Far-Right Activist Redefines “Chutzpah:” Tells Sen. Lieberman How to be Jewish
Listed in: Other Domestic Policy, NJDC News, Press Releases
Washington, DC: The February 7th edition of the Forward newspaper reports, "A right-wing activist is criticizing Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman's rabbi for failing to point out that Orthodox Jewish law does not accord with the Connecticut lawmaker's pro-choice views. Larry Klayman, chairman of Judicial Watch, wrote a letter to Rabbi Barry Freundel of Washington, D.C.'s Kesher Israel Congregation urging him to 'teach Senator Joseph Lieberman to protect and honor the lives of the unborn.'" The letter also claims that "Senator Lieberman's position on abortion suggests he does not respect life, a fundamental tenet of the Ten Commandments."
"The last thing Larry Klayman - whom the Forward refers to as a self-described 'messianic Jew' - should be lecturing Senator Lieberman and his rabbi about is how to be a Jew, and how best to observe the Ten Commandments," said National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "Mr. Klayman's condescending, uninformed words are nothing but a classic example of gutter politics.
"The American Jewish community is the most pro-choice demographic grouping one can find in the United States today. Mr. Klayman may not agree with the policy preferences of the vast majority of American Jews, but he has no business lecturing upwards of 90 percent of American Jews on how they should be practicing their Judaism. Moreover, Mr. Klayman clearly knows nothing about Jewish law on this topic, and it is the height of chutzpah for a 'messianic Jew' to lecture Jews on Jewish tradition and practice."
