Opinion

No, It Doesn’t Matter That Bernie Sanders Is Ethnically Jewish. He’s a Jew In Name Only.

   DailyWire.com

The media have suddenly discovered that socialist loonbag old man screaming at the moon Senator Bernie Sanders is ethnically Jewish. And they’re overjoyed – now, instead of two old white people running against each other for the Democratic nomination, they’ve got The First Female President™ and The First Jewish President™!

There’s only one problem: Sanders isn’t Jewish in any real sense.

There are two types of Jewishness: ethnic Judaism and actual belief in and practice of Judaism. By the first standard, Sanders is Jewish; by the second, not in the slightest.

When people talk about ethnic Jewishness, there are two standards: the Nazi standard, and the Judaic standard. The non-Jewish standard of Jewish ethnicity means having a Jewish ancestor; by that standard, the first major party nominee of Jewish descent was Barry Goldwater, who had a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. The Jewish standard of Jewish ethnicity means having a Jewish mother; by that standard, Sanders would be the first major party nominee of Jewish ethnicity.

But practicing Jews – Jews who take the Torah and mitzvoth (commandments) seriously – don’t care about ethnic Jewishness beyond the fact that you’re obligated to perform commandments if you’re ethnically Jewish. Practicing Jews care whether you actually take Judaism seriously. As I wrote back in 2011:

Being Jewish is not like being black or Asian or Hispanic. It comes with certain attendant ideological responsibilities. There is no logical or inherent connection between skin color and liberalism or conservatism — melanin has no political playbook. Jewish identity, however, does. There is more to being truly Jewish than being born into a Jewish family, just as there is more to being Christian than being baptized.

Being truly Jewish requires allegiance to basic Judaic principles; the first and foremost of which is identity with the Jewish people and its enlightened national aspirations. In the Tanach (the Jewish canon, including the Old Testament, the Prophets and the Writings), when Ruth converts to Judaism, she states, “Your people will be my people and your God my God.” The connection between Jews and the land of Israel is the running theme of the Old Testament. Any Jew who does not take these principles seriously — more seriously than global warming or affirmative action, for example — is a JINO.

Sanders is an avowed atheist who believes the Bible is mumbo-jumbo and the state of Israel a villain in the world community. Here’s what he told Jimmy Kimmel about Judaism:

Kimmel: You say you’re culturally Jewish, you don’t feel religious. Do you believe in God, and do you think that’s important to the people of the United States?

Sanders: Well, you know, I am who I am. And what I believe in and what my spirituality is about is that we’re all in this together. That I think it is not a good thing to believe that, as human beings, we can turn our backs on the suffering of other people. And you know, this is not Judaism.

When Sanders pretends at religion, he speaks about God the way Obi Wan-Kenobi speaks about The Force: “I believe that there is a connection between all living things.”

He’s anti-Israel – his new advisors on Israel include one who has compared Israelis to Nazis and says Jews are perpetrating a Holocaust against Palestinians. He’s teamed up with Israel-hating J Street, the left’s favorite anti-Israel faux-Jewish front organization, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Larry Korb, and Arab American Institute anti-Israel ragemaster James Zogby. And, of course, Sanders supported the Iran deal that endangers Israel’s existence, and routinely accuses Israel of “overreacting” against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

So no, Bernie Sanders isn’t the first Jewish president. He’s no more Jewish than Noam Chomsky or Sidney Blumenthal. Our media are just looking for an excuse to play the “First Ethnicity Democrat,” as always – even though ethnicity should mean nothing to voters, and represents nothing but a racist appeal.

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