Is Mike Huckabee burning bridges, or is the Anti-Defamation League? After a speech in front of the National Rifle Association in which Huckabee likened the “silence” around national debt (seems like not only is there plenty of noise about it, but it has eclipsed the concern for jobs) to the silence of good Germans towards the Holocaust during WWII, he was criticized by ADL head Abraham Foxman who said, “It is highly inappropriate to use America’s mounting debt crisis as another occasion to invoke Nazis and the Holocaust, particularly on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a time dedicated to memorializing, not trivializing, the 6 million Jews and millions of others who perished at the hands of the Nazis.”
Huckabee then responded with anger: “Israel and Jewish people need to make friends, not insult the ones they have.” He has demanded a retraction and an apology from Foxman. So far, no retraction and no apology.
Some of Huckabee’s best friends are Jewish after all. Oh, you think he didn’t actually say that?
“Foxman’s remarks are not only factually wrong, but they are hurtful to me personally in light of my unequalled friendship with members of the Jewish community, and I ask Foxman to retract his statement as publicly as he issued it, and apologize for his lack of accuracy in issuing it and for the harm done by attacking the very strongest advocates for the Jewish people and Israel.”
You see, if you support Israel, it should exempt you from criticism from Jews about anything.
In her column linked above, Michelle Goldberg explains:
After all he’s done for Israel, Mike Huckabee does not appreciate being criticized for comparing American debt to the Holocaust. Thus on Tuesday, when the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman chastised him for doing just that, he responded with anger and a hint of menace, saying, “Israel and Jewish people need to make friends, not insult the ones they have.” Such words are unlikely to convince many Jews that Huckabee is their ally. The statement should serve as a reminder that the aggressive Zionism of the Christian right does not translate into sensitivity toward broader Jewish concerns.
Do you think?
26 comments
Comments feed for this article
May 5, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Mitch
Yeah, my people have always been ingrates. Uppity, too. It’s a shande when we bite a nice Christian fellow like Mr. Huckabee who is so supportive of our rights and our real country.
May 5, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Eric Kirk
Yeah, what’s amazing is that he doesn’t even know what it looks like.
May 5, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Joel Mielke
For once Abraham Foxman put it mildly, and Huckabee’s whiney threat (“Israel … need(s) to make friends, not insult the ones they have”) is scummy.
May 5, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Eric Kirk
And also Jewish people need to make friends. Do you need to make friends Joel? Huckabee will be your friend, unless you piss him off.
May 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
PAN
I believe Huckabee said what most Christian Conservatives feel. They are supportive of Israel because Israel is a pro American democracy in the middle east that kicks Arab ass when push comes to shove. The fact that Jews live there and not Christians is unfortunate in their book but as long as the Jews know their place, they fall over themselves singing their praises.
I suspect that if peace ever comes to the middle east Christian conservatives of the Huckabee and Palin variety will discover that Jews are pretty suspicious after all.
May 5, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Joel Mielke
Isn’t it the American right that used to accuse the left of “moral relativism” in the so-called culture wars?
May 5, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Sinclair Lewis
“After all he’s done for Israel”. Huh? As governor of Arkansas?
May 6, 2011 at 4:58 am
Plain Jane
“You see, if you support Israel, it should exempt you from criticism from Jews about anything.”
Seems reasonable, at least for those people who think if you criticize Israel you are anti-semitic.
May 6, 2011 at 9:04 am
Eric Kirk
The story is really that Huckabee is so invested in his self and public image, but all he had to do was show a little humility. A simple, “gosh, I didn’t mean to imply that but I will respect your position on this and will forgo similar comparisons in the future” might not have Goldberg happy, but it probably would have appeased Foxman who is no flaming liberal. He really should not be taking on the ADL. But again, he’s culturally insulated. He doesn’t have a clue.
May 6, 2011 at 9:23 am
tra
I agree that Huckabee appears to be quite culturally insulated, and also that he appears to have an over-inflated ego and unwillingness to admit error. (Of course those traits aren’t necessarily a liability in a Republican presidential primary!)
However, credit where credit is due, Huckabee does exhibit some significant insight into the dynamics of his own party:
HUCKABEE: Ronald Reagan would have a very difficult, if not impossible time being nominated in this atmosphere of the Republican party.
HEMMER: How come?
HUCKABEE: Because he raises taxes as governor, he made deals with Democrats, he compromised on things in order to move the ball down the field. As president, he gave amnesty to 7 million illegal immigrants. There were many things that would have been anathema. People speak of Reagan as if he was absolutely steadfast. He was in his convictions, but you have to govern in a way that is different that is different than the way you campaign.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/06/huckabee-reagan-would-not-get-nominated/
May 6, 2011 at 9:31 am
Joe Blow
“He doesn’t have a clue” and YOU do?
All everyone is “expected to do” is fall down at the feet of the Holy Jew and do acts of worship and obeisance, RIGHT? What sacrilege for a “good” Christian American, specially a politician, to imply anything negative (or factual) about Israel or the Jews. Such acts bring the wrath of God (and Eric Kirk).
May 6, 2011 at 9:44 am
tra
All everyone is “expected to do” is fall down at the feet of the Holy Jew and do acts of worship and obeisance, RIGHT?
Humboldt County Mental Health Crisis Services – 24 hours: 445-7715
The sooner the better.
May 6, 2011 at 10:14 am
Mitch
Picking up the red phone now…
“Baruch attah adonai, elohenu melech haolam, your blessings upon the crisis services.”
OK. Don’t make me use the hotline again.
May 6, 2011 at 10:16 am
Mitch
Next time, it won’t just be The Holy One. My next call is to the IDF.
