Subject: Special Report from c.c.watch (12-15-95)
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 15:13:14 -0500

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SUBJECT:  c.c.watcher report on recent Ralph Reed event 

In a message dated 95-12-06 10:32:02 EST, you write:
> 
>Ralph Reed will be speaking at the Jewish Community Center in Whippany, NJ
>on December 13 - for more info. call the Gay Helpline of NJ
> 
Please let us know what happens there if you can. Thanks. c.c.watch.

I arrived at the Jewish Community Center around 7pm and there were about 40
peaceful protesters outside the entrance--mostly people from Morris County
NOW, and a few other organizations. Protesters carried signs, chanted a
little and handed out flyers. It was very cold and those attending the speech
moved quickly inside. Some, however, stopped to express support; only one
that I saw was critical of the protesters, shouting that they were "free
speech bigots" and that Ralph Reed had a right to speak. Actually, I think a
significant number of the protesters were not protesting his right to speak
there so much as questioning the appropriateness of Reed being paid to speak
before a JCC. Apparently the decision to invite Reed had been highly
controversial. 

I confess that I bought a ticket since I happen to support free speech, and
also because I was curious and believe in the "know thy enemy" approach. The
title of his talk was "Is the Christian Coalition Relevant to the Jewish
Politic?" Basically it came down to an attempt to court Jewish conservatives
to his side and respond to allegations of anti-Semitism in the Christian
Coalition. I don't think he changed any minds; you either supported him to
begin with or didn't. During the question period people were critical of the
fact that there was no Jewish or liberal rebuttal. His defenders pointed out
that liberal speakers in the same series did not offer equal time to
conservatives - a valid point, but it did little to soothe Reed's critics.

Parts of his presentation were familiar to me from his speech to the ADL of
B'Nai B'Rith. I was impressed by his rhetorical skills and the ease with
which he evaded answering criticism directly. He was very slick and confidant
and not at all intimidated by the hostility to him. Despite his eloquence, I
doubt anybody was convinced that by his claim that Pat Robertson and the
Christian Coalition are not anti-Semitic. Reed said that the worst accusation
you could make of anyone in this, the same century that the Holocaust
occurred, is to call them an anti-Semite and that it should not be made
without strong evidence. (Agreed. But that hasn't stopped Pat Robertson from
linking homosexuality with Satanism under Hitler. A little revisionism goes a
long way.)

Here are some of points made by Reed to court Jewish conservatives:

--"We must be Christians & Jews first, Americans 2nd, and Republicans or
Democrats 3rd."
--support for state of Israel and peace in the mid-East/condemnation of
assassination of Rabin
--urged congressional leaders to move US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
[this got much applause from the audience]
--condemned US inaction & indifference to Jewish plight even though Roosevelt
and the government had early knowledge of the camps
--anti-Semitism is now emerging from the Left, not the Right (quoted Jesse
Jackson's "hymie-town" comments, Michael Jackson's song lyrics "kike me, Jew
me")[one questioner asked Reed if he wasn't subliminally trying to appeal to
racism by using these examples]
--discussed his recent visit to Israel
--says he went to a high school that was 30-40% Jewish and that he "went to
more Bar Mitzvahs than baptisms" (He also mentioned his friendships with some
conservative Jews, which prompted a few chuckles from the audience as we all
thought, "But, some of my best friends are Jewish")
--Jews and Christians share the same God, values, and some scripture
--if the lamb and lion can lie down together, if Arab and Jew can live
together in peace, then so can we

I was very disturbed by his appropriation of Christian civil rights leaders
to make his own conservative points. He quoted Martin Luther King, Jr. and
drew parallels to the conservative Christian movement and the civil rights
movement. He quoted Jewish rabbis, and when confronted on the issue of
homosexuality, he cited the gay conservative Andrew Sullivan's own opposition
to minority status for gays and lesbians. He also insisted on using the terms
"special rights" rather than equal rights, and sexual "preference" rather
than orientation.

I came away from his speech feeling more frightened than ever for the future
of democracy in the United States. I did not feel that Reed really addressed
the obstacles between Christian/Jewish relations; he was only there to
placate Jewish conservatives who agree with certain aspects of the
Coalition's social agenda. Although he dismissed allegations that his
organization still engages in "stealth" politics, he gave me no reason to
expect that the Christian Coalition would suddenly decide to stop subverting
the political system.

To add insult to injury, Reed ended his talk by quoting some of Rabin's last
words: "All we want is to live with respect as free men"

Ditto, Mr. Reed. Ditto.

SUBMITTED BY: Paul, c.c.watcher, Princeton, NJ (12/14/95)