CAIR Calls for Prager's Ejection from Holocaust Memorial Council
You gotta love this sensationalist headline:
Islamic group targets columnist
Frederic J. Frommer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – An Islamic civil rights group wants a columnist removed from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council for criticizing Rep.-elect Keith Ellison’s decision to use the Quran during his ceremonial swearing-in next month.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday that comments by Dennis Prager, a columnist and conservative talk radio host, displayed an intolerance toward Islam that makes him inappropriate to serve on the council, which oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
When I first saw the story pop up in my newsreader, I expected it to be about some terrorist group issuing a death threat. There’s that liberal media for ya.
Well, no matter how much the Right would like to portray CAIR as a terrorist organization, they simply are not. And though I’m not the biggest CAIR fan on the block, I do believe that progressive Jews should support their call for Prager’s removal from the US Holocaust Memorial Council. A man who holds such abhorrent views has absolutely no place inside an organization thats purpose is to educate others about the dangers of religious and ethnic intolerance.
So, please do shoot the USHMM an e-mail or give ’em a ring at 202-488-0400, and let them know how you feel about Mr. Prager’s remarks and their inconsistency with the message one would hope to gain from the Shoah.
My sample letter is after the jump.
To whom it may concern,
My name is Daniel Sieradski and I am the editor-in-chief of Jewschool.com, a progressive Jewish weblog with a readership of 50,000 monthly.
I am writing to express my dismay with Dennis Prager’s recent remarks regarding Congressman-elect Keith Ellison’s decision to be sworn in on the Koran and to support the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ call for Mr. Prager’s immediate dismissal from the US Holocaust Memorial Council.
Mr. Prager’s remarks are entirely inconsistent with the message one would hope to gain from the Shoah. A man who holds such abhorrent views has absolutely no place inside an organization thats purpose is to educate others about the dangers of religious and ethnic intolerance.
I believe that it is only appropriate that Mr. Prager be removed from his position, as his presence on the Memorial Council tarnishes the reputation of the organization and throws the value of such an endeavor into question.
Sincerely,
Daniel Sieradski
Jewschool.com
CAIR might not be a terrorist organization, but its founders have been CONVICTED for aiding and abetting terrorist groups.
Mobius, where does this hatred of Prager come from?
“Well, no matter how much the Right would like to portray CAIR as a terrorist organization, they simply are not. ”
Mobius – are you calling AP part of the right??
What Praeger said was a bit over the top. But, I don’t think that what he said should have him kicked off the board of the museum.
If Ellison had quietly sworn on a Koran instead of making an announcement, would this have ever been an issue? I doubt it.
If I was elected to be the next rep of a district I would stand with the Hon Mr. Ellison and choose to be sworn in on a text that pissed off as many people as possible, say the First Amendment.
Prager is not a bad person for saying these things, but he should not represent us anymore. And last I checked he is reping us in an org that is trying to stop things like bigotry and hate… Is that just me or should we actually stand for the values we write about? If we do not stand up against those who appeal to our fear and weaknesses, then we will be weak and we will become what we are working against.
I for one am writting a letter. Thank you Mobius.
What Prager said was awful and indefensible. CAIR’s leaders happen to be much, much worse though:
http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/26/muslims/index.html
THE MAN COMPARED THE KORAN TO MEIN KAMPF AND BROWBEAT THE FIRST-EVER MUSLIM CONGRESSMAN FOR WANTING TO FREELY AND OPENLY EXPRESS HIS FAITH
“i don’t think what he did was so bad… what’s the big deal?”
ich, you make me ILL!
you know what… i hope prager’s successful in shutting down ellison. then, i hope they line up to shut down the jews. they’ll proclaim the protocols of the elders of zion are real and that the proof is in the talmud, which should be banned. then they should fire us from any public office we hold. maybe even expel us. because clearly, you give jews a shred of prosperity and freedom, they go completely batshit crazy and scramble with every bit of strength to cling to that prosperity, rather than protect the social and political values that enabled them to achieve it. and in that case, we clearly do pose a danger to any society in which we live, because we’ll sacrifice things like the constitution in order to preserve our place at the top of the food chain.
or in other words, right wing lapdogs like dennis prager enabled the holocaust to happen.
