On the same day that the Polish foreign minister called
Obama ignorant and incompetent for referring to a "Polish death camp"
during a ceremony intended to honor a Polish war hero, the POTUS
substantiated the accusations as he declared
before an audience of Conservative Jews that he "probably knows about
Judaism more than any other president, because he read about it."
The man who apparently believes he is "The First Jewish President"
has revealed yet another persona meant to wow a particular
demographic. But by adding one more element to the amalgamation of the
composite individual running the country, who evolves faster than
Charles Darwin could say "natural selection," Obama is proving that he
actually knows less about everything other than race-baiting and class
warfare than any other president, because he learned about those things.
Obama's latest narcissistic assertion is not surprising from the man who bills
himself as one of the top four presidents in the history of the
country. But the most knowledgeable about Judaism? On what does Obama
base such an absurd statement? And what has he been reading that has
led him to make such a ludicrous pronouncement? We can certainly rest
assured that his days spent in the pews of Trinity Church[i] did not involve studying the Old Testament. As Bill Kristol states:
His vanity boggles the mind. One could begin by citing Adams and Madison, who knew Hebrew, or Harry Truman, who knew Jewish history ... but it's silly to dignify this claim with a rebuttal. In thinking about the presidents since Truman, though, I'd guess the president who knew the most about Judaism was Jimmy Carter, who taught Sunday school and had a deep interest in religion. So let's stipulate that of the modern presidents, Carter and Obama "know" the most about Judaism. But what is it they know? In Obama's case, one could ask whether what he "knows" is what he learned from Rashid Khalidi and Jeremiah Wright.
So let's move on to the fact that every president until the modern era knew more about Judaism than Barack Obama because the Bible was the one book every literate person knew, and the Bible includes the books Christians call the "Old Testament," and a working knowledge of the Old Testament certainly is the best introduction to "Judaism" there is.
Obama
apparently forgot how ridiculous he sounded when he stated that "nobody
has spoken out more fiercely on the issue of anti-Semitism than I
have." Jake Tapper pointed out at the time:
Really?No one?Elie Wiesel? Simon Wiesenthal? Alan Dershowitz?No One?Wow.
But all of this is coming from the man who proclaimed,
"We are partners with God in matters of life and death." In that one
arrogant and hubristic statement, Obama proved he knows absolutely
nothing about Judaism, for while it may be that Islamic jihadists
believe themselves to be partners with Allah in matters of death,
individuals living under the teachings of Judeo-Christian beliefs and
values know better than to declare themselves partners with the Almighty
in anything. Perhaps Obama would have more press conferences if he
could force the press corps to begin each meeting worshiping his
holiness with "Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe";
however, even Chris Matthews would likely give up his tingle before
reciting such nonsense.
There
are additional indications that Obama knows very little about Judaism.
Obama's gaffe earlier this week in which he called a Nazi concentration
camp a "Polish death camp" certainly indicates a lack of understanding
of history. And let us not forget that while running for office, Obama
made the grandiose claim
that he had an uncle who was part of the first American troops to
liberate Auschwitz. The RNC quickly pointed out that unless Obama's
uncle served in the Red Army, his story was a fabrication. Obama's
spin-meisters quickly offered up the excuse that it was a minor mistake
and his uncle had been at the liberation of Buchenwald -- the
historian-in-chief should have known the difference.
One
of Obama's most egregious misstatements was made in his infamous Cairo
speech, when he used the Holocaust as the justification for Israel's
existence while ignoring the Jewish people's biblical, historical, and
legal connections to the Land of Canaan. And more recently, Obama graciously
squeezed into his busy schedule a Hannukah party -- two weeks early --
and lit all of the candles on the Menorah, exclaiming that "we never
need an excuse for a good party."
But
even granting Obama his claims of brilliance, the label is
meaningless. Plenty of Israel-bashers are knowledgeable about Judaism.
Noam Chomsky, M.J. Rosenberg, and Peter Beinart could qualify as such
but would never be called Israel's friends. Obama made up a ridiculous
proclamation of self-interest while hoping the public would ignore his
record that speaks volumes about the fact that he is in fact the least
friendly POTUS to Israel since its founding.
While
proclaiming his Jewish bona fides, Obama personality 15 did not stop
there. The man who doth protest too much not only whined that John
Boehner and Mitch McConnell are not asked about their support for
Israel, but went on to explain that many of his friends in Chicago are
Jewish. This statement served to prove Obama's childish bona fides
while at the same time using the lamest excuse in the book to deny that
he is not a friend to Israel.
