Bruce Ash has even more reason to be ashamed of himself than usual

by David Safier

Part of me hopes Bruce Ash knows he's nothing but a political hack and doesn't actually believe half of what he writes and says. It's hard for me to imagine he really believes the incredible crap that pours out of him.

R-Cubed has a post containing a letter Bruce Ash wrote to what he calls "our religious/ spiritual community." It's on Doug Martin's website, which proclaims on its header, "As followers of Jesus Christ we believe that we are on this earth to make a difference." Ash is Jewish, but he's clearly is tailoring his message to a right wing Christian community. [You can read the letter after the jump, as well as a letter written in response.]

The thrust of Ash's letter is that the faith based community should "oppose the Democrat candidates who do not represent our values and views." He's talking about the CD-7 and CD-8 races, but the main target of his wrath is Giffords and Jews who vote for Democrats. In his world, only Orthodox Jews, who tend to be more conservative, are upholding Jewish principles.

Ash is upset because Jews tend to be moderate-to-progessive-to-very-liberal. During the last election, some people worried that Jews might not support Obama, but he got over 75% of the Jewish vote. For Ash, that must mean they're not true to their faith, because they don't agree with him.

Ash seems to forget a few things about Jews' tendency to support social justice, which tends to move them to the left of the political spectrum. Our history of being second class citizens who were persecuted though the ages and sometimes, like during the Inquisition, the Progroms and World War II, beaten and murdered for being Jewish, makes many Jews very sensitive to intolerance. That's why so many Jews were on the front lines during the Civil Rights movement as well as other similar causes, past and present.

Ash also condemns these "liberal Jews" for not agreeing with him about the best way to support Israel. Ash is a hawk who wants Israel to act according to Neocon ideology, and he thinks all good Jews should believe the same. He seems to forget that Israeli Jews who love their country are divided about whether Israel should make compromises and pursue peace talks or adopt a Cheney-like militarist stance. Sometimes Israel has tended to be more dovish, and sometimes, like right now, it has been more hawkish. But the people on different sides of the debate aren't more or less Jewish or more or less Israeli for their differences. They have different opinions about what's best for Israel, just like Jews — as well as others — here in the U.S.

Ash may also be forgetting some of the history of the early founders and supporters of the Israeli state. Lots of them from the early 1900s through the creation of Israel were Eastern European lefties, the type of people who thought the communal kibbutzim were a good idea. Ash would have to call these people socialists, at the very least, based on the current conservative definition of the term. I wonder if he would question their Jewishness.

Ash's use a political litmus test for someone's Jewishness is a foreign concept to me, as I believe it is for most Jews. I certainly don't question Ash's Jewishness because of his political beliefs. But I guess Ash thinks he has the religious wisdom to separate the "true Jews" from the "false Jews."

Click on the link to read Ash's entire letter. After his letter, you can read a response which also points out factual inaccuracies in Ash's letter, signed by prominent members of the Jewish community, including a rabbi. But according to Ash's definition, the rabbi may not be a real Jew, because she disagrees with him.

Bruce Ash's letter.

Fellow Southern Arizonans

Will we grant another term to Gabrielle Giffords & Raul Grijalva to
represent us in Congress?

If not , what are we doing to help our candidates Jesse Kelly in CD 8
and Ruth McClung in CD 7 ? Specifically what is our religious/ spiritual
community doing to oppose the Democrat candidates who do not represent
our values and views ? At this time there does not seem to be much
recognition of the change we can make in this election through the
Christian communities coming together to support Mr Kelly and Ms
McClung..

As a Jew I am disheartened that more of my fellow Jews do not support
Jesse Kelly and Ruth McClung. After all , Congresswoman Giffords , who
claims to be a Jewess , has foolishly done much to de stabilize the
security of Israel with her votes and alliances with others who want to
force Israel to make treaties with enemies who do not even recognize the
existence of the state. Mr. Grijalva , never a friend of Israel , has
supported countless schemes of anti Israel and anti Jewish groups and
has voted against most measures which would provide direct support for
the people and State of Israel.

I have to admit increasingly, the religion of most modern Jews is not
Judaism but it is liberalism and many have embraced these two House
members liberal beliefs and policies. Many Jews have been blinded by
their liberalism and give broad support to these two incumbents. The
major exception is the Orthodox Jewish community which supports most
conservatives. Christians and Conservative/Orthodox Jews support the
Peace of Jerusalem. I urge all Christian and Conservative/Orthodox Jews
to reject Gifford's and Grijalva's re election in 2010.

Besides their positions which do not truly favor our strong relationship
with Israel and a vibrant national security both of these House members
are pro choice. The GOP candidates are fervently PRO LIFE.