Mobius, you always make me do this – side with the right-wingers. I am with you one hundred percent. What Prager said was wrong, anti-American, anti-tolerant, anti-Jewish, all of those good things. As somebody who claims represent us, he deserves are full attention, and our full rejection of the words that come out of his mouth. Further, this was not a simple slip of tongue, tha the said at some riled up, rageful moment. This is a clear position that he has articulated and defended. He has no business serving at the Holocaust museum, and we aught to to see that his tenure there ends.
However, you got to chill on the rhetoric. Blaming him, or his type, for the holocaust is not a good move. A – it might be to extreme. B – it just inflames people, makes your argument less clear, and makes you come across as an extremist and fanatic yourself.
I just discovered this man Prager myself this past week as a result of this discussion, and I am well disgusted. Just put his own words in front of the screen, and hwo while they’re wrong, andn I’m sure everyone else will be disgusted too. If you think this comment was bothersome, check out his essay on homosexuality that won him a $10,000 prize. So, bash his stuff, call for his dismissal, but keep the hyperbolic ad hominem attacks to a minimum.
i second josh frankel. dennis prager is a big enough schmuck without the hyperbolic ranting.
oops hit the return button two quickly. i meant to say that dennis prager is a big enough schmuck, mobius, and highlighting his reputation as a bigot is enough; you can make your argument without your hyperbolic rantings.
Whether all of Mobius’s comments were justified or not, I need to point this out:
Some time ago, Prager wrote a book called “Why the Jews? The Reason for Anti-Semitism”
I don’t even know what to say. This kind of behavior does not earn Jews goodwill anywhere, so it’s surprising to see him as someone attempting to answer this question. I don’t know if Prager always was this extreme. Someone please fill me in.
Mobius POLEMICIZES. It’s what everyone should do, regardless of the hemlock in the wings.
He makes statements, and ask questions, which force his readership to THINK (oy, what a concept!).
When confronting with truth, people tend to either [1] enter denial (because they would otherwise be forced to ACT; [2] become violent; [3] have a gestalt and wonder, “wow, why didn’t I think of that?”
BTW, I called the number, and the live person I spoke with didn’t know if Prager is on the council, so she turfed me to someone’s voicemail, so I asked if what I just read on jewschool.com is, indeed true, and if so, Prager needs to be removed from the council, because his article was fascist.
No, Mobius, no hyperbole in your posts.
Todah.
And, yes, AP is also rightwing these days. See my remark in “Muslims are the New Jews” (which, BTW, is similar to what Bob Meeropol said about them a few years ago — that they’re the new commies.
Baalam’s Donkey,
I’ve read “Why the Jews?” and while I think it had some points that were clear and concise even that notable work had some glaring gaps in historical analysis and perspective. Besides that book, I think I often find Prager to be a blowhard. I just saw him on Tucker the other night making some of the most ridiculous comments about this matter, and it made me want to get sick. Somehow I think he’s always been a right-wing nutjob.
I say Prager should stay. Why shouldn’t self-hating Jews be represented on the Holocaust Council?
Uh, if you folks go to crooksandliars.com, Prager says that EVERYONE should be using the Christian Bible for their congressional swearing in. EVERYONE.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/01/dennis-prager-please-go-away/
(note, it’s a 4 minute segment and about 10 megs)
So, Ruby K, does this mean that Praeger is an Evangelical in Jewish clothing?
BTW, I did make that phone call, and no one’s gotten back to me. Sigh. JTA and the mayor of Jerusalem are ignoring me, too, these days…
I don’t know that Prager is an Evangelist. He does seem to be a tool of Evangelism. Or maybe he’s just a tool.
I would have to agree that Prager fits the self-hating Jew mold. Sad, really.