ADL slams Limbaugh [UPDATED]
Rush Limbaugh has some folks protest with his comments Wendesday about Jews, bankers and Obama. Here's the partial transcript, from Media Matters:
LIMBAUGH: Scott Brown had a lot of success with independents, and that's -- that's what Jewish liberals like to call themselves when they're asked. They call themselves independents before they'll refer to themselves as -- as liberals. So if Jewish people who voted 78 percent for Obama -- which is far higher than any other group except African-Americans -- if Jewish people gave Obama 78 percent of their vote, what if they're experiencing buyer's remorse like all these people in Massachusetts did? Do you realize how important this could be? I don't think there's buyer's remorse yet in the black community -- that's still pretty strong.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: To some people, "banker" is code word for Jewish; and guess who Obama is assaulting? He's assaulting bankers. He's assaulting money people. And a lot of those people on Wall Street are Jewish. So I wonder if there's -- if there's starting to be some buyer's remorse there?
[UPDATE: It turns out that Media Matters initally failed to note that Limbaugh said it was "people who have prejudice" who equated Jews and bankers.]
Is Limbaugh perpetuating an anti-Jewish stereotype, defending Jews from Obama or both?
The ADL's Abe Foxman has issued a condemnation:
Rush Limbaugh reached a new low with his borderline anti-Semitic comments about Jews as bankers, their supposed influence on Wall Street, and how they vote.
Limbaugh’s references to Jews and money in a discussion of Massachusetts politics were offensive and inappropriate. While the age-old stereotype about Jews and money has a long and sordid history, it also remains one of the main pillars of anti-Semitism and is widely accepted by many Americans. His notion that Jews vote based on their religion, rather than on their interests as Americans, plays into the hands of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists.
When he comes to understand why his words were so offensive and unacceptable, Limbaugh should apologize.
UPDATE II: Rush defends himself. And Norman Podhoretz backs him up also.
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Mr. Limbaugh has posted a reply to the statement by Mr. Foxman of the ADL. It can be seen at
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_012210/content/01125108.guest.html
There have also been responses from Norman Podhoretz (of Commentary Magazine fame) and by Michael Ledeen in National Review Online.
Some might think that JTA.ORG would have a responsibility to present balanced reporting to its readers, and would have asked Mr. Limbaugh for a response to Mr. Foxman’s statement, and would have included such a response with the original article. Alternatively, perhaps they have a responsibility to update the article now that (they know) there is a response. Do the people who run JTA.ORG not agree?
Podhoretz lacks credibility: shetiqa kahoda’h (silence is concurrence) - notice his deafening silence on the issue of the tax fraud and sexual abuse scandals of Orthodox Jewry, no doubt due to the fact that they vote Republican and are conservatives. This gives a new meaning to the phrase “going Poddy.”
Secondly, Limbaugh’s thinking- if you choose to call his irritable mental gestures that- on this and most other issues is as sterile as his loins.*
*It is obvious from his rhetoric that El Rushbo has serious manhood issues, further confirmed by the notorious Viagra prescription incident. More to the point, his actual name is Rush Hudson Limbaugh III. Given his gargantuan ego and supposed “family values” orientation, should he not be interested in siring a Rush Limbaugh IV (and even V and VI, a la the boxer George Foreman) and perpetuate the dynasty? Why hasn’t he? After all, with all his money, he does not even have to raise any child himself - he can hire a gaggle of nannies to do it !
Also: his ex-wives must have received an enormous alimony settlement, since none have come out with a tell-all book about their life with Rush. What dirty laundry have they been paid to cover up? His anti-Semitism, perhaps?
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Bill Pearlman
01/23/10 03:25 PM
Jews don’t vote on religion, otherwise none of them would have voted for Obama. Nor do they vote on the best interests of America or themselves. Again, if that was the case none would have voted for Obama. Jews vote for liberals. Rush Limbaugh is a very pro-israel guy who doesn’t deserve grief from the ADL. Which in any case should close up shop and turn their budget over to Jewish day schools