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Time for a Christian & Jewish Tea Party?

Last week, Charles Jacobs wrote a timely article, titled "Time for a Jewish Tea Party?"  (The Jewish Advocate, 2/25/10). Jacobs lamented: "Since 2004, the problem for Jews on campus has only worsened. The alliance between the [pro-Palestinian] left and the Muslim students has gelled, while the Jews are divided and with weak leadership... [And] as mosques, funded by Saudi Arabia, and controlled by radical Muslim organizations, expand across America - unopposed - Jewish leaders fail to respond." He suggested it is time for the concerned Jews in America to start a Tea Party movement to awaken the Jewish community at large to the rising threat of radical Islam.

May I ask: Is it time for a Christian "Tea Party", as well? Has the Christian community been awakened? Have our Christian leaders in America adequately informed their congregants about the subversive radical Islamic movements taking root inside America, where they aim to tear down our Judeo-Christian way of life?

(If you are not yet convinced of the rising threats of radical Islamic groups to our faith and freedom inside America, viewing the following video and the transcript of Sean Hannity's Fox News interview should help you see that it is real.)

Video: Hannity on Home-Grown Jihad's Training Camps  and

Transcript: Frightening Film on U.S. Terrorism Training Camps

Church pastors are rightfully focused on the eternal destinies of our souls, for one day our physical bodies must all be laid to rest - from dust we came, and to dust we shall return [Genesis 3:19].  Also, our pastors are certainly busy guiding the congregants to overcome their personal challenges, such as broken relationships, financial problems, and the enslavement and consequences of their sinful acts.

But, in focusing so much on addressing everyone's personal life challenges, many pastors in America have failed to lead their flock to see this bigger picture outside the four walls of their church communities, and to stand up to protect our faith and freedom in America.

In light of the radical Islamic movements in and outside of America (where they have declared war against our Judeo-Christian way of life), it would be well to remember the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller who spoke these words in Nazi Germany:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Where are today's Isaiah, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist, who were not afraid to speak out for their faith in the God of Israel?

This week, Israeli Apartheid Week started on campuses around the world. This follows the disruption of a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California-Irvine on February 8th. (See a video: Uncivilized Tactics at UC Irvine).

These disruptive acts to silence our voices are becoming increasingly loud and forceful. Should the church remain silent?

America still enjoys the greatest freedom of faith and liberty among all the nations of the world. Yet, our faith is undoubtedly under attack.  We must not remain silent, for "faith without works is  dead."

Rev. Fumio Taku
President
Christians and Jews United for Israel

Time for a Jewish Tea Party?
By Charles Jacobs
The Jewish Advocate

February 25, 2010 

On Feb. 8, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) disrupted a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California-Irvine. It was done cleverly. A Muslim student from the audience stood up and began shouting during Oren's talk. After he was removed from the hall and the talk resumed, another Muslim student stood up and began to shout. This happened about a dozen times. Oren courageously and with eloquence finished his talk.

Though the Irvine disruption was not nearly as impressive as the 2002 Muslim victory in Montreal when students violently prevented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from speaking at Concordia University, the California incident demonstrates the growing strength of the MSA; it also is a marker of Jewish political decline on American campuses.

For years, the Irvine campus has witnessed publicly funded anti-Israel and anti-Semitic speakers and programs; and, for years, the established Jewish community has failed to respond effectively. At Irvine, where Jews are sometimes frightened to openly identify themselves, only the stalwart Zionist Organization of America and the valiant grass-roots group Stand With Us have consistently challenged the university to fulfill its responsibility and protect the students and free speech. Hillel, the national Jewish campus organization, created in times of peace to ensure that Jewish boys meet Jewish girls, staffed with warm-fuzzy Kumbaya-niks, remains in denial - or worse.

Across the country, university administrations are notoriously weak actors. While the left and Muslim groups - supported by radical faculty - push hard, the Jewish establishment tries to sweet-talk, and the Jews lose. In 2004, when the David Project produced a film documenting the intimidation and harassment of pro-Israel students by Arab professors at Columbia University ("Columbia Unbecoming"), many Jews on Columbia's faculty were upset - not at the egregious actions of Muslim or Arab professors, but at the David Project for raising the issue. The New York Jewish establishment tried to minimize the conflict and marginalize the problem. They "made nice" with the administration behind closed doors, showing themselves to be the good, reasonable Jews. (We nicknamed the film, "The Marranos of Morningside Heights.")

Since 2004, the problem for Jews on campus has only worsened. The alliance between the left and the Muslim students has gelled, while the Jews are divided and with weak leadership. And increasingly, especially in California, it is the radical Muslim students who are vigorously taking the lead against Israel and Jews.

This campus phenomenon - the growth of the Muslim factor, the Jewiish establishment's reluctance to respond forcefully to threats and the failure of public officials to protect Jews against Muslim threats - now mirrors the situation developing for Jews off campus: As mosques, funded by Saudi Arabia, and controlled by radical Muslim organizations, expand across America - unopposed - Jewish leaders fail to respond. Here too, "making nice" - through "dialogues" and outreach programs such as "twinning" synagogues and Islamic centers - is the Jewish establishment's primary response. And even when, as in Boston and Buffalo, such naïveté backfires, and Jews find instead of sincere and peaceful partners to shake hands with that they have been hoodwinked by Islamist anti-Semites, Jewish leaders remain silent.

Meanwhile, in contrast to the Jewish community, a significant portion of America is in rebellion against - and is in the process of challenging - its political establishment. Grass-roots frustration expressed first in raucous "town hall" meetings and now in the Tea Party movement defeated incumbent Democrats and influenced elected officials not to run for re-election. Americans are angry with both parties. Why? Former CIA official Herbert Meyer notes that Americans were shocked by "two catastrophes we hadn't imagined our political establishment would allow to happen." First there was 9-11, "when we discovered that for years, Al Qaeda and its allies had been waging holy war against us," and our leaders - who knew - did not tell us. The second was "the 2008 financial crash, which revealed that our economy is a house of cards built on a pile of debt so high we cannot possibly repay it."

Changing America's Jewish leadership is more difficult: Jewish political leaders are not democratically elected - or replaced. As with royalty, we may get lucky from time to time with an outstanding leader. But our "leaders" are mostly selected and controlled by well-intentioned philanthropists. Many of these donors are politically liberal, and even those who are not are inherently conflict-averse and comfortable with the status quo.

Meanwhile, as we wait and pray for more effective leadership, we need to introduce the concept of "accountability" for our sclerotic Jewish leaders - perhaps by lighting grass-roots fires under them. What about a town hall meeting?

Charles Jacobs is President of Americans for Peace and Tolerance

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February 15, 2010