ADL Takes on the Wrong Enemy

Abe Foxman, the head of the Anti-Defamation League which is devoted to fighting bigotry against Jews, has identified a new enemy for the group. No, it's not the Muslims who regularly vow to wipe them and Israel off the map. It's Christians:

If there is one religion that poses a danger to Jewish interests, clearly it's radical Islam. How strange, then, that in his speech Abraham Foxman held up the terrifying specter of, um, American Christianity.

"Today," said Foxman, "we face a better financed, more sophisticated, coordinated, unified, energized, and organized coalition of groups in opposition to our policy positions on church-state separation than ever before. Their goal is to implement their Christian worldview. To save us!"

Foxman warned that mainstream evangelical groups have "built infrastructures throughout the country... intend[ing] to 'Christianize' all aspects of American life, from the halls of government to the libraries, to the movies, to recording studios, to the playing fields and locker rooms of professional, collegiate and amateur sports, from the military to SpongeBob SquarePants."

If there is a more pro-Israel group in the world than Christians, I can't imagine what it would be. Why? We've read the back of the book and we know how this is all going to turn out, and Israel is an important piece of the puzzle (not to mention all the "God's Chosen People" stuff). It's clear that under Foxman, the ADL has just become another shrill liberal organization, rather than an organization with the guts to take on their true enemies.

Of course, there has been a fair amount of tension between some Jewish groups and Christians. After all, there's a fundamental difference between the two over the role of Jesus. Savior to one group, and just a radical teacher to the other. There's bound to be conflicts.

I'll never forget an incident that happened back in 1991 when I got to see this conflict up close. I was asked to fill in as bass singer for a group that had an event scheduled at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City. The event was a Christmas banquet for Jews for Jesus, an organization of Jews who have converted to Christianity. Not long before the start of the event, I looked to the back of the room where there seemed to be a bit of a stir. Several people were huddled around a table, and as they backed away, I saw that Irv Ruben, the radical head of the Jewish Defense League, had joined us. Irv hadn't had a sudden conversion - he had bought a ticket to basically come and spy on the enemy.

The organizers were afraid that Ruben would cause some sort of ruckus and actually tried to buy back his ticket, but he wouldn't budge. He never caused a problem, but sat there and glowered and glared all evening in an attempt to intimidate the Jews who had accepted Christ.

Following the event, I walked outside and was greeted by about 20 picketers from the JDL who had shown up with signs that basically accused the Christian Jews of treason and treachery against their faith. There was a little shouting and sloganeering, but no violence. It was very interesting and shed a new light on the experience of Jews who depart their traditional faith for Christianity, and the kind of backlash they face.

Irv is no longer with us, having been murdered in prison a few years ago. I wonder what he thinks about Christianity now?

Mr. Foxman would be wise to knock off the anti-Christian rhetoric and get back to fighting the people who want to kill him, rather than the people who want to save him. Shooting at an "enemy" that doesn't shoot back is not very valiant of Mr. Foxman, and just detracts from the work he should be doing against the radical groups in this world who would see him and his kind erased from the earth.