Comments (0)Kristol’s Legacy
October 9, 2009The excellent Jewish Times editorial on 9/25 on Irving Kristol happened to omit a few points that readers should be informed of: In the March 1952 issue of Commentary, he wrote, “For there is one thing that the American people know about Senator McCarthy: He, like them, is unequivocally anti-Communist. About the spokesmen for American liberalism, they feel they know no such thing.”
Along with embracing the red-baiting senator from Wisconsin, he embraced the merits of Christian discrimination against Jews in his 1991 essay, “The Future of American Jewry.” He wrote, “If America is going to become more Christian, Jews will have to adapt.” He then added, “This wouldn’t be so bad.”
Does this mean I should remove my mezuzah from my doorpost? America is not a Christian country; we are a secular country. Kristol should have read the Establishment Clause in our Constitution.
Irving Kristol’s son, Bill, is more conservative. He was Dan Quayle’s campaign manager and speechwriter before linking up with the rightwing Weekly Standard magazine which is barely afloat.
The apple falls not far from the tree.
Gerald Ben Shargel
Baltimore