Is Glenn Beck an Anti-Semite? No, Says an American Israeli

COMMENTARY | "It is time for us to courageously stand with Israel," said Glenn Beck, when he explained the purpose of his upcoming "Restoring Courage" rally, set to take place in Israel in summer 2011.

It's no surprise that, at a time when President Obama is giving Israel an ultimatum to retreat to borders that would ensure its destruction, Beck is coming out in defense of Israel. After all, Beck has been Israel's greatest defender among the media for over a decade.

But in response to Beck's greatest stand in defense of Israel to date, Dana Milbank of The Washington Post has called Beck an "anti-Semite" and referred to him as "that creature." Milbank's opinion comes in stark contrast to that of the Zionist Organization of America, which named Beck this year's recipient of The Defender of Israel Award. This sentiment was echoed in 2006 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said to Beck that he will be remembered as "a friend of humanity and a friend to the Jewish people."

And yet this is the man Milbank calls "an anti-Semite." How does the writer back his assertion? By accusing Beck of describing The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as "accurate." In fact, Beck has called this anti-Semitic tract "despicable" and referred his audience to a report from the Anti-Defamation League titled "The Hoax of Hate," which exposes the truth about anti-Semitism.

What further evidence does The Washington Post have of Beck's anti-Semitism? Milbank accuses Beck of only doing a "couple of shows about the evils of anti-Semitism" since deciding to part with Fox. Two shows in recent history? But what about Beck's lifelong record?

In 2009, 2007 and 2003, Beck came out in defense of Israel's right to defend itself and used a range of metaphors to convey to the American public the imminent dangers Israel faces. Imagine that Canada was shooting missiles at us daily, he suggested in 2009. Imagine that you lived in a country smaller than New Jersey and everyone in Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware was trying to kill you, he explained in 2003. And to illustrate the true spirit of the haters of Israel, in 2002 Beck talked with a caller who admitted on the air that he was looking forward to the next suicide bombing.

Looking forward to women and children getting blown up on a bus. Or at school. Or in the supermarket.

That day, by using his skill as a radio host, Beck exposed the true nature of the haters of Israel. Yet Milbank considers Beck a hater of Israel and the Jews -- a blatant lie in the face of Beck's record.

In 2008, Beck came out in defense of Israel in a CNN interview, when President Obama met with the Palestinians but failed to accord the same consideration to Israel. You have to meet with both sides, was Beck's stand. In 2006 Beck, interviewed Prime Minister Netanyahu to introduce Israel's plight to the American public and reaffirm the truth: That Israel is the only free democracy in the Middle East, and the only ally, in spirit and action, that the United States has in that part of the world, where women are sentenced by the courts to be stoned for adultery, thieves' hands are cut off, gays are hanged, and no political rights exist.

That same year, Beck devoted his television show to The Extremist Agenda, a series of episodes exposing radical Islam and its avowed agenda to destroy the United States, its allies, and Israel, which Islamic clerics have dubbed "the spoiled offspring of this entity."

Beck has devoted several shows to the question of rising anti-Semitism, warning that old hates are rearing their ugly heads around the world, with anti-Semitism in the West equaling pre-WWII levels. Beck has fought indefatigably to defend Israel before the media, telling its story and the truth about the enemies of the Jewish state and faith around the world.

As an American Israeli, I wonder about the true agenda of Milbank and The Washington Post for labeling Glenn Beck "that creature" and an "anti-Semite." It brings to mind a conversation from "Alice in Wonderland:"

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

To enter the world of the Washington Post, you have to be either mad or evil. Beck is one of Israel's greatest defenders, as proved by his television and radio appearances both on his shows and as a guest on other programs. To call him an anti-Semite, which translates to anti-Israel and anti-Jews, is to call the truth a lie and make a mockery of everything that newspaper reporting should be about.

Shanda on you, Dana Milbank and The Washington Post!

* Shanda, the Yedish word for "Shame" was used by Dana Milbank in his Washington Post Article: "Joe Lieberman joining Glenn Beck: a shanda".

Reference

See the videos and interviews of Glenn Beck defending Israel and the Jews throughout his career.