Prominent Rabbi Demands an Explanation from Hagee
Frederick Clarkson printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Thu May 22, 2008 at 11:45:00 AM EST
Bruce Wilson's recent video post on how John Hagee has claimed that God sent Hitler and the holocaust as a way to force the Jews to emigrate to Israel -- is rapidly gaining public notice. Yesterday, Sam Stein, a political reporter at The Huffington Post, picked-up on the story.  And last night, Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's Countdown did a segment based on Bruce's shocking discovery. The New Yorker magazine's Ryan Lizza told Olbermann that
"on the offensive scale of one to ten, claiming that God sent Hitler to hunt down the Jews and force them to Israel, is about a 20."
Today, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Refomed Judaism demanded an explanation from Hagee.
Here is his statement, published on the web site of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism:

Hagee Quoted as Blaming Jews for Holocaust: Yoffie's Letter Calls for Explanation

Washington, DC, May 21, 2008 - In response to reports that Pastor John Hagee has made statements suggesting that Jews are responsible for the Holocaust, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, sent the following open letter calling for an explanation:

Dear Pastor Hagee,

I have received questions from many of my members who have read recent articles (The Huffington Post, IsraelENews, Talk2Action) about themes in your speeches and writings.  You have been quoted as suggesting that the Holocaust was part of God's plan to force the Jews to go to Israel and that the Jews brought the Holocaust upon themselves by defying Herzl's Zionist dream to have all Jews go to and settle in the land of Israel.

I am deeply troubled by these quotations.  The Holocaust was the work of a deranged, bigoted, and anti-Semitic figure supported by a racist government.   To suggest otherwise is surely an affront to the 11 million individuals, 6 million of whom were Jews, who lost their lives in the ashes of what is unquestionably the greatest tragedy of the 20th century.  To blame the victims for the Holocaust and to suggest that they brought it on themselves is a desecration of their name and their memory, and an insult to the survivors and their descendents who thankfully remain in our midst today.

I am aware of the work that you have done on behalf of the State of Israel, and for that reason I find your remarks especially troubling.  Please help me explain to the members of my movement the statements attributed to you.  Are these sentiments representative of your current feelings and perceptions of the Jewish people and the people of Israel?  Were they at one time representative?  Have you in some way been grossly misquoted?  Are these views which you have now repudiated?

As a Pastor to one of our nation's largest churches, your influence is widely felt and your model of leadership is surely one that will influence many Americans.  I hope that you agree with me that justifying the Holocaust or blaming it on the Jews is anathema to all who repudiate group defamation and cherish tolerance and respect.  I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Eric Yoffie





Display:
Yoffie has been using Hagee as a sparring partner for a while time now.  (At least since Hagee spoke at AIPAC.)   In this letter, Yoffie is suggesting that theology has nothing to say about the Holocaust, which is wrongheaded.  If saying that God had something to do with the Holocaust is to absolve Hitler, then Wiesel and the other great thinkers of our time are all guilty.  Please understand that the process this site and Yoffie is engaged in is politics, not religion.

by rabbi on Fri May 23, 2008 at 12:15:41 PM EST
rabbi, do you support the purposes of this site? In order to register for this site, you had to check off a box indicating unequivocally that you have read the mission statement and site guidelines and support them.

But your warning against this site and your proxy argument about theology with Yoffie, and a similarly disputatious comment on Max Blumenthal's post, make me wonder.

Please state your intentions.

by Frederick Clarkson on Fri May 23, 2008 at 12:57:27 PM EST
Parent

I have reviewed again the "Statement of Purpose" and feel that my comments were appropriate.  While "religious debates are off topic," the posts I read and replied to appeared to be religious debates posing as politics.  Without debating these items on this site, I felt a fair distinction ought be drawn between theology and garnering ammunition against politicians whose stances this site is against.  That is my intention.  If I misread your "Statement of Purpose," I would accept your correction.

by rabbi on Tue May 27, 2008 at 09:03:46 PM EST
Parent



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