Does Sarah Palin Know Any Jews?

The Alaska Jewish population is 3,425. 3,425. There are more Jews at Zabar's this morning than live in Alaska. Let me ask you a question: how many of those Jewish people in Alaska do you think Sarah Palin has met, talked to, encountered?

You can tell me that Sarah Palin has met other Jews in her travels, but she has not traveled. Not only has she hardly traveled abroad, even though she can see Russia from her window, but she has hardly traveled domestically.

So, I am asking, how many Jews do you think Sarah Palin has met? Literally. 10? Two?
One of the reasons Sarah Palin is so frightening is because her frame of reference appears to be so narrow. It would be one thing if she worked in Alaska but traveled extensively to get to know the country or the world. But she has chosen not to - which is her choice, and I respect it. Except for the fact that she wants to possibly run the country, and I am a citizen of this country, and Sarah Palin does not know people who share my background.

Another reason Palin is so scary is because not only has she not traveled, but she does not seem in the least bit curious. She may or may not read; it's hard to get a straight answer from her. She only seems to read back what's written for her, so it's hard to tell what she really thinks or really knows. If you're from a small state, far from the rest of the country, and you hardly read or travel, does that seem like a person you'd want representing you in the White House? Or does that seem like someone who, I don't know, should educate themselves in America before they try to represent America?

By the way, it's not as if Alaska is filled with African-Americans, either. 3.5% of the state's population is black. How many African-Americans are buddies with Sarah Palin?

In a couple of weeks, I'm headed to a Jewish Center to speak as a surrogate for the Obama campaign. A McCain campaign surrogate will speak, too. A few weeks ago, I was worried about how the Jewish population was reacting to Obama. There is an enormous paranoia about Obama in the Jewish community. I've seen it at Temples, I've read it in emails, I've heard it first-hand. The fear of the unknown Obama is very disconcerting. Some of it has actually been pretty disgusting.

McCain was doing well with the Jews. I heard it when I was home in Long Island a couple of weeks ago - a sense that maybe McCain was safer. I've heard it when I've met with people in Los Angeles, concerned about Israel. Maybe Obama doesn't get it. But I've also heard from these same people that while they thought McCain may have been the safer choice, and maybe Obama does not get it, now, they think McCain is the bigger risk. Because of Palin. One person said to me that after the Georgia crisis, he was going to go McCain because McCain seemed safer on foreign policy. But when McCain picked Palin, he thought, "Are you kidding? What does this woman know about me?"

As a Jew, I don't expect a candidate for our nation's highest office to surround himself with Jews. I do, however, expect that they'd encountered a few along the way. And I believe Sarah Palin fails that most basic test.

Comments

[msieger]

I am a Jewish believer in Jesus. Most blogs and news services have quoted the same one paragraph of the message that David Brickner of Jews for Jesus delivered at Sarah Palin’s church, giving the false impression that he is saying that a bulldozer attack by a deranged Palestinian is God’s judgment on the Jewish people. Please read or listen to the entire message for yourself at www.jewsforjesus.org/blog/20080817 so that you can hear Brickner’s remarks in context. Please also read Brickner’s comments concerning his message at Wasilla Bible Church, as well as interviews by Christianity Today and MSNBC with Brickner about this issue, at www.jewsforjesus.org. Brickner says, "The comments attributed to me were taken out of context. The notion that the terrorist, bulldozer attack in Jerusalem this summer was God’s judgment on Israel for not believing in Jesus, is absolutely not what I believe. In retrospect, I can see how my rhetoric might be misunderstood and I truly regret that . . . . Let me be clear. I don’t believe that any one event whether a terrorist attack or a natural disaster is a specific fulfillment of or manifestation of a Biblical prediction of judgment. I don’t believe that the newspaper should be used to interpret the Bible. The Bible interprets the Bible. I love my Jewish people and the land of Israel. I stand with and support her against all efforts to harm her or her people in any way."

