Coulter's take on U.S. Jews
By Rachel L. Axelbank
The Jewish Advocate
Jewish political and community leaders are reacting to controversial statements that conservative commentator Ann Coulter made on Oct. 8 to Donny Deutsch on his CNBC program "The Big Idea." In describing to Deutsch her vision of an ideal United State of America, Coulter said that all people should be Christian.
Seeking to clarify her point, Coulter stated that Christians are "perfected Jews," adding that such is the message of the New Testament and not something to be considered anti-Semitic.
"That isn't hateful at all," Coulter said.
On Oct. 10, the National Jewish Democratic Council issued a statement calling on all media outlets to stop inviting Coulter to appear as a guest.
"Media outlets desperate for ratings that put Ann Coulter on, knowing that she's going to say something hateful, have to start acting more responsibly," said NJDC Deputy Executive Director and Communications Director Steve Rabin.
"There are many articulate conservative voices that can be a reasonable alternative to her."
Doug Swaffield, Danvers resident and member of the Assemblies of God Church and of Christians and Jews United for Israel, said that Coulter's comments present an opportunity for further dialogue.
"I think the Jewish community should come back not with name-calling or a quick condemnation of her but maybe take the high road and say, 'Ann, what do you really believe? You have your faith; bring it into the secular realm – do you really think someone who isn't a Christian can't be a good citizen of the United States?'" Swaffield said.
"There are bad citizens who are Christians, and there are good citizens who are Jews and every other religion. I think she was throwing around labels, and then she dug in her heels."
Richard Wheeler, a member of the Board of the Republican Jewish Coalition and chairman of the Massachusetts Federation of Young Republicans, said that Coulter's comments should be dismissed as those of "a provocateur and an entertainer who wants to sell books."
"She is not an elected official," Wheeler said. "We should be comfortable enough in our faith and in the strengths of our beliefs and values not to be shocked every time a provocateur makes a provocative statement. Would you yell at a goldfish because it's wet? This is who she is."
Wheeler added that giving too much credit to Coulter's statements may diminish the weightiness of "real instances of anti-Semitism." However, he stipulated, he feels that there is a high incidence of anti-Semitism from the liberal camp, a phenomenon that goes largely unexamined.
"What you're seeing here is American Jews who identify as liberals on the American political spectrum jumping on instances of anti-Semitism from the conservative side," he said, adding that NJDC's request that Coulter not be a media guest should be viewed as censorship.
Alan Ronkin, Deputy Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, said that while Coulter's comments were offensive, they were not cause for alarm.
"My sense is that that's not where most Christians are coming from today," Ronkin said. "The church is evolving and changing the way it behaves and instructs people. You may find people from another generation who believe this, but it strikes me as not being of major concern. We relate to Christians in the here and now, and Christians in the here and now reject that theology."
Coulter's run-in with Deutsch came on the heels of a smaller flurry of media attention over comments made by Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.). In an interview with BeliefNet, McCain stated that "this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... Personally, I prefer [a presidential candidate] who I know who has a solid grounding in my [Christian] faith."
While McCain's statement was in response to a question regarding whether a Muslim candidate would make a good president, Jewish groups still issued criticisms of its implications.
Wheeler said that McCain's wording had invoked the Judeo-Christian background of the country's founders but simply failed to include the term "Judeo."
"It's regrettable that he didn't use the term 'Judeo,' but … if he uses the shorthand version of 'Christian,' we shouldn't be hyper-sensitive," Wheeler said. He added that McCain "has been a long, strong supporter of Israel."
