, but theydid,didn'tthey?They needed him." B Bradleyurston
com

issenior editorat Haaretz.

What

irony

who Nazis

figure greater plan of Apostle

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