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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 15, 2003
/ 20 Kislev, 5764
One less fellow traveler. 'God Squad' rabbi bolts Queer Alliance. Is 'Lieberman's rabbi' next?
By
Evan Gahr
JewishWorldReview.com readers take to the web, talk radio to declare 'you can't make a deal with the devil to do the Divine's work'
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
Gellman's out. Freundel, Lapin, Neuhaus and Schonfeld remain. Mouw is on the
sidelines.
It sounds like the roster for an inter-religious basketball game designed to foster Jewish-Christian understanding, perhaps, but it's not.
The issue is how conservatives choose allies. Are they willing to work with a reputed
terrorist-friendly Muslim to pre-empt gay marriage?
Rabbi Marc Gellman is not. Roughly two weeks since JewishWorldReview.com reported that Gellman and other prominent religious conservatives were part of an anti-gay marriage coalition that includes a reputed terrorist-friendly Muslim group, Gellman bolted from this queer alliance.
JewishWorldReview.com has learned that Gellman, perhaps America's best known rabbi because of his frequent television appearances as the Jewish half of the two man "God Squad", quietly resigned late last week from the advisory board to the Alliance for Marriage because it includes the Islamic Society of North America.
What is ISNA?
The AFM contends that ISNA is a legitimate, mainstream Islamic group. The "proof" is that ISNA is not on the State Department's list of terrorist front groups.
But that rationale doesn't impress terrorist expert Steve Emerson. True, he explains, "you will not find ISNA on any formal list of terrorist front groups. (And the government does not publicly reveal who its investigating.) And its unlikely that ISNA will be designated as such given the way it is structured and financially organized (it does not hold any assets but shifts them to a corporate subsidary very complex situation.) But if you look at ISNA's involvement with terrorist groups, its hosting of actual terrorist leaders. Its ideological support for Islamic terrorist groups, you will find that it serves as an umbrella group for the Muslim Brotherhood."
Nevertheless, many of Gellman's fellow clerics and religious conservatives remain wedded to the AFM, despite its inclusion of ISNA. The group is spearheading the drive for a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to heterosexuals.
These conservatives include Rabbi Barry Freundel, spiritual leader of Kesher Israel, the Georgetown shul that counts Joe Lieberman among its congregants, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, president of Toward Tradition, an organization that intends to unite Jews and Christians committed to traditional values, neo-conservative author Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor of First Things, and Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, a top official at the best known kosher supervision agency in the nation, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
Other prominent religious conservatives who remain on the advisory board with ISNA and thus enable an extremist organization that should be ostracized to maintain mainstream credibility include the noted Evangelical, Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, Ray Flynn, Bill Clinton's ambassador to the Vatican, Harvard Law School professor Mary Anne Glendon, a prominent Catholic conservative, and the Public Affairs Office of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
That's quite a God Squad, even if it no longer includes Gellman.
Now that Gellman has bolted, are his colleagues likely to follow suit?
Rabbi Daniel Lapin declined comment. But he previously refused to resign from the AFM advisory board when JewishWorldReview.com reported its advisory board included a different terrorist-friendly Muslim group. So it's unlikely he'll quit now.
| READ THE ORIGINAL EXPOSES |
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To read the follow-up, please click here Comment by clicking here.
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But Rabbi Barry Freundel a.k.a "Lieberman's rabbi" might be a different case. Freundel won't talk on the record. Privately, however, he could be under pressure from colleagues.
Rabbi Kenneth Auman, president of the Rabbinical Council of America, of which Freundel is a vice president, tells JewishWorldReview.com "I know [Freundel's association with ISNA] is being looked into." Freundel, he said, is now "aware," of ISNA's memberbship, but was previously in the dark. "He is re-assessing his position."
Auman said he was confident Freundel would show "good judment" in making his decision.
Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, said his organization has not discussed the matter with Freundel or Schonfeld. He refused to comment on their membership in the AFM, except to note that the Orthodox Union previously withdrew its official representative from the Alliance for Marriage (in 2001 after the AMC connection was first reported by JewishWorldReview.com) and that Rabbis Freundel and Schoenfeld were not representing the OU as members of the AFM advisory board.
However, Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, father of the AFM member, and a member of the Orthodox Union's board of directors, defended his son's decision to remain with the group.
"I wouldn't resign. I would get rid of them [ISNA]."
He refused to say what the younger Schonfeld should do if ISNA remains on the advisory board.
Other men and women of faith however, are unwilling to countenance the AFM's alliance with ISNA.
Christians all over the country, many apparently Evangelicals, wrote JewishWorldReview.com and this reporter to thank them for the expose. And they echoed those sentiments on talk radio shows. Although fervently opposed to gay marriage, they essentially said that you can't make a deal with the devil to do the Divine's work.
"Thank you for your expose on the 'unholy' alliance between ISNA and its Christian and Jewish friends," one woman wrote. "I as a strongly committed Christian, will be forwarding this onto my friends. Simply stated, the ends do not justify the means."
That is certainly true. More generally, Gellman has landed on the right side of a moral litmus test that most anyone in public life faces at one time: How to choose allies.
It's the stuff that separates men of true integrity from cowards whose adherence to an ends justify the means ethos renders them morally indistinguishable from godless communists.
Gellman has acted honorably. Hopefully, others will follow his lead.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading."
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Evan Gahr is a journalist in the Washington, DC area. Comment by clicking here.
© 2003, Evan Gahr
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