May 6, 2011 at 10:29 am
Eric Kirk
Joe, please take it to the Stormfront site. The “Holy Jew” remark really is bigoted and offensive, and I will block your posts if they continue with that tone. You (and Huckabee) can make your points with a little more sensitivity.
What’s ironic is that in your belief system the only “Holy Jew” would be Jesus Christ himself. Maybe Paul and a few others depending on your definition of “holy.”
May 6, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Joel Mielke
I doubt that Joe Blow is articulate enough to explain his way out of that last comment, but go ahead Joe. Convince us that you’re not a complete fucking nut.
May 7, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Anonymous
I’m no fan of Huckabee but it is a stretch to suggest he is an antisemite.
May 8, 2011 at 11:01 am
Mitch
Anonymous 9:24,
I don’t think anyone has suggested that Huckabee is an anti-semite. A group with sensitivities to the use of a historical term expressed dismay at Huckabee’s usage.
He had a variety of good options:
1) say he meant no offense but believes the group is simply wrong to take offense;
“Oh my gosh, I know many people are concerned that the Holocaust is being diluted by comparisons, but look, everyone recognize that the death of millions is a unique historical event. For better or worse, I was trying to say that the debt crisis is a horrible thing that is right before our eyes and must not be ignored the way “good Germans” ignored the Holocaust while it took place before their eyes.”
2) say he meant no offense and regrets his awkward usage;
“Oh my gosh, of course the Holocaust was a uniquely terrible historical event. I meant no offense, and it’s clear I’ve given some. I was just reaching about for the worst thing I could think of, and the Holocaust came to mind. I’ve heard many people refer to the debt crisis as a “financial holocaust,” but to avoid offense, let’s just agree that what is looming before our children is a financial disaster that we must not ignore.”
3) talk about why he feels his analogy is accurate and not offensive;
“Oh my gosh, people refer to the debt as a financial holocaust all the time. [Name some popular Jewish politicians who've used the term, if you can find any.]
4) tell people that we need to focus more on substance, and less on whether a group can somehow find offense where none is intended, and so on.
“Americans have become hair-trigger sensitive to potential offense where none is intended. Abe Foxman knows how I feel about Israel, knows how I feel about the Holocaust, and knows I am no anti-semite. I can’t figure out why he’s chosen to take offense, rather than recognize, as I do, that this debt crisis has the potential to harm ALL our children. Let’s get back to that — this debt crisis is a potential financial disaster for all our kids.”
Instead, he demonstrated what appeared to be either a lack of diplomacy, a lack of worldliness, or a desire to punch a Jew to solidify his base.
To say that “Israel and Jewish people need to make friends, not insult the ones they have” suggests all sorts of things. It suggests that he thinks “Israel and Jewish people” are a monolith, not a community of people with varied opinions. More seriously, it sounds to me as though it has a definite tone of menace, almost certainly unintentionally.
To bristle at a complaint from a leader of the ADL (either an American or an international Jewish organization), on the grounds that he’s a friend of Israel, is awful diplomacy and again suggests he doesn’t get that there’s a difference between an Israeli and an American Jew.
It would roughly compare with an American politician responding to a complaint by the leader of the NAACP with a comment about how pro-Africa he is, saying that “Africans and blacks need to make friends, not insult the ones they have.”
A President needs to be a diplomat, and not create problems where none need be created.
May 8, 2011 at 1:05 pm
tra
A President needs to be a diplomat, and not create problems where none need be created.
Very true. But for a Republican presidential nominee in this day and age, a willingness to engage in apocalyptic hyperbole, and an unwillinness to admit error (much less aplogize) are viewed by many in the right-wing base as essential qualities of the “strong leader” that these authoritatian followers so desperately crave.
May 8, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Erasmus
“Authoritarian followers”? I smell an oxymoron.
May 10, 2011 at 4:41 pm
tra
Not really, Erasmus. Authoritarianism only works when there are enough people who are willing to follow Authoritarian Leaders. Those followers can be logically referred to as Authoritarian Followers.
For more info, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_authoritarianism
May 10, 2011 at 4:43 pm
tra
Here’s another fun little item about Huckabee and his crew:
Huckabee has joked that he “answers” to “two Janets.” One is his wife, Janet Huckabee. The other is Janet Porter, the onetime co-chair of Huckabee’s Faith and Values Coalition. And Porter, the former governor has said, is his “prophetic voice.”
But that voice has said some weird things over the years: Porter has maintained that Obama represents an “inhumane, sick, and sinister evil,” and she has warned that Democrats want to throw Christians in jail merely for practicing their faith. She’s attributed Haiti’s high poverty rate to the fact that the country is “dedicated to Satan,” and she suggested that gay marriage caused Noah’s Flood.
And there’s this: In a 2009 column for conservative news site WorldNetDaily, Porter asserted that President Barack Obama is a Soviet secret agent, groomed since birth to destroy the United States from within.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/05/mike-huckabee-janet-porter-soviet-spy
May 10, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Eric Kirk
Where were YOU when they were killing babies?!
May 10, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Mitch
Israeli babies are being killed every day, by Obama and his baby seals. And you people just sit there typing away in Humboldt County. [sob.]
In a sane country, she’d be enough to sink Huckabee. Instead, I worry she’ll be running Health and Human Services in 2014.
May 10, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Eric Kirk
Oh, she has the ear of more than just Huckabee.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bachmann-gingrich-moore-and-dobson-endorse-porters-extreme-heartbeat-bill
May 11, 2011 at 8:04 am
Erasmus
Tra — I was reading “authoritarian” as an adjective, you, as a noun. Sorry for — once again — misinterpreting you.