Sebastian Gorka has issued three different responses to the accusation published in The Forward that he has been a member of Vitez Rend, the pro-Nazi Hungarian organization. The first is silence, refusing to comment to The Forward on its story. The second is a statement issued by the White House: “I’ve been a committed opponent of anti-Semitism, racism and totalitarianism all my life,” the statement said. “Any suggestion otherwise is false and outrageous.” A classic non-denial denial.
But the third was to Liel Liebovitz, and Israeli-American who is a senior editor for The Tablet magazine, an online site dedicated to Jewish culture and politics. With a somewhat eclectic political lean:
Gorka himself told me that the allegations are flat-out false.
“I have never been a member of the Vitez Rend. I have never taken an oath of loyalty to the Vitez Rend. Since childhood, I have occasionally worn my father’s medal and used the ‘v.’ initial to honor his struggle against totalitarianism.” It’s a perfectly plausible explanation, and you’d have to be of a very specific mindset to still pursue allegations of Nazi affiliation.
www.tabletmag.com/…
You can pretty much tell where the author is coming from from his editorial comment after Gorka’s quote. So, according to The Tablet, that ends the matter. Gorka denied it. Case closed. Even though he failed to deny it in two other instances the same day. And even though only sworn members of the group are allowed to use the honorific initial ‘v.’ as an addition to their name, as Gorka has on various official occasions
However, The Forward is not standing down. In today's story, it cites another source for Gorka's membership, and responds to The Tablet's puff piece:
The question is not whether Pintér personally witnessed Gorka’s initiation into the order, but whether he reliably knew of it. As Pintér noted, he knew the family intimately, and talked at length about his respect for the elder Gorka, telling reporter Lili Bayer that Sebastian Gorka did take the oath to the organization.
. . . .
As noted in the story, Pintér’s affirmation of Gorka’s membership was confirmed by a second source, Gyula Soltész, a highly placed national leader of the Vitézi Rend who has access to the group’s membership rolls.
And there is a third source, not cited in the story. In a March 14 email, Imre Fehér, another local Vitézi Rend leader, wrote Bayer, “In his phone conversation with you last night, Kornél Pintér briefed you in detail about vitéz Sebastian Gorka and his late father,” urging her to contact the organization’s leader, if necessary, for further information. [Emphasis added for “vitéz,” which is the honorific the group gives to sworn members of the organization, thus constituting an additional confirmation.]
http://forward.com/news/366322/no-the-sebastian-gorka-story-has-not-unraveled/
Yet, with a couple of exceptions, there has been virtual silence from leading Jewish groups. And other than Congressman Jerry Nadler, little response from Democrats in congress, Jewish or otherwise. As with so much else with this administration, further investigation is required. As is speaking out. Will we get it?
