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Coulter wrong on Jews
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I’m not going to spend this little space describing how I feel about Ann Coulter. You wouldn’t be able to print most of it. My goal is merely to point out where Ms. Coulter and UW freshman Heidi Voss ("Ann Coulter: A great American," Oct. 17) have been factually incorrect in their statements over the past week.
First, Ms. Coulter’s belief that Christians view themselves as perfected Jews is simply historically illogical. Very few Christians came from Jews. The vast majority of Christians were converted from other groups, which are collectively known, for the most part, as “barbarians.” Ms. Coulter’s and Ms. Voss’ ancestors were never Jewish. So whatever logic makes Christians “perfected Jews” is beyond me.
Second, Ms. Coulter’s statement that the United States would be better off if Jews converted to Christianity: Even excluding the Holocaust, this shows extreme historical ignorance. Jews have a 2,000-year history of people either trying to kill us because we’re Jewish (the pogroms) or trying to convert us (the Spanish Inquisition). So when someone says that the U.S. would be better off if we were no longer Jewish, we don’t think of it as a courageous political statement. It’s more along the lines of hate speech. Ms. Coulter’s statement that Christians tolerate Jews but the U.S. would be better off if we all converted to Christianity is not that different from saying that you respect blacks, Asians and Latinos, but think the U.S. would be better off if they moved back to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Third, Ms. Voss’ beliefs that Jews wish Christians were Jews is just wrong. It is difficult to convert to Judaism. You have to take months, if not years, of lessons.
If you aren’t circumcised and are male, you need to be. We don’t encourage conversion in any form, except in the case of a Jew marrying a Christian. Honestly, we don’t care what Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or anyone else does. We just don’t want you to try to convert us by consistently telling us why we’re wrong. We don’t need to be saved; we’re doing just fine, thanks. And we wouldn’t mind if we didn’t have to hear about Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.
Jews are particularly concerned when people make statements like Ms. Coulter made, even if they are made through stupidity or ignorance instead of malice.
We know a bit too well what stupidity and ignorance can lead to.
Noah Eisner
UW alumnus, 2004, history
neisner@law.uiuc.edu
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excellent response. well crafted.
Finally, something intelligent in the pages of the Herald. Well done Mr. Eisner.
This issue is just another example showing that religious memes are the most dangerous ideas extant.
At least most christians no longer support the pogroms and the Spanish Inquisition is seldom expected.
Moslems need to chill.
Congratulations Ann Coulter. You got exactly what you wanted out of your statement. A week’s worth of people talking about you. No publicity is bad publicity indeed.
I used to be Catholic. I came from a virulently anti-Jewish family and never understood the hostility toward Jews that my parents exhibited. That was more than ten years ago.
After studying Judaism and meeting Jews, I finally got to know what it’s really all about. To this day it just blows my mind to think that people could still be so ignorant. That there are still people who think that Jews are a separate race. That Christianized versions of the Old Testament and the New Testament were purposely rewritten to reflect the hatred of Jews that has lasted for 2000 years.
I guess for some people, ignorance is a whole lot easier than learning.
The thing I don’t get about Ann Coulter is why people care about what she says when she is not in any position of power. She is not in congress, she’s not running for president, and she does not hold a government position on the local, state, or national level. She has no way to change policy, so why should we care about her? I think at some point, she’ll reveal herself as a performance artist who devoted her life to satirizing conservatives.
I believe in the Greek Pantheon of Gods, so once I find a goat to sacrifice, all you monotheist heathens will be screwed. Try turning the other cheek after getting hit by a lightning bolt.
Mr. Eisner, can you explain whether “Jew” is a religion or a race?
-Hall of famer, Rod Carew
In response to 12:04, it’s kind of both… although our status as a “race” was kind of foisted upon us unwillingly by the Nazis in WW2. When the Nazis didn’t care if people practiced anymore but instead wanted to eradicate the Jewish gene pool, it forced us to look at what being Jewish meant differently.
I prefer to think of it as a nationality more than a race, but even that is over simplified. It’s really two nationalities: Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews had very different experiences for most of the last 1800 to 2000 years. And of course there are splits within those sections. Ashkenazi Jews who stayed in western Europe and those that went to eastern Europe, for example, had very different histories for a several hundred year span.
And as for ignoring Ann Coulter, I wish I could and she would just go away. Unfortunately, sometimes when you decide to ignore bigots instead of standing up against them, things turn bad. Ann Coulter may make another couple million dollars off this publicity. I’d rather have her do that and have more people think she’s full of crap than her make no money and have more people think she has a good point.
-Noah
“I prefer to think of it as a nationality more than a race…”
Aren’t you then turning your back on your people/nationality by not living in and populating Israel?
If Israel was re-established as pay-back for the atrocities of WWII, then isn’t it an insult to those of the holocaust that you are living anywhere but Israel? Isn’t it an insult to YHWH that you choose not to live in the land of David and Moses?
Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax. You’re goddamn right I’m living in the fucking past!
-Walter Sobchack
Noah, Just to further strengthen your point — Jews were not only converted, but tortured and burned at the stake (so they could feel what hell felt like, according to the Christians), then ultimately expelled from Spain in 1492 during the Inquisition.
2:53, that’s interesting, but there were many other groups who were just as persecuted. The highway of history is scattered with the atrocities of the past.
It seems like WWII made everyone in the Western world, all of the sudden, warm and fuzzy about treating people compassionately. Now we’re shocked that the Middle East doesn’t share the same warm feeling toward humanity that we do.
Look at history, it truly is the survival of the fittest.
2:14 at this point Israel wants as many of us who can make lots of money in the US to stay here as possible. We can just make a lot more money here, and at the moment our money is more important than the additional population. Of course, however, we are always welcome to move there, but it isn’t a massive policy initiative on Israel’s part.
israel wasn’t established as a pay back for wwii atrocities.
I am a little upset that Heidi Voss didn’t comment to what Noah wrote…
Regarding Ann Coulter’s comments about Jews and all-the anti-Zionists in the world: There can not be a Jewish State of Israel without Jews. There won’t be Jews without the Jewish State of Israel. If Jewish State of Israel disappears, then I believe the United States will also disappear.