Anti-Israel Activists Say Obama Chanukah Party Invite Was No Accident
“I’ve been to the White House several times before"
December 22, 2015
Daniel Greenfield
Ever since my original piece on the ugliness at Obama's Chanukah party and the various follow up pieces, a clumsy PR campaign has been waged by their supporters to undo the damage. But the spin often does even more damage. A good example is this piece at the Jewish Exponent.
“I’ve been to the White House several times before, but never to the Chanukah party,” said Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, director of social justice at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, who was joined at the 4 p.m. party by his wife, Lynne Iser...
The Jewish Exponent piece is told from the standpoint of Liebling and his wife Lynne. Jon Marks however neglects to inform readers that Liebling supports BDS and his wife is an anti-Israel activist.
Mordechai Liebling backed the Goldstone Report’s blood libel of Israel, participated in a “Fast for Gaza” and signed BDS letters calling on churches to divest from companies that do business with Israel. One of his BDS letters appeared at Jewish Voice for Peace, a radical group at the farthest left of the anti-Israel spectrum which pushes BDS and protests pro-Israel events.
T’ruah’s Mordechai Liebling has written that “the non-violent nature of BDS needs to be highlighted” and signed a letter calling on the president to "impose a final settlement" on Israel backed by sanctions. Other signatories included Van Jones and Salam Al-Marayati who had described Hezbollah terrorist attacks as "legitimate resistance." Al-Marayati had also suggested that the Jews were behind 9/11.
After Hamas won the election, Liebling had signed a letter urging President Bush “to take a cautious stand concerning Hamas” and called for “constructive engagement with the new Palestinian government”.
Robert Skalroff, who referred me to this story, had his own writeup on Liebling's background.
He is Director of the Social Justice Organizing Program at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and supports the BDS movement; he is a member of the Rabbinic Cabinet of J Street. He served as the executive vice president of Jewish Funds for Justice; prior to that organization’s merger with The Shefa Fund, which is harshly critical of Israeli policies.
It's certainly interesting that an anti-Israel BDS supported had frequently been at the White House. Lynne Iser, Liebling's wife, is a key figure in Mishkan Shalom's Israel programming. This has included inviting anti-Israel activists. Lynne Iser also appears to have signed on to her husband's Fast for Gaza.
Following the president, St. Louis-based Reform Rabbi Susan Talve delivered a blessing, which some right-wing blogs described as inappropriate for the occasion and with political than religious motivation because of her calls for compassion toward groups like Muslims and homosexuals. According to Liebling, nothing could be further from the truth.
“Lynne and I thought she was wonderful,” declared Liebling.
Talve's invocation promoted Muslims and Islam without mentioning Jewish causes and concerns. It was a bizarre rant by one of Liebling's fellow anti-Israel activists.
"There was nothing offensive.. She’s one of the more prominent rabbis in the country who’s supported Black Lives Matter. That’s why they picked her; they don’t pick people by chance.”
That's certainly interesting. Also tellingly, both of the leftist clergy to deliver invocations were part of the anti-Israel hate group T'ruah.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/261176/anti-israel-activists-say-obama-chanukah-party-daniel-greenfield
