Fox, Beck and the Rabbis

For the last two days, I have been following the story of the group of rabbis who took out an ad in the Wall Street Journal to call for the censure of Glenn Beck by Fox News for his "attack" on George Soros and his repeated comparison of government officials to Nazi's.

I wonder if the rabbis actually watchthe Glenn Beck program or if they just signed onto the ad based upon what they were told. I happened to have watched the shows about George Soros. On one of the, Beck reported that during World War II, Soros, who was Jewish, hid with a Christian family in his native Hungary. As a result, he often accompanied the man who sheltered him to work. That man had the job of going around to Jewish homes to confiscate property from the Jews. Beck remarked that it must have been terrible for Soros to have to go to assist in taking property from his fellow Jews.

The rabbis argue that Beck is insensitive in his treatment of Soros who was just a teenager and is a holocaust survivor. They miss the point. Beck was not criticizing Soros for what he did to survive. Beck was pointing out how terrible it must have been for him.

These same rabbis also claim upset when Beck compares governmnet officials to Nazi's. Again, they must not watch the show. Beck does not use Nazi's as a description of any current US government officials. That came from the left during the Bush Administration. I am sure we all remember the Bush/Hitler signs and the like. No, Beck talks frequently about tactics used by Nazi's, Bolsheviks, Chinese Communists, Khmer Rouge and other totalitarian movements. One point that he frequently makes is that Nazi propaganda was modeled after the practice developed by the administration of Woodrow Wilson.

In short, as someone who frequently watches the Beck program, I think the claim by these rabbis is ridiculous. Indeed, according to Roger Ailes of Fox news, these rabbis are funded by George Soros. so Soros is trying to use his status as a holocaust survivor as a shield in current political discourse. As far as I am concerned, these rabbis ought to be upset about that.

Let's be clear. The Holocaust was an unspeakable evil perpetrated by the Nazis. It is not something to be used for political gain. And that means it is not to be used by ANYONE even a survivor like Soros. Nevertheless, the holocause and Nazi methods are not thereby rendered a taboo subject. That would just be another step down the road towards a world where political correctness wins over truth.