Jews have a
substantial traditional literature on how to deal with making a mistake, on how
to repent for hurting others. Though we may not always act on our knowledge, we
know what we're supposed to do when we've said something cruel to or about
someone else. More recently, we've also developed a body of wisdom on how to
respond to hate speech.
Let's be clear:
When David Friedman referred to supporters of J Street as "not
Jewish" and "worse than kapos", he was engaging in hate speech,
no less than if a non-Jewish politician had referred to members of AIPAC as
Nazis. Now, with a plum political job in reach, Friedman is making a public
show of what is supposed to be seen as “contrition.”
"I regret use of such
language," Friedman said during his first hearing before the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee. "The inflammatory rhetoric during the
presidential campaign is entirely over. If confirmed my language would be
measured," he added. Friedman went a step further by saying that there was
"no excuse" for his choice of words. (source: Haaretz)
Has he reached
out to those he’s hurt? Has he tried to
undo the damage by saying not just, “I shouldn’t have used that language” but, “I
was wrong – these people are Jews, are not enemies of the Jewish people or the
Jewish state, and while I disagree with them profoundly I see them as caring,
decent people”? Has he, in fact, done
any of the things that the tradition demands of the penitent? Well, I know I’m still
waiting for my call.
Or has he done
any of the things that we’d demand of even a juvenile who’d painted a swastika on
a JCC? Has he spent time with those he’s
attacked, learning about who they are, what their experience was, so that he
might come to empathize with them and understand the pain he has caused and
explore his own bigotry? Please.
To those who
believe that Friedman should be the American Ambassador to Israel because they
approve of his language, or at most think it’s no big deal, well, it’s a free
country. But to those who might suggest
that he has in any way apologized? That’s insulting.
