Jeff Toobin & Geraldo Rivera Show Their Liberal Bias! Ted Cruz Not Even Close to Being Anti-Semitic

Jeffdunetz | April 8, 2016
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As reported at NewsBusters , CNN's Jeffrey Toobin tried to label Ted Cruz's "NY values” comment as a '“derogatory term” about Jews which amounted to nothing more than an “old-fashioned” “anti-Semitic trope” from "a hundred years" ago.  So did Geraldo Rivera, in a statement about Cruz's NY values claim made the same night:

“Aside from the stinking, anti-Semitic implications that I see in that whole New York values money and media coded message that he put out there.” 

Rivera and Toobin are not only wrong, but should be ashamed of themselves for using a fake charge of anti-Semitism as a political tool.

Compounding the issue is the fact that each of the commentators claims to be Jewish; they should know that their faith prohibits these kind of false choices. Toobin is Jewish and, as a Jew, he should know better.

Out of the five candidates still running in either of the major parties, Ted Cruz is arguably the most supportive of Jews and Jewish issues. From the moment he arrived in the Senate, Cruz battled the president's anti-Israel policies and, unlike Democratic Party supporters of Israel, Cruz battled Obama loudly and very publicly.

To the Texas senator (as with most Evangelical Christians), supporting Jews is not a matter of politics, it's a matter of faith which is taught in religious schools from the time they are very young.

 
In September 2014, Ted Cruz delivered a keynote address to "In Defense of Christians," an advocacy group aiming to bring attention to the plight of ancient Christian communities in the Middle East, and to protect the rights of other religious minority groups in the region.

As you can see by the video at the bottom of this post, Cruz began his remarks by discussing group's defense of Christians, Jews, and “people of good faith who are standing together against those who would persecute and murder those who dare to disagree with their religious teachings.” Those initial paragraphs were applauded.

But, an uneasy quiet took over the crowd when Cruz began to speak of Muslim terrorist groups because the senator not only spoke of ISIS and Al Qaeda, but also added that "Hezbollah, Hamas, and their state sponsors like Syria and Iran are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East."

“Sometimes we are told not to lump these groups together, but we have to understand their so-called nuances and differences. . . . In 1948 Jews throughout the Middle East faced murder and extermination and fled to the nation of Israel. And today Christians have no better ally than the Jewish state.”

That's when the boos broke out, as the Texan said:

"Let me say this: those who hate Israel hate America. And those who hate Jews hate Christians. If those in this room will not recognize that, then my heart weeps that the men and women here will not stand in solidarity with Jews and Christians alike who are persecuted by radicals who seek to murder them.”

The IDC’s president tried to calm the crowd, but it didn't help. He spoke to the crowd and said, “I am saddened to see some here, not everyone, but some here are so consumed with hate.” Someone in the audience shouted, “We are not consumed with hate, no, you are consumed with hate."

With that, Cruz had had enough. “If you will not stand with Israel and Jews" he said, "then I will not stand with you. Thank you and God bless you." And he left.

I wonder if Toobin or Rivera can name any other "anti-Semites" who who would support Jews and Israel to a hostile audience, or would fight the president on Jewish issues even when the Jewish members of Congress (Democrats) were silent.

During the hearings to confirm Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, Ted Cruz eviscerated Chuck Hagel for his statements on Al Jazeera claiming that Israel committed war crimes.

Peter Roff discussed the false charge of anti-Semitism leveled against Cruz in a  US News and World Report column when it was first raised in January:

What he [Trump] does have is a liberal agenda, one that embraces abortion on demand, the abolition of gun rights, higher taxes, contempt for the cops, controls on what people eat and drink, and the dumbing down of the city's children in failing public school, just to name a few of the things on his list. These are the kinds of things Cruz meant when he referred to "New York values," values that are just too liberal for most of the nation to swallow.

While it may not be clear that assessment is accurately applied to Trump – the jury is still out in many respects – it is absolutely clear that Cruz was not speaking of Jews, Judaism or anything else having to do with the oldest of the Abrahamic religions. He was talking about liberals and liberalism of the kind that never, ever plays in Peoria.

(...) But back to Cruz and the suggestion now being made in the darker corners of the Internet that he's somehow a closet anti-Semite; balderdash. It was a poorly chosen phrase but not a racist code word. Those who suggest otherwise are throwing something against the wall, hoping it sticks.

If Ted Cruz is an anti-Semite, why did he hire Jews as his closest advisers? His Chief-of-Staff  Paul Teller is a Jewish boy from Long Island, like me, and his Deputy Chief-of-Staff  Nick Muzin, is an Orthodox Jew and a graduate of Yeshiva University.
 
 
In March 2015,  IJ Review  published a photo-essay of Senator Cruz’s office. They pointed out the Gadsden Flag in the picture below - however, more interesting (at least in judging Senator Cruz’s attitude toward Jews) is the traditional seven-candle Jewish menorah.

Anyone who is objective should be able to say with confidence that Ted Cruz is not now, nor has he ever been, an anti-Semite.

And, as for Toobin and Rivera, they should sit down with their Rabbis to learn the concept of lashen hara (evil speech). The Jewish faith recognizes lashen hara as a sin that has caused numerous tragedies for the Jewish people, and indeed the world, since the very beginning of history.

At the very least, both Toobin and Rivera should apologize for their false statement.

The video below shows Senator Cruz's appearance at the "In Defense of Christians," conference.

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