I am sure you know Giffords and Grijalva have voted for The Big Bank
Bailouts , The GM/Chrysler Government Takeovers &Obamacare.
Both voted for Card Check which would end the secret ballot in union
organizing elections. Both voted in support of Cap & Trade which could
mean significant increases ( up to $3000 p/family p/year ) in energy
costs . Both incumbents support raising taxes on all taxpayers. Their
votes to spend at a record level have created over $3,000,000,000,000 in
deficits so far and foreign debt to potential adversaries of America.
This is before one considers the impact of Obamacare. The regulation
which the national leadership has created strangles our economy. More
government which Giffords and Grijalva have supported reduces the
liberty of all Americans including our second amendment rights.

Of local interest each of these representatives oppose SB 1070 and
Arizona's anti illegal immigration efforts . Mr Grijalva even supported
a general economic boycott of our state. Both Giffords and Grijalva
support the federal lawsuit the The Department of Justice has filed
against the citizens of our state.

Many of our fellow citizens have been overwhelmed by the change created
by President Obama and the Democrat led Congress and wonder what they
can do. We have been deluged with one law after another so here's what
we can do to make REAL change. My first suggestion would be vote for
change which means a vote for Jesse Kelly in CD8 and Ruth McClung in
CD7. Go to their websites : www.voteJesseKelly.com or www.Ruth4AZ.com
and make a gift . Volunteer online to help make phone calls or simply
put up a yard sign in front of your home or business. Call the Pima GOP
at 321-1492 and volunteer. Or simply talk to your friends at work, in
the neighborhood and at church. In order to be successful it will take
all of our efforts. I guarantee our opponents are working very hard for
their candidates.

Will Washington become the "Shining City on the Hill" again ? It will
if we stand up for American values . It will if we recognize the clear
choices we have in this election. It will if the religious/spiritual
communities join together and actively get involved to support our
candidates win this election. Our Judeo Christian values have been under
attack for too long. Please join me as we begin a new chapter in our
great American adventure together.

Sincerely,
Bruce Ash
Tucson,Arizona

Here is the letter in response:

To our community:

As Jews, we embrace politics because our parents and our grandparents taught us about the tragedies that can occur if we stay silent.

Some of us are liberal. Some of us are conservative. Many of us are moderate. As Americans, we respect one another’s right to differ, to argue, to participate in the political process with the passion and intelligence that G-d has given us. This is part of our tradition as a people, and we are proud of it.

But we know, too, that there are limits. This week, a member of our community has gone too far.

Bruce Ash submitted a letter to a Christian blog, dougmartin.goodnewscommunications.com, attacking our Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and questioning her Judaism and her support for Israel. His letter is full of insults and lies.

Mr. Ash does not agree with her on the issues and has every right to express his opinion, but to question her Judaism by writing that “she claims to be a Jewess’’ is wrong.

Anyone with an internet connection can see for themselves that Giffords’ record shows tremendous support for Israel. Mr. Ash’s claims otherwise are absurd. Her actions in support of Israel include opposition to the sale of munition technology to Saudi Arabia, condemnation of the Goldstone Report and co-sponsorship of the Iran Sanctions Act. Our Congresswoman was selected as a member of the Bi-partisan Iran Sanctions Implementation Work Group. She is a national board member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. The first of her bills to become the law of our land was the Stop Arming Iran Act. This is a strong record on Israel; it does not deserve to be attacked from within our community.

On other issues, Mr. Ash has got his facts wrong. Congresswoman Giffords did not vote for the government bailout of GM and Chrysler, as Mr. Ash falsely states. Nor did she support the federal lawsuit against the state of Arizona, which Mr. Ash also falsely claims.

It is also worth remembering that Gabrielle Giffords grew up here in Tucson in a family that has been active in our community for decades. Her grandmother, Ruth Giffords, was a former president of Hadassah. Her grandfather ,’Gif’ Giffords, was a founder of our B’nai B’rith. Her father Spencer celebrated his bar mitzvah at Tucson’s historic Temple Emanu-El, which is now home to our Jewish History Museum. Congresswoman Giffords is a member of Congregation Chaverim. To question her Judaism is an insult to us all.

In our community, we do not lie in order to influence an election. We do not intentionally stir up hatred. We do not measure or judge the faith of other members of our community. And we should not question our Congresswoman’s rock-solid commitment to Israel.

Bruce Ash does not speak for our community and he owes us all an apology.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron
Barry Baker
Geoff Balon
Stanley Feldman
Nanci and Doug Levy
Tamir Nicholson
Ron Ober
Esther and Abe Orlick
Donald Pitt
Susan Warmack
Tom Warne