Last night, speaking before "Pastor" Hagee and 5,000 members of Citizens United for Israel (CUFI), Glenn Beck rattled off so many offensive, unbelievable statements, I'm not sure where to begin.
For those not aware, CUFI is an organization composed of non-Jews that represents a component of the conservative, religious wing of the "pro-Israel" lobby in America.
His keynote speech last night was intended to be a rallying cry for continued, unconditional support of Israel. What it turned into was a wildly disturbing mishmash of illogical, hateful and false statements, all of which were met with applause.
This is the domestic crowd President Obama must contend with as he continues to invest in efforts aimed at bringing the Palestinians and Israelis back to the bargaining table...
My intention in writing this diary was to present, in a logical fashion, some of the statements Beck made, and demonstrate how each one informs the CUFI lobby in America, which is large, growing by the day, and incredibly influential with regard to how Republican (and some Democratic) members of Congress approach Israel and the Palestinians.
But there is no logic to be found, so f*ck it, I'll just present some statements and annotate them in my own way.
Statement 1
First, the humorous: Beck likened life to "Angry Birds. You don't get to the next level until you get it right."
Okay, have you seen "Angry Birds Peace Treaty," produced by Israel's most-watched comedy show, "A Wonderful Country?" Wait, you haven't? Enjoy, for you'll need the (NSFW!) entertainment before what's to come:
Statement 2
"As crazy, out of control and dangerous as all of you are [speaking of CUFI's characterization in the media], I don't see any of you willing to strap on a suicide vest on you or your children."
This one, a blanket attempt to cast all Palestinians as terrorists, thus delegitimizing their humanity as well as their right to have a state of their own, came after a long soliloquy on the history of Jewish persecution.
Yes, it's ugly. Yes, it's racist. Yes, it's a cheap way to cast Jewish Israelis as "good" and Palestinians as "evil." But if you were afraid that Beck was disavowing violence or armed resistance, don't worry.
Statement 3
Beck called for a "God fearing, vigilant armed society," then said, while choking up and crying, "I am trying to teach my children courage...I and my family will stand against anyone trying to erase liquidate or round up any group of people."
I guess the take-away is this: if the U.S. government tries to hunt Jews down in America, he'll rise up and take arms to protect me, but will draw the line at suicide vests.
Comforting.
Statement 4
"Count me a Jew and come for me first...Show me the Jews -- I'm one."
Actually, no. You're not. And anyway, someone needs to tell Beck there's a conversion process. And it's rather involved. It includes male circumcision. Wince. And the passing of tests.
We don't make it easy, us Jews.
While Beck seemed to want to be included amongst my minority group, he made pretty clear that there's another minority population in America with which he didn't want to be associated.
Statement 5
After a man shouted, "We love you Glenn Beck!" to cheers, Beck responded, "That's somewhat disturbing coming from a man, but I mean, look at me, I'll take it."
Yes. Look at you.
Author's Note: as I stated in a comment, I'm casting light upon this because Beck has become the adopted mouthpiece for a growing, influential lobby in the United States.
It's not that Beck said teh crazy. That's predictable at this stage. However, what's at issue here is that a large segment of the American population identifies with this type of speech as legitimate with regard to supporting right-wing, "pro-Israel" policies.
This is what J-Street, progressive Jews and, yes, the White House must contend with.