As I predicted days ago, Rabid Daniel Lapin sucks-up to Mel Gibson

First, a quick background: "Daniel Lapin, The Rabid Rabbi," is opposed to both gay marriage and to recycling-- on religious grounds.

His group, Toward Tradition, is primarily concerned with teaming-up Jewish, Christian, and Muslim fundies against gay people.

Rabid Daniel Lapin is Jack Abramoff's Rabbi, leader of an anti-gay fundie group, and the guy who Abramoff asked for a back-dated award for accomplishments in Judaism or some-such.

Yes, Judaism has its share of right-wing wackos, despite the fact that only 16% of Jews are Republicans, and eighty-something percent consider themselves Liberal.


On behalf of my fellow Jews, we apologize for throwing away the wrong part of Rabid Daniel Lapin when he was circumcised.

Mel Gibson and Me
© Rabbi Daniel Lapin
August 1, 2006


<snip>

Immediately thereafter, one of the self-anointed Jewish "leaders" proclaimed with breathtaking chutzpah, that Mel Gibson's apology is unremorseful and insufficient. "It's not a proper apology because it does not go to the essence of his bigotry and his anti-Semitism," he said. "We would hope that Hollywood now would realize the bigot in their midst and that they will distance themselves from this anti-Semite."

It is all too easy to join the circling hyenas and denounce Gibson while he is down. On the other hand, though he has provided some financial support to Toward Tradition, I don't feel obliged to leap to his defense. That is not the purpose behind my writing this column. The purpose of my writing this account is to respond to the question of how recent events have impacted my views of the man and his work. It is also to place a gentle restraining hand upon the shoulder of those in the Jewish community making yet another mistake.

There really are anti-Semites in this world of ours right now who not only wish to destroy all Jews but are doing all within their powers to bring that about. Does the name Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggest anything? Does it really make a lot of sense to treat Mel Gibson as a threat to Jews anywhere?

As for the remarks Gibson made while intoxicated, ancient Jewish wisdom informs us that one way we can know what a person is really like is by how he behaves when he is drunk. From this we can safely assume that Mel Gibson doesn't think much of Jews.

However there is another nugget of ancient Jewish wisdom emphasizing that we owe atonement for that which lies in our hearts, only to God. If I have an unworthy thought in my heart about you, I need to make good with God but I don't owe you an apology unless I act upon that thought. We humans are morally obliged to make good to other people only for those things we do, and not for any thoughts we have in our minds.


<snip>

This incident helps me explain why I am on record as opposing hate crime legislation. It is time for all Americans and particularly American Jews to grow up and recognize that you cannot force anyone to love or even like anyone else. You cannot force people to love Jews, Christians, women, men, blacks, white, handicapped people or people who drive red cars.

More:
http://www.towardtradition.org/Mel_Gibson.htm

Lapin goes on to criticize Michael Moore, Billy McKinney, Marlon Brando... everyone except Sasquatch. Yadda yadda yadda.


See also:

2. Gibson is buddy-buddy with assholes like Daniel Lapin..
Tue Aug-01-06 06:51 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1792616#1792662

I bet by "Jewish Leaders" he means assholes like Daniel Lapin. n/t
Aug-01-06 01:58 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2428512#2428551


Lobbyist (Abramoff), rabbi (talk radio host) plot to trick private club
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1573422

Abramoff -- His Crimes and Connections to Public Figures...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=358&topic_id=597

we un-Frenched our fries. We are a vindictive human race.

Michael Medved and Jackie Mason on last nights Count Down. Yea. It was no big deal. Mel didn't mean any harm even though his nut case diddy is a holocaust denier and his snuff film depicted Jews terribly and unlike any Biblical description.....

A Jewish friend the likes of Lapin will only make things worse for Mel.

Queer allies
By Evan Gahr
The little-noticed alliance between gay marriage opponents and alleged terrorist sympathizers

<snip>

But they sounded not like religious figures but rather crass politicians who lack any kind of moral compass. Rabbi Barry Freundel, of the Rabbinical Council of America, who wouldn't say much publicly, remained on the board. Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor of First Things magazine and head of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, simply dismissed the AMC connection as the nature of alliances. So did Rabbi Daniel Lapin of Toward Tradition, which seeks to unite Jews and Christians.

"What I see is that I am supporting an idea and if others with whom I don't agree on a variety of other topics also support the idea," Rabbi Lapin told the Forward after the original expose was published on JewishWorldReview.com, "then they are supporting my idea. I'm not supporting theirs . . . When America allied itself with Russia to defeat Nazi Germany in no way was America endorsing the contemptible politics of the Soviet Union."

About six weeks later, a bunch of young men killed 3000 innocent civilians when they plowed highjacked planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.

The cliche is that everything changed after September 11. But it doesn't seem that much changed with the Alliance for Marriage. Although the American Muslim Council was apparently kicked off — it is no longer among the board of advisor members posted on AFM's website — the Islamic Society for North America remains.

More:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1203/marriage_terrorists.php3

He's a major player in neo-con funding circles.

THE DAILY DELAY: Northern Mariana Islands, Abramoff, DeLay, and EnronMore importantly, Daniel Lapin introduced Abramoff and DeLay in 1994, just after the GOP won the House. (Need a scorecard yet?) 6. Why would Tom DeLay care ...

http://www.dailydelay.blogspot.com/2005/04/northern-mariana-islands-abramoff.html