Ken Berwitz
Obama\’s Chanukah parties have had issues in the past. Butthis time it teetered over into full-blown violently offensive territory.Obama\’s own remarks were boilerplate inoffensive stuff. Israel\’s PresidentRivlin, a political hack who desperately sucks up to the media, was equallyinsipid.
But the White Housechose Susan Talve to light the Menorah. Talve is a member of the anti-Israelgroup T\’ruah which is currently promoting assorted “soft BDS”programs. She\’s also a Ferguson activist. Her behavior was deeply insulting tothe religious Jewish community and made it clear that the White House wasdetermined to hijack even a Chanukah party to promote an anti-Jewish agenda.
So the generalconviviality of the Chanukah party was disrupted by a crazed rant from SusanTalve in which she seemed determined to jam as many leftist talking points aspossible in her limited time. Instead of talking about Chanukah, Talveblathered on about getting, “guns off our streets” and to “cleanup the fires of toxic nuclear waste”.
Talve screeched,”I stand here with my fierce family of clergy and black lives matteractivists who took to the streets of Ferguson”.
Having celebratedthe race riots which destroyed a community, she pivoted to Syrian Muslimmigrants. Chanukah is a celebration of the Maccabees defeating a Syrianoccupation, but Talve may not even know that. Radical clergy tend to belight on the religion and heavy on the social justice.
Instead she rambled on about how the “gates of this nation would stay openfor all immigrants and all refugees”.
Then, not satisfiedwith having made a disgrace of the Chanukah ceremony, Susan Talve declared,”I stand here to light these lights to say no the darkness of Islamophobiaand Homophobia and Transphobia.”
Talve babbled aboutinsuring “justice for Palestinians” and began gleefully chanting,”Ins\’Allah, Ins\’Allah”. Or “Allah Willing”.
I don\’t recall SusanTalve mentioning G-d or a word of Jewish scripture. Indeed she spent more timetalking about Muslims than about anything in Judaism. And yet that\’s typicalfor Social justice clergy who have no organic ties to Judaism.
It\’s bad enough thatObama insists on pursuing anti-Israel policies, but the Susan Talve appearancewas just gratuitously insulting to the Jewish community.
