Sarah Palin And The Jews

Sarah Palin took the biblical Queen Esther as her role model when she became governor, according to her former pastor--a report that suggests her ties to Jewish history are stronger than you might have expected.

When Palin took office as governor in 2006, according to the New York Times, she asked her former pastor in the Assembly of God church in Wasilla for "a biblical example of people who were great leaders and what was the secret of their leadership"--that's what Paul E. Riley, the pastor, told Kirk Johnson and Kim Severson of the Times. He recommended the Old Testament story of Esther, the beautiful Jewish queen who persuaded the Persian king to save the Jews from annihilation and instead let them kill their enemies. The story is celebrated by Jews annually in the Feast of Purim.

The parallels are clear. Esther was selected queen in a beauty contest; Palin was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant.

So Queen Esther apparently provided the role model for the former beauty queen who went to our own king and asked for earmarks for her people.

The Palin/Queen Esther report has sparked a flood of commentary from fundamentalist Christian web sites. One reports that "Sarah Palin, like Esther, was an unlikely choice. Sarah Palin, like Esther, is bold and courageous in the face of fear. Sarah Palin, like Esther, proves you can be loyal and devoted to your family while having a high position. But perhaps, more than anything, . . . we are seeing someone right before our eyes who is capturing the hearts of the American people in a way that defies description" - just like the Bible says, "And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her."

Another says "Every once in a while a woman comes along who is made for the times. Sarah Palin is such a woman. . . . Another woman, Esther, was brought on the scene by God at just the right time. God's timing was perfect for he used Esther to save the Jews"--and now he is using Palin to save the Republicans.

One problem with this view -that God sent Palin the way He sent Esther -- is that the Book of Esther never mentions God. It never says God sent Esther to save His people, or even that Esther's belief in God gave her the power to defeat her enemies. Somebody should point this out to the fundamentalists.

If you follow the logic in the story - as another fundamentalist Christian website did - you find a "major, and creepily precise" parallel between the threats to Jews then and now. In Esther's day the threat came from Persia - and what country is the modern successor to Persia? Iran, of course -- "the same Iran that has vowed to wipe Israel off the map and is well on their way to acquiring the nuclear weaponry to do so . . . . And along comes tough, clear-eyed, plain-speaking Sarah Palin."

The implications for Palin's Iran policy are clear. In the Bible, after the Jews are saved from annihilation, and after the first day of Jewish revenge against their enemies, the King tells Esther the Jews have killed 500 people, and asks what she wants to do next. Esther says she wants permission for a second day of killing - so the king grants the Jews the right "to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish the entire host of every people and province that oppress them, small children and women, and to take their spoils for plunder."

The Bible says the Jews then killed 75,000 more of their enemies. It doesn't say anything about Jewish casualties, which makes it seem like a one-sided slaughter. (This part usually doesn't get mentioned at the Purim carnival.)

The cover of Newsweek this week is a photo of Palin with a shotgun. The Iranians should be worried - and so should the Americans.

Comments

[ncdave]

Jon Wiener has given an ambiguous passage of scripture the least probable and most shocking interpretation possible, in a way which distorts the advice given to Sarah Palin by her former pastor.
The most popular translation used in evangelical Christian churches like the Wasilla Bible Church is the NIV, and the NIV translation of Esther 8:11 is very different from the version that Wiener chose. The NIV version is:
"The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies."
In other words, the Hebrew men in Persia were authorized by Ahasuerus (Xerxes) to destroy the armies that threatened the Hebrew men and their families. They apparently were NOT authorized to slaughter Persian women and children. The women and chindren referenced in that passage were Hebrew women and children, who were being protected. Winer's dubious interpretation has the Persian king authorizing the Hebrew men to slaughter Persian women and children, which is not an interpretation required by the text (and which seems like a highly unlikely thing for a Persian king to do).
Dave Burton
Cary, NC

[Palspal2]

Esther Shmeshter, who cares what THAT's supposed to mean? Palin said in her one interview that what Israel sees as the right thing to do is OK by her - and by extension, a McCain/Palin administration. Seems Zionists have nothing to object to with Palin.

[Lynette]

Vote on the economy not personalities, vote Democrat and get America back on track, no more white republican party, vote for a united democratic party that includes ALL races, creeds and colors AND religons. SPREAD THE WORD, we need unity, not division. Repubs want to keep things segregated in 2008. NOT THIS TIME.

[Momofive]

Queen Esther was modest, humble, classy, and honest. Sarah Palin is arrogant, self-important, snide, and dishonest (cf. lies in acceptance speech at Republican Convention). She and Queen Esther have nothing in common except the XX chromosome. To suggest otherwise is insulting.

[littlecece]

During Hillary's campaign in Indiana, a supporter told her that he was deeply religious that Hillary reminded him of Queen Esther, fighting for her People. Hillary told him that this was a great compliment and that she also had a strong connection to Queen Esther.
Sounds like this Esther correlation is made up or at least copied off of Hillary's answer.

[Doofus]

Hmmm. If jewish voters were to believe that Sarah Palin is jewish,
is that almost as good as Joe Lieberman being on the Repo ticket?

Better even. It couldn't hurt!

[astein1]

If anyone would bother to read this bible story, you would notice something missing. God is no where to be seen in the entire story. It is not a story of divine intervention or being select for a higher purpose, its about sticking up for what you believe in when the chips are down. It is about risking everything for what you know is right.

[tkondaks]

The title of this piece should be "Sarah Palin and the Bible", not "Sarah Palin and the Jews" which leads the reader to suspect that the article will contain some sort of revelation about Palin's relationship with Jews, probably negative.
It is therefore misleading.

[Doofus]

Let's just say that this title seems arguably, ironically,
not unintentionally misleading, and leave it at that.

[jalyn]

I've heard many sermons on the Book of Esther. It is very popular with some pentecostals, as it inspires believers to have the courage of Esther, so they may be ready in case they are divinely called to protect their people. I don't think she actually believes that she is from a jewish line tracing back to Mordecai and Esther.

[Doofus]

'Sarah Palin took the biblical Queen Esther as her role model when she became governor,
according to her former pastor--a report that suggests her ties to Jewish history are stronger
than you might have expected.'

Nu, bubeleh, Sarah Palin is Jewish? Who knew? I'm getting such shpilkis here...

[Doofus]

So, go see also...

http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/the_michael_chabon_interview_s.php

The Michael Chabon Interview: Special Sarah Palin Edition, in 'The Atlantic'

[jonwiener]

Jeffrey Goldberg's Michael Chabon interview about Sarah Palin is great! "Her husband was in the Yiddish Policemen's Union. Or maybe the Steelworkers, I forget."