[Rog49Thomas]

Just what sort of folk (or perhaps Volk) do these right wing nutjobs run with?

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/05/hannitys_witness_exterminate_j/

[ScottLive5]

No, Sarah Palin, Alaska is NOT a microcosm of America.

[vegas9999]

So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” Mr. Obama said. (Quoted by the New York Times, April 12, 2008)

[cbharrell]

And I agree. The GOP is again making this election about guns, religion and hatred. And there are still people in small town America who agree with McCain's stance. Our country is about more than these subjects. It is about war, the economy, our education, our relationship with other countries but the GOP only wants us to be about guns, religion and hatred. Therefore they are the ones forcing small town America to consider only these issues as a basis for picking a president. Read Obama's comment in context and then say he was denigrating small time Americans.

[MajorKong]

I doubt she's met that many people period. Alaska has roughly the population of Akron.

[Origami]

FYI - An excellent resource for outreach to the Jewish community is a You Tube video documenting Israeli supporrt for Obama -- see "Israelis4Obama" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2VFRt5W4FM

[ChicagoSuz]

You mean besides Joe Lieberman?
Loved the line about Zabar's...

[laylahb]

She knows Dr. Joel Fleischman of Cicely, Alaska. Didn't he deliver Bristol during the first season of Northern Exposure?

[mr2sheds]

She knows one Jew personally, Jesus, and she thinks he's swell.

HJ

[jusion]

PALIN in her interview with Katie Couric:
"We shouldn't second guess Israel's security efforts because we cannot ever afford to send a message that we would allow a second Holocaust, for one. Israel has got to have the opportunity and the ability to protect itself. They are our closest ally in the Mideast. We need them. They need us. And we shouldn't second guess their efforts."

On the other hand, BIDEN was recently quoted as telling senior Israeli officials behind closed doors that the Jewish state will have to reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran. In the report, Israeli Army Radio also quoted Biden as saying that he opposed "opening a additional military and diplomatic front." In other words, not to expect Obama, should he become president, to do anything about Iran's nuclear program. Let's not forget Iran's leader has threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the map. This is completely opposite of Joe Biden's previous position on Israel. Biden's enthusiastic commitment to Israel seems to have changed very quickly now that Obama is in charge.

That's why the vast majority of people in Israel think having John McCain and Sarah Palin in the White House would be beneficial for their country.

[MajorKong]

"Let's not forget Iran's leader has threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the map"

First of all, Ahmadinejad is not the leader of Iran. Iran is led by the Guardian Council and "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Khamenei.

Secondly, Iran does not have the capability to wipe Israel off the map. Israel, however, does have the capability to wipe Iran off the map.

Israel is hardly the plucky little underdog of 1948 or even 1967. They're the major military power in the region. They have an alliance with Turkey and a shared interest with the Sunni/Arab Gulf States to contain the Shiite/Persian Iranians. Not to mention a big chunk of the US military sitting between them and Iran.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

What's with the IMMODERATE scrubbing !?!

[mergina]

Yes. Jesus.

[K.J. Dwyer - Huffpost Blogger]

On August 17, 2008 Sarah Palin attended an event at the Wasilla Bible Church where she is a member. Just take a look at these two characterizations of the exact same event; the first from CNN.

“Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."” CNN, Sept. 9, 2008 http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/08/palin.pastor/index.html

If David Brickner counts, she's met at least one Jew in Alaska.

[colleen2]

There are no synagogues in Wasilla and the last census lists all of 32 African American residents.
It's impossible to describe the cultural and geographical isolation of Alaska. This is a woman who has almost no understanding of how most of us live. It's pretty easy to imagine that Lieberman and Kissinger are the first Jews she's ever met.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

After Kissinger gave her a hug, she felt his noggin for horns.

[Rog49Thomas]

A more important question is how many Jews know what Sister Sarah stands for.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Bingo.