Weyrich accused of anti-semitism for saying Jews killed Jesus

Church & State, Jun 2001

Religious Right leader Paul Weyrich was accused of anti-Semitism in April after he circulated a commentary piece asserting that the Jews were responsible for Jesus' death.

In the April 13 article, "Indeed He Is Risen!," Weyrich writes, "Our God could -not bear to see mankind suffering, even if it was from the consequences of his own actions, so He sent his only Son to become man. so that man could become like God. To accomplish that, Christ was crucified by the Jews who had wanted a temporal ruler to rescue them from the oppressive Roman authorities. Instead God sent them a spiritual leader to rescue them from their sins end despite the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, performed incredible miracles, even raised people from the dead, He was not what the Jews had expected, so they considered Him a threat. Thus He was put to death."

Weyrich's comments drew a strong response from writer Evan Gahr, whose articles appear in a number of right-wing publications. Gahr attacked Weyrich in the American Spectator and then, in an interview with The Washington Post, called Weyrich a "demented anti-Semite."

But some conservatives rushed to Weyrich's defense, insisting that what he wrote is consistent with the New Testament and not anti-Semitic. David Horowitz, who edits a far-right magazine called FrontPage where Gahr was a regular contributor, told Gahr he would publish no more of his columns and insisted that he apologize to Weyrich.

Weyrich, a member of an Eastern-Rite Roman Catholic Church, is a longtime Washington strategist with the Religious Right. In the late 1970s, he helped conceive and launch Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority.

In other news about religion and politics:

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has refused to condemn a professional basketball player who made anti-Semitic comments in late April. Charlie Ward, a guard with the New York Knicks, is a former player at Florida State University who serves as a spokesman for a state program that encourages parents to read to their children. In an interview with The New York Times Magazine, Ward said Jews have "blood on their hands" for killing Christ. He called Jews "stubborn" for not accepting Christ and asserted that Christians are "persecuted by Jews every day."

Bush refused to criticize Ward, saying, "I don't necessarily ascribe to the same biblical interpretation as others, but I do believe we need to have tolerance on both sides. I wouldn't necessarily...conclude what he concluded, but he has every right to do that."

When asked if Ward is still a good role model, Bush replied, "Absolutely, absolutely."

Catholic voters are being targeted by the Republican Party. The Associated Press reported that GOP strategists will work in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, which have large Catholic populations, to build networks of Catholic "team leaders." According to the AP, the team leaders "are asked to participate in conference calls with policy-makers, provide the e-mail addresses of 10 fellow Republicans, call local talkradio programs, recruit additional `team leaders' and forward Republican e-mails to five of their friends."

Catholics are considered a crucial swing voting bloc. President Bill Clinton won the majority of the Catholic vote in 1992 and 1996, but President George W. Bush and Al Gore essentially split it in the 2000 election.

Religious Right leaders in Florida are rallying around a state legislator who harangued a group of gay high school and college students when they came to visit him in April. State Rep. Allen Trovillion (R-Winter Park) reportedly told the students "God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and he is going to destroy you and a lot of others .... You are going to cause the downfall of this country, which was built on Christian principles."

The students had traveled to Tallahassee to meet with lawmakers as part of a lobbying day sponsored by a group called Equity Florida to press for a law banning harassment of gay students in public schools.