Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Over the last several years, radio host Glenn Beck has become quite a media sensation. I began listening to his program about five years ago and always regarded him as an articulate friend of Israel. Mind you, many of my colleagues see him as a religious fanatic. Yet, at a time when Israel is struggling for respectability in a world that is so blatantly anti-Semitic, trust me—Glenn Beck is a refreshing change, especially when you compare him to the daily pundits found in European societies, where it is still fashionable as ever to blame the Jews for all the world’s problems. Yes, I said, “blame the Jews,” because we are still the world’s favorite scapegoat. Some traditions die hard in the world but today anti-Semitism has taken on a new clever guise. Instead of openly espousing anti-Semitism, it has fostered “anti-Zionism.” Of course, in the Nazi-esque mentality of the Muslim suicide-bomber, every Jew is in the final analysis—a Zionist.

Unfortunately, that’s not really true either. Strange as it may sound, there is a chorus of Jewish intellectuals and rabbis, who routinely argue that if Israel gave up all the “Occupied territories,” then there would be peace. How stupid can we be? The prophet Isaiah sometimes likened Israel to the most picturesque metaphor:

The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s crib;

but Israel does not know,

my people do not understand.

Isaiah 1:3

It doesn’t matter how many missiles Hamas and Hezbollah shoot into Israeli cities. The “civilized” world always blames Israel for defending her people. When a reporter asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought of “Western Civilization,” he replied, “I think it would be a good idea.” Well, I personally think that “Western Civilization” with respect to its treatment of the Jewish people is an oxymoron. There is nothing “civilized” about Europe’s treatment of the Jews. Their societal and religious hatred of our people runs like a stream of consciousness and is still firmly embedded in their psyche.

However, Europe is not alone. There are American leaders that tend to think like Europe whenever it pertains to Israel and the Jews. Take President Obama for an example. Jews love it when he says how much the United States values Israel as a friend, and yet—without missing a heartbeat—Obama then tells Israel they need to make the new proposed Palestinian state contiguous, even though that will mean that Israel will lose its territorial integrity. Unlike any American President of the past, Obama declares the old Jewish quarter of Jerusalem as, “occupied.” Like a trained chimpanzee, liberal American Jews accept the President’s words without a criticism.

According to these misleaders, Israel should merely accept the promise that Palestinians want to live in “peace.” Maybe Israel and their American Jewish cousins should purchase a bridge in Brooklyn too. Palestinians don’t even have Israel on their map; nor do they teach mutual recognition in their schools. Instead, they pay homage to the cult of the Shihad; the suicide bomber is a hero every Palestinian child is taught to emulate and adore.

Of course, this reality brings to mind a famous quote from the singer Willie Nelson, “Are you going to believe what you see or what I tell you? “ Groucho Marx made a similar remark, “Who are you going to believe - me or your own eyes?” Well, the Jewish community has more often chosen to believe what our “friends” like Obama and the Europeans tell them to believe, despite the empirical proof of what we see with our own eyes.

As a child of a Holocaust survivor, I refuse to accept the platitudes these leaders offer about being Israel’s “friends.” With friends like these, who needs enemas? (pardon the pun.) For all of President Obama’s platitudes and excessive moralization, he has yet to even visit Israel. The answer is compellingly simple: In his heart, he views the State of Israel and its continued existence as a moral problem. Obama doesn’t want to give the impression that he even recognizes Israel; he stands with the likes of Iran, Syria, and Hamas-Israel is to be eliminated, if not immediately, then piecemeal.

So why do I like Glenn Beck? It’s not because of his personal theology. I really could care less about his eschatological beliefs regarding the End-times. What matters to me is more how Christians act and behave toward Israel and by this standard, Glenn Beck is a standup man worthy of our admiration and respect. When my evangelical friends flew to Israel to stand by Israel during its war with Hezbollah, every Jew knew in Israel who our “real” friends are and guess what, it’s not the Presbyterians, or the Methodists, or the other mainline churches that demonize Israel.

Consider some of Beck’s comments:

“The grand councils of the earth condemn Israel. Across the border, Syria slaughters its own citizens. The grand councils are silent…

Note that the President has been exceptionally tight-lipped about Assad and until just a few months ago, regarded Assad as a viable “peace partner” for Israel. How foolish can one possibly be? “Who are you going to believe - me or your own eyes?” When the people of Iran a few years ago challenged the Mullahs of Iran, President Obama did nothing, and said nothing. In his mind, Iran is a country that is happy to be under the watchful eye of the Mullahs. President Obama enables thugocracies.

Some of Beck’s other comments are equally noteworthy:

“These international councils, these panels of so-called diplomats, condemn Israel not because they believe Israel needs to be corrected. They do so because it is convenient.”

No kidding, Glenn.

“The diplomats are afraid, and so they submit. They surrender to falsehood. The truth matters not. To the keepers of conventional wisdom, a sacrifice of the truth is a small price to pay. What difference does it make if we beat up on little Israel? These are the actions of the fearful and cowards.”

Glenn Beck hit a home run and his words resonate with Hillel’s, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” It’s time we start waking up to this reality and tell our “friends” in the White House that we will not stand for their hypocrisy.