David Klinghoffer author of some second rate books, most recently on the Jewish rejection of Christianity (see the review by my friend Prof Pinhas Giller here) has come to the defense of sleazebag lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the Forward.. Klinghoffer is also a frequent contributor to the National Review, the Forward and other publications in which he uses selective and biased reading of Jewish sources to support his conservative political views. And surprise ! all Jack's troubles are the product of liberal leaning anti orthodox Jewish journalists, not the Department of Justice which is in the midst of multiple investigations.:
a few gems from his nonsense:
his e-mails have been leaked to the press. Abramoff, who conducted his business
affairs electronically, used coarse words such as "monkeys" and "troglodytes" in
discussing some Indians. He exulted in his earnings in a somewhat undignified
way: "Can you smell money?!?!?!" He also directed clients to contribute to his
favorite political and other causes.
His humiliation is nearly complete. Yet who among us would not be humiliated
if a decade's worth of our email were leaked by Senate investigators to be
dissected by journalists eager to carve us up like a Thanksgiving roast?
No David I don't think most of us have emails in which we meticulously make use to omit the "o" in G-D but refers to clients paying us tens of millions of dollars as less than human.
Abramoff's guilt does not rise to the level of serious wrongs and crimes that
would merit the intense personal scrutiny he has received. I am not going to
shed any tears if those purer-than-spring-rain Indian gambling moguls got
overcharged.
I'm glad David has become judge and jury but several federal prosecutors think otherwise and are in the midst of an investigations. And I trust John McCain's characterization of Abramoff's fees charged the Indians as obscene more than David's.
In a spirit of honesty, however, I admit that I'd like to see Abramoff left
alone in large part because, instead of spending the millions of dollars he
raked in on Ferraris and yachts, he lavishly spent it on causes that I think are
good and important: an Orthodox high school he founded in the Washington, D.C.,
area, headed by a rabbi whose taped lectures I have long listened to with
admiration; kosher restaurants (that lost a fortune but provided a public
service); political organizations and candidates whose conservative philosophy I
share, and so on.
David, explain to the folks in the Marinas Islands how a consulting contract for the Rabbi you admire, David Lapin (set up by Jack the persecuted) , ballooned in fees from $50,000 to over $1 million. Is a cause you believe in a Jewish school founded with money earmarked for sports programs for underprivileged kids, that closed within 2 years owing faculty $159,000 in back wages ?
Could it be that others' political and moral value system are outraged when someone presents themselves as someone who strictly upholds Jewish traditions spends his time lobbying so workers in a US territory are prevented from earning the minimum wage ?
But no. it's liberal ortho bashing at work. According to David:
If Abramoff were a secular Jew who directed streams of money to left-wing
candidates, to liberal think tanks, to charitable causes like Planned Parenthood
and PETA, do you think we ever would have heard his name? I don't.
Ah yes, that liberal left - wing Justice Department, headed up by anti Orthodox secular Jews, involved in multiple investigations of Jack is out to get him because he is a conservative orthodox Jews allied with the Christan right.
sorry David, I somehow doubt it
I also found this beaut from David in writing about the biblical injunction about the abomination of homosexuality and the consequent need to ban gay marriage:
When the Bible speaks of their moral
failings in very specific ethical areas, and the consequent downfall of
their civilization, there is a lesson not just for a Jewish society but
for everyone. The way God sets things up, a society that
institutionalizes same-sex unions will ultimately suffer tragic
consequences--“disgorgement” from its place in the world. What, in very
concrete terms, would that mean? Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.
now, there's an argument for legislation in our secular legal system if I've ever seen one. By the way, David, the bans on shaving the corners of one's beard , body piercing, and tattooing all occur in verses accompanying the ban on homosexuality. Please let me know when you start the campaign to shut down tatoo and piercing parlors.
If you have the stomach for it, you can take a look at many of Klinghoffer's columns for the Forward here the ones I read before I got sick drew selectively on jewish sources to make pathetically illogical poorly written arguments for conservative political causes.
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