Beck Denigrates Yom Kippur

[proud2BlibKansan]

Washington, D.C. -- Today, in response to conservative host Glenn Beck encouraging his listeners to make Yom Kippur "a day of Fast and Prayer for the Republic," Media Matters for America issued the following statement:

"Yom Kippur is a day of atonement, prayer and fasting," Ari Rabin-Havt of Media Matters said. "Glenn Beck's attempt to politicize this holiest of days with his far right agenda is not only disgusting, but shows a profound disrespect for the Jewish people."

BACKGROUND:

As Media Matters noted, Beck posted the following on his Twitter page:



more . . .
http://mediamatters.org/press/releases/200909210024

[Happyhippychick]

1. Okay Glenn. And let's all go to our local Mormon temple and demand to take a ritual bath.

Asshole.

[roguevalley]

24. proxy baptism for the dead sounds like justice to me.

[rockymountaindem]

2. Let's be real. Beck probably didn't know it was Yom Kippur

Jewish holidays just don't appear on the radar of a lot of people.

[MrScorpio]

4. When I was growing up, it was on most calendars

Just sayin'

[rockymountaindem]

7. Me too. It didn't stop my schools from ignoring them

Like by scheduling parent-teacher conferences or field trips or field days etc. on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. It happened all the time. Then when my parents called to complain they were always surprised anybody actually observed holidays besides Christmas and Easter. One of my math teachers even tried to make me take a test *early* because he'd scheduled it on Yom Kippur and I couldn't be there. Plenty of people told me "I always wondered what those things on the calendar were".

[DesertFlower]

14. i grew up in new york so we

always knew when it was a jewish holiday. no traffic. alternate side of the street parking suspended.

[Kber]

22. Depends on where you are

My kids' schools are closed.

Otoh, years ago when I missed school for Rosh Hashannah in the (public) Houston school district, my teacher called me up in front of the class so she could explain to me and the rest of the students that "we don't give off for those damned Jew holidays here, girl." But it turned out, after further review by my parents, their lawyer, and the local school board, that they do. :)


And I had one Penn State prof give me a bit of a hard time when I asked to take an exam that was scheduled for Yom Kipper a day early. He complained about having to make special arrangements for every Penn State student who happened to be Jewish.

I explained that I wasn't a Penn State student who happened to be Jewish. I was a Jew who happened to be a Penn State student. He actually got over his momentary lapse, apologized, and we all moved on.

I really don't mind people forgetting about the High Holidays. After all, we are a pretty small minority when you think about it. But I do mind people resenting or interfering with me taking three whole days a year to try to be religiously observant in a way that doesn't involve Macy's, Wallmart or The Gap.

And, I resent the HELL out of someone using these holy days for their own commercial or political agenda. If that earns me an * next to my name in the Book of Life, so be it!

[Critters2]

25. A wonderful post! Thank you...

especially the statement about being a Jew who happened to be a Penn State student. Exactly the point.


I enjoyed this portion, too:
"...my teacher called me up in front of the class so she could explain to me and the rest of the students that 'we don't give off for those damned Jew holidays here, girl.' But it turned out, after further review by my parents, their lawyer, and the local school board, that they do. :) "

LOL!

[DesertFlower]

13. it's on my calendar.

[Fearless]

5. I would agree...

However the choice of words could mean otherwise. I don't know. Maybe he was trying to make an allusion. Clearly most Jewish people would find him offensive (as most Americans do too might I add).

In all, pretty tame by his standards.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. If you click on the link, you get more information. He knew.

On September 21 on his radio show, Beck elaborated:

BECK: By the way, I just thought I would put this out there, and what you do with it is your own business. But, this weekend, I put out a tweet on Twitter that September 28th is the Day of Atonement for the Jewish faith, and I thought it would be a good day for all of us to fast and pray, you know. And I got this idea from Thomas Jefferson. After they put together the Continental Congress, the first thing they did was put together a day -- a national day of fast and prayer, and I thought the Day of Atonement would be a good day to do it.

[rockymountaindem]

12. Well, so much for that

Way to jump on the bandwagon, Beck.

[OswegoAtheist]

16. "a day of atonement?"

Glenn, if you're gonna start atoning for your actions, you may want to clear off a bit more than a single day.

Oswego "Glenn Beck's a few days short a calendar as it is" Atheist

[immoderate]

17. Continental Congress? How'd that work out?

:rofl:

--imm

[Happyhippychick]

21. Of course he knew. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting, he was proposing a national day of fasting.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. Beck, take a long walk in the founders steps on a short pier. nt

[AspenRose]

6. That's disgusting.

Seriously.

That's just taking things too far. TOO FAR.

[AllentownJake]

9. "Walk in the Founders Steps?"

What the heck does the highest holy day on the Jewish Calendar have to do with our mostly deist and protestant founders.

[Fire1]

18. My question also. n/t

[CBHagman]

10. Atone for THIS, Glenn Beck.

That Video, for starters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/28/fox-host-glenn-beck-obama_n_246310.html

[spanone]

11. the first two words would have sufficed.

[sakabatou]

15. From this Jew to Beck:

Lech lehizdayen.

[sabra]

19. tov meod

:hi:

[pepperbear]

20. Oh, Come On. He isn't denigrating anything. He's trying to co-opt it.

There are plenty of things "Bek" does that make him a pig. This just makes him look stupid and naive.

[Kber]

23. And a pig

[Critters2]

27. +1 nt

[Cha]

26. I wouldn't want my religion

to be tainted by his political pandering, either..if I had one.

Good on Ari Rabin-Havt of Media Matters:patriot:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

28. They've tried to politicize the observance of Christmas

and are branching out to other religions now, trying to appropriate them for their own demented right wing cause. Nice to see someone pushing back.