Even
Obama, in infusing himself into the Trayvon Martin debacle, seemed to
denounce the claim that George Zimmerman could not have been racially
motivated since Zimmerman had black friends. In an article
entitled "Trayvon Martin: The Problem with the 'Some of My Best Friends
Are Black' Defense," Nowile M. Rooks wrote, "Research on racial
perception proves that even the most diverse group of friends doesn't
make one immune to race-based prejudice." Our brilliant president must
have been hanging with the Choom Gang on the day that lesson was taught
at Columbia.
And
as long as Obama wants to discuss his friends, let us take a look at
the individuals whom we know he surrounded himself with during his days
in Chicago. There is of course Reverend Jeremiah "God damn America and
Israel" Wright, who was Obama's spiritual advisor, mentor, and close
family friend [ii].
Obama friends and domestic terrorists Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers
are now supporters of the Free Gaza Movement, call Israel an apartheid
state, and support the BDS movement. Then there is Palestinian [iii]
Rashid Khalidi, of whom Obama spoke so warmly at Khalidi's going away
party several years ago and with whom he and Michelle shared quiet
dinners that he stated served as "consistent reminders to me of my own
blind spots."
In
addition to Obama's anti-Semitic friends of whom we know, he also had
friends in Chicago about whom we are still learning. In "The Chicago
Way," John Fund discusses
Obama's close relationship with "gatekeeper and spokesman for Obama's
inner circle" Eric Whitaker, convicted felon Tony Rezko, intimate
advisor Valerie Jarrett, and others. Interestingly, not one of Obama's
friends whom we know as a friend or confidant is Jewish. The people in
Obama's life who are Jewish serve as his useful idiots. Rahm "Dead
Fish" Emanuel gave him cover and bragging rights, while Penny Pritzker
is a campaign bundler hosting fundraisers for the billion-dollar man.
And
while we know the president enjoys "a good party," the real question is
whether he enjoys sharing them with Jewish people when they do not
involve raising money for his campaign. In a New York Times report
on the history of "the Obama Seder," candidate Obama joined several
staff members in a small gathering during the Passover holiday that fell
during the campaign [iv].
Obama invited several African-American friends who "peppered the
outnumbered Jews at the table with questions...'We're not exactly crack
Hebrew scholars,'" responded one of the Obama staffers. Apparently, the
man who claims to know more about Judaism than the 43 U.S. presidents
who preceded him was also incapable of responding to any of the
questions relating to the Passover story. But the article does share
with us that Obama took it upon himself to revise the Haggadah ending
the Seder with "Next year in the White House!"
What we also learn from the Times story
is that the Seder is now a WH tradition, and "[n]o one considered
inviting prominent rabbis or other Jewish leaders; it is a private
event." We also learn that "as in many Jewish households, the Obama
Seder seems to take on new meaning each year, depending on what is
happening in the world and in participants' lives." Wrong. The meaning
of the Jewish holiday has not changed in thousands of years.
The
man who claimed to "serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly
different political stripes project their own views" is nothing of the
sort. He is more like Sybil,
intentionally morphing into a different persona when he determines it
politically expedient. He is certainly not knowledgeable about Judaism,
he is not an honest man, and he has spent his life in the midst of some
very bad people. Obama's personality will be vetted this time around
whether he likes it or not. And grandiose statements made in the
shadows of Greek columns will prove to be incapable of supporting his
faux image and multiple personalities, just as the European Union has
proven incapable of supporting the faltering Greek economy.
While
the rest of the country is waking up to the fact that the smartest man
to catapult to the highest office in the land may not actually be as
brilliant as his handlers would have us believe, Obama has yet to take
off his rose-colored glasses when he views himself in the mirror.
(Many thanks to Ed Lasky for his contributions to this article.)
[i] Obama did not seem to have a problem with Trinity Church's magazine carrying op-eds by Hamas leaders accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and whose charter calls for the killing of Jews wherever they may live.
[ii] This is the same Jeremiah Wright who gave an award to Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, who called Judaism a gutter religion, praised Hitler, and most recently promised that Allah will bring death unless the U.S. submits.
[iii] Recall that Obama stated that no one is "suffering more than the Palestinian people."
[iv] That may have occurred at about the time that West Bank Palestinians began making international get-out-the vote phone calls to U.S. residents.
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