Does anybody seriously believe that the Evangelical agenda includes the banning of shechita, ritual slaughter? Or is it more likely to come about at the hands of the radical fringe of the animal-rights movement so embraced by the Democratic Party? It should be remembered that when Sweden banned shechita, it did so under pressure from its animal rights extremists on the Left, not because of Lutheran pastors.
In America today there are numerous attacks against circumcision, including the formation of national organizations such as NOCIRC. Without exception these antagonists of circumcision identify themselves as liberals, not as Christian conservatives. (Not altogether surprisingly, some of these anti-circumcision groups are even Jewish.)
The assault on prayer and on tax relief for those who prefer to send their children to Jewish schools is already well under way. Needless to say, this is from liberals, not conservatives. Why, therefore, are we attacking conservatives, who are in favor of precisely those measures that would assist Jewish continuity? Again, not only is it immoral, it is also a very bad idea.
Finally, my third reason for discouraging Jewish organizations from attacking religious conservatives is that these attacks increase anti-Jewish sentiment in those parts of America located between the Hudson River and Beverly Hills.
Oh yes, I know that we Jews have learned to effectively silence our critics by bludgeoning them with the charge of anti-Semitism. The trouble is that sometimes in life we need friends, not merely neighbors who seethe quietly. History reminds us that the latter are all too apt to smugly watch us being administered the medicine that they were unable to deliver themselves. Additionally, I feel that eventually we will over-use the charge of anti-Semitism, perhaps even to the point of rendering it quite impotent.
Most Christian political positions cannot be contested on the basis of traditional Jewish values. Which means that smart Jews should ask what Jewish interest is being served by our self-appointed spokesmen conducting these assaults on our Christian friends and neighbors.
Another question worth asking is whether the war being waged by less than two percent of America’s population against some fifty percent of Americans is likely to improve or diminish the quality of life for American Jews. One day the bully might get punched back.