Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Is Michele Bachmann Jewish?


No...but some Republican donors think she is, and it seems to be working in her favor. The New York Post reports:
Some Jewish donors are telling fund-raisers for Romney, a Mormon, that while they like him, they'd rather open their wallets for the "Jewish candidate," who they don't realize is actually a Lutheran, The Post has learned. "It's a real problem," one Romney fund-raiser said. "We're working very hard in the Jewish community because of Obama's Israel problem. This was surprising." Like other Republicans, Romney is trying to capitalize on President Obama's waning support among Jewish voters, who are upset with his administration's policies toward Israel.
Although Bachmann is not Jewish, she spent a summer working on a kibbutz in Israel (albeit as part of ministry work) and is a staunch supporter of the Jewish state. As she told the Weekly Standard earlier this summer:
If you consider what it was like in 1948 and literally watch flowers bloom in a desert over time — I don’t know if any nation has paralleled the rise of Israel since 1948.
By referring to Bachmann as the Jewish candidate, perhaps donors have not so much confused her religious affiliation, but rather have pinpointed her as Israel's strongest supporter among the Republican field. In response to a question on the relationship between America and Israel's security at the Republican Jewish Coalition, Bachmann said the following:
I am convinced in my heart and in my mind that if the United States fails to stand with Israel, that is the end of the United States . . . [W]e have to show that we are inextricably entwined, that as a nation we have been blessed because of our relationship with Israel, and if we reject Israel, then there is a curse that comes into play. And my husband and I are both Christians, and we believe very strongly the verse from Genesis [Genesis 12:3], we believe very strongly that nations also receive blessings as they bless Israel. It is a strong and beautiful principle.
Jewish? No. Honorary Jew? Perhaps.

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