By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — Anti-Semitism is not just a symptom of the radical left. Anti-Semitism can come from the ultra-right as well. The following story has not received much press in the Jewish community. When anti-Semitism rears its presence—regardless which part of the political spectrum it originated from—as a Jewish community, we must address the issue. Failing to do so is nothing less than moral cowardness.
I will assume that most people living in California probably do not observe the political developments in a state like Ohio.
Perhaps we should.
Josh Mandel is running for the Senate. He has been a good friend of Israel. He is opposed to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act, In 2017, as the Ohio Treasurer, Mandel responded to the BDS Movement with the largest Purchase of Israel Bonds for a state government in American History–61 million dollars![1] This is not the first time Mandel made such a move. In 2014 Ohio bought $47.8 million in Israel bonds: “For the second straight year, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel is making history.” In 2018, Josh Mandel had Ohio invest a record $200 million in Israel bonds [2]
Mandel is running against other candidates, but one fellow named Mark Pukita, publicly criticized Mandel for being “Jewish.” In an interview, Pukita said, “In terms of antisemitism, all I did in an ad was pointed out that Josh is going around saying he’s got the Bible in one hand and the Constitution in the other,” Pukita responded. “But he’s Jewish. Everybody should know that though, right?”[3]
Mandel replied: “I would say some of my strongest and most passionate supporters are Christian activists throughout the state of Ohio,” Mandel told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Thursday. “And I’m so proud of that.” “I think my support from Christian activists really got under the skin of one of my opponents, and he started just blurting out anti-Semitic remarks,” Mandel recalled. “And, you know, he sort of announced at this debate that ‘Josh is a Jew,’ which is no secret, [I] talk about it all the time.” His opponent “insulted all of the Christian activists who were in the audience, and who were watching at home,” said Mandel. “I was shocked,” he said, adding, “I never heard anyone say something like that, let alone in a debate.”[4]
Pukita obviously is not afraid of offending the Jewish community, but as Mandel argued, he is also insulting many fine Christian organizations and individuals who greatly respect Mandel for being a friend of the Christian community. Mandel has often said something I myself have said to our Christian friends:
“In Genesis 12:3, as most Christians know, we read that God will bless those who bless the nation of Israel, and will curse those who curse the nation of Israel,” he said. “And so many of the Christian activists who support me not only understand that in their bones, but they live it, as well.”
Mandel has been a strong advocate of promoting better Jewish and Christian relations, which he says is predicated upon our country’s mutual Judeo-Christian values.
There is another issue I wish to discuss: For some Jews, the affirmation of Judeo-Christian values rubs them the wrong way.
Now it is true, our country is rapidly becoming a polyglot of religious peoples and traditions, which include Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Shinto, and Native American religions, to mention a few.
However, when Jews like Mandel stress the Judeo-Christian values, he refers to our country’s foundational history. We will mention only a few examples. For instance:
The Declaration of Independence teaches that “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” By saying so, the founding fathers affirmed a vital principle that is one of the centerpieces of both Judaism and Christianity, namely, our civil rights and liberties do not derive from the all-mighty Government, as some moderns love to believe. Rather our liberties and rights derive from the belief that God created every human being in the Divine image.
The concept of Manifest Destiny, the belief that the United States has a vision of democracy to share with the world, also links Jews and Christians together. However, I would add that the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown that not every country is willing to accept these democratic ideals. Neither will totalitarian dictatorships such as Russia, Iran, and China, since democratic freedoms threaten their grip on their societies.
Judaism and Christianity assert that the greatest evil that we face in the world does not derive from climate change, critical race theory, or a host of other social evils, but the real evil derives from the inability of people to act in accordance with their highest moral principles. The flash-mob looting and the violence we are seeing in the streets of the country show that we have yet to address the destructive choices people are capable of making. Nor is race the cause of all the evils in our world. Israel Zangwill, a famous Jewish scholar and Broadway playwright, wrote a play called, The Melting Pot, about how our country assimilates the religious traditions of all its people. I prefer “The Great Salad Bowl,” but I doubt anyone would have come to watch Zangwill’s “Great Salad Bowl” play at the beginning of the 20th century! But his “melting pot,” has remained one of the definitive metaphors about living in the United States to this day.
Indeed, there is much to like about the Mandel campaign–a proven friend of the Jewish community. I believe this young man will prove to be a great friend to Israel and to Christians alike. We must hold people like Putika and make sure he receives bopkas from the Christian and Jewish communities.
I wonder: Where is the Jewish outrage about Pukita’s foolish and dangerous remark? Why aren’t rabbis addressing this from the pulpit? Where is the ADL and Federation? Have we become like Rip van Winkle, sleeping our lives away?
It is time to wake up.
Jews pride themselves on being champions for every ethnic group in the United States, and yet, when it comes to combatting the oldest hatred and xenophobic attitude toward the Jew, too many of us today prefer to look the other way. Hillel said it best “If I am not for myself, who will be for me; and if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?” Jewish survival demands that we make our survival as a people a first priority: Jewish survival must rank higher than other concerns, for if we fail to defend our people in the face of antisemitism—there will be no more Jews around in the future generations to champion any peoples’ cause. Hillel says we must strive for balance but standing up for ourselves ought not to be less important than standing up for anyone else.
NOTES
[1] https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/treasurer-josh-mandel-responds-to-bds-movement-with-largest-purchase-of-israel-bonds-in-american/pdf_6ffd34a6-1875-11e7-b347-c7d4639f654a.html
[2] https://www.jns.org/ohio-reaches-record-200-million-in-israel-bonds/
[3] https://theohiostar.com/2021/12/17/ohio-gop-senate-hopeful-josh-mandel-on-primary-foe-criticizing-him-for-being-jewish-i-was-shocked/
[4] Ibid.
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Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, California. He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com