American Jews are angry. And they are not the only ones. The rising tide of Christian nationalism, religious supremacism, and theocratic trends, rightfully worries people of miniority religious faiths -- and growing numbers of Christians as well.
But long after the bogus war on Christmas story is over, what we used to call the "culture war" -- a one sided war of aggression being waged against democratic pluralism and the civil and constitutional rights of other Americans, will be going strong.
The mainstream media is giving increasing coverage to the substance of the concern.
A Reuters news service story on Thursday was headlined, "US Jews feel threatened by religious right."
Here is an excerpt:
U.S. Jewish leaders say they are increasingly worried that Christian conservatives want to turn America politically and culturally into a country that tolerates only their brand of Christianity.
"There is a feeling on all sides that something is changing," said Abraham Foxman, director of the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.
"The polls indicate a very serious thing -- that over 60 percent of the American people feel that religion and Christianity are under attack," he said on Thursday in an interview.
"Some are saying we are attacking (Christianity). This whole movement is not anti-Semitic or motivated by anti-Semitism. But sometimes unintended consequences are much more serious than intended" he added...
"Every room (from bedroom to classroom) in the American mansion is under assault to impose either de facto or de jure a Christian theocracy -- I call them Christocrats," said Rabbi James Rudin, former head of interreligious activities for the American Jewish Committee.
"They are people who believe there should be a legally mandated Christian nation, where the concept of separation of church and state is weakened or abandoned," he added.
Rudin said he has met pastors "who say that Jesus Christ is the ultimate leader of America and that God's law trumps the Constitution ... I'm very concerned."
Of course, the things that Foxman and Rudin are pointing to have been a strong and serious trend for more than two decades. Now that the dominionist movement has acheived substantial power -- they are being far less reserved than they used to be about their true intentions.
The religious supremacism of Christian theocrats, is, as Rudin and Foxman correctly observe in the article, not necessarily anti-Semitic. The lesson in this is getting our minds around the idea that religious supremacism is opposed to democratic pluralism and religious equality -- for all of us. They believe that their version of Christianity is not only correct, but must be imposed via varying degrees of government coercion.
The target of this power grab, it not now, nor has it ever been, just Jews.
People are increasingly recognizing this. And they are starting to fight back.