Posted on 12/02/2003 5:27:01 AM PST by SJackson
The little-noticed alliance between gay marriage opponents and alleged terrorist sympathizers.
What were these people thinking?
The Massachusetts Supreme Court decision to legalize homosexual marriage in the Bay state re-ignited the culture wars. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, perhaps the preeminent liberal Jewish organization in Washington, DC, applauded the ruling. Religious-minded conservatives, however, were horrified. They are determined to stop the gay rights movement in its tracks. At what price?
JewishWorldReview.com has discovered that prominent religious conservatives — Jews, Catholics and Evangelical Christians — are allied with a radical Islamic group to stop gay marriage. Pushing a constitutional amendment that would restrict marriage to heterosexuals, they work with the Islamic Society of North America. What is ISNA? According to terrorism expert Steve Emerson, ISNA:
has held fundraisers for terrorists (e.g., after Hamas leader Musa Marzuk was arrested, it raised money for his defense, claiming he was innocent and not connected to terrorism)
has condemned US seizure of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad assets in the United States after 9/11
has consistently sponsored speakers at their conferences that defend Islamic terrorists. Recently, a leader denied in an interview with an NBC affiliate that ISNA took any Saudi money but that was a brazen lie as evidenced by a recording of an ISNA conference in which it was revealed that money came from Saudi Arabia.
"ISNA," says Emerson, "is a radical group hiding under a false veneer of moderation."
What better way for ISNA to maintain its "false veneer of moderation" than by working side by side with prominent religious figures that also bring the prestige of their institutional associations? How can critics plausibly depict the organization as extremist if it boasts the company of so many prominent Jews and Christians? Even Martin Luther King couldn't boast a working alliance with this many different members of the religious community.
Who are these religious conservatives? The Jews include a vice-president of the highly regarded Rabbinical Council of America, who is also known as "Lieberman's rabbi" because the Connecticut senator and presidential candidate attends his synagogue; one of Reform Judaism's most highly visible rabbis known for his frequent TV appearances as the Jewish half of the two man "God Squad,"; an Orthodox rabbi who is one of the heads of the most highly regarded kosher supervision agency in America; a former aide to President Ronald Reagan and official in the subsequent Bush administration; and an Orthodox rabbi who wants to unite Christians and Jews.
ISNA's newfound Christian friends also boast sterling credentials. They include President Clinton's ambassador to the Vatican; the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia: a Harvard law professor and former Clinton advisor; the president of a prestigious Evangelical school; and a neo-conservative author who edits a small, but influential magazine, that serves as the unofficial bible of many religious conservatives.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, says that "people have to be careful with whom they associate, even with causes unrelated to the Middle East. Such associations give credence to groups that don't deserve it."
Radio talk show host Don Feder, himself a religious conservative, is a bit more blunt: "You have to be crazy to work with these people."
But maybe that's too charitable. Crazy implies divorced from reality. ISNA's newfound comrades are perfectly sane. They don't have some kind of delusional concept that ISNA is secretly pro-Israel. They comprehend the facts but don't seem to much care. They are not guilty by reason of insanity. Their behavior displays a reckless disregard for the safety and security of America, Jewry and Israel.
This, from people who claim they are on the side of Western civilization?
Although efforts to contact some ISNA's colleagues were unsuccessful, those that were located hardly seemed perturbed when provided last week with detailed information — from impeccable sources — about ISNA. Thus far, it appears they'll remain with ISNA on the advisory board to the Alliance for Marriage, which has attracted considerable Congressional support for its much ballyhooed constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage.
Social conservatives consider the amendment their last best hope to preserve heterosexual marriage. Cultural liberals view the amendment as a potentially serious roadblock to making gay marriage the law of the land. All this makes it likely that the Alliance for Marriage, is likely to come under increased scrutiny. It seems eager to use the "diversity" of its board members to deflect criticism and show that support for traditional marriage is broad-based.
This strategy seems particularly obtuse. You don't win moral arguments by bean-counting. The reliance of "diversity" to argue for traditional marriage obscures if not contradicts the most powerful argument that it supporters can make: Namely, this is a corner-stone of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
'DIVERSITY' IS NO MASK
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
Grover Norquist has been in bed with Islamic Terrorists for years.
Care to elaborate?
Snidely
Gee, thanks for that illuminating reply. I was hoping for specifics on his, uh, cahootery.
As it turns out, I Googled up some stuff on Norquist, and it turns out he's chummy with some Islamic organizations that have some serious problems.
Never liked the guy anyway - he always struck me as an arrogant little troll. Now I can add another reason, I guess.
Snidely
But, I'm sure they bash the USA for being "intolerant."
This doesn't seem to be known very well, even in his neck of the woods. Exactly how does he get a pass on this?
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