A Jewish friend says: “When is the last time Eshman ever voted for any Republican running for President? The next thing I would expect him to do is attack Cruz because his last name translates to Cross, as in the Cross where Jesus was crucified and died for our sins. It is certainly true that the phrase \u201cNew York Jew\u201d conjures up a stereotype, but I don\u2019t think the term \u201cNew York values\u201d evokes Jews. This is 2016. I really detest this Jewish paranoia.”<\/p>\n
If Ted Cruz is not anti-Semitic, this op\/ed may well turn him into a raging Jew-hater. If no matter how much you support Israel and promote other pro-Jewish stuff, you still get called an anti-semite on such a flimsy pretext, then it is irrational to care about Jews and Jewish concerns. If you are going to get called slurs for trivial things, you might as well dismiss the Jews in your mind (even if you take care with your public statements for pragmatic reasons). <\/p>\n
Rob Eshman writes<\/a>: <\/p>\n What\u2019s harder to forgive is the hate. A Jewish friend says: “When is the last time Eshman ever voted for any Republican running for President? The next thing I would expect him to do is attack Cruz because his last name translates to Cross, as in the … Continue reading
\nThe language Cruz uses, the images he conjures, foment hate. By deriding New York values, he short-circuits argument and appeals straight to prejudice.
\nThat prejudice shades into anti-Semitism. Because if there is one group that overwhelmingly stands for New York, it\u2019s Jews. Seinfeld. Woody Allen. Bagels. I rest my case.
\nAnd if there is one group that supports \u201cliberal New York values,\u201d it is Jews. Abortion rights, gay rights, gun control, social safety nets, environmental protection, climate change action \u2014 Jews don\u2019t just consistently poll in favor, they often (loudly) lead the way. Cruz wasn\u2019t aware of that? Of course he was.
\nCruz doesn\u2019t shoot from the hip, unless it\u2019s an AK-47 and he\u2019s trying to look macho. So he knows that by saying \u201cliberal New York values,\u201d he is dog-whistling the anti-Semites.
\nAnd he thinks he can get away with it for one reason: Israel.
\nCruz loves Israel.
\n\u201cIn my view, the United States of America should remain unshakably alongside our vital ally, the nation of Israel,\u201d he said in a speech on Sept. 11, 2013. His Middle East foreign policy could be summed up as WWBD \u2014 What Would Bibi Do?
\nDo you follow? Cruz loves the Jewish State, but loathes the Jewish City. By professing such deep love for the Jews of Israel, Cruz assumes he can say whatever he wants about the Jews of America.
\nThere is a certain political logic to this. Jews who share his views on Israel will likely shrug off his thinly veiled hate speech. Jews who prefer any Republican to any Democrat will accuse those who take offense of being too P.C. \u2014 even though these are the same Jews who still obsess over President Barack Obama\u2019s choice of a Chicago preacher 20 years ago.
\nBut what Cruz doesn\u2019t understand is that you can\u2019t have it both ways. Israel exists and thrives, at least in part, because it demonstrates many of the same liberal values as New York. In its embrace of universal health care, religious diversity, artistic expression, women\u2019s rights, gay rights and social innovation, Israel is a Cruzian nightmare.
\nThose values are difficult to maintain and protect in a country surrounded by enemies and often prey to its own internal dark forces \u2014 some of which are also New York imports. But, even so, Israeli society has much more in common with Manhattan than with Midland. This makes me think Cruz loves Israel in theory, just not in fact.
\nAs for Jews, Cruz is content to see how far he can go using a select few of us as donors, and the rest of us as pi\u00f1atas. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"