Shoring up the Jewish Vote

To those of you who think all Chassidic Jews look a like, I am here to state otherwise. Not only are sects of Chassidic Jews innately different from each other often the clothing or how it is worn gives one a clue to their religious sect. I suppose I should own up right away that my own fleeting associations come from the Lubavitch camp and there is rather a history of conflict between the two groups.

The last Lubavitch Rebbe broke from the traditional Chassidic ranks and embraced the creation of the state of Israel. Satmars are anti-Israel/anti-Zionist state and believe it is a great presumption and arrogance to establish a modern state as a homeland for the Jews before the return of the messiah. They point to the ongoing conflict since the establishment of the state of Israel as proof of man’s folly and not evidence of divine will. Anti-Zionist the Satmars might be, but do not confuse them with the ranks of Neturei Karta, whose dissent members achieved infamy most recently for visiting with the president of Iran.

The Satmars while being anti-Israeli state has yet to preclude them from living in the state of Israel, owning property in the state of Israel, or even taking the hand-outs from the public purse of Israel for their daily bread but I would be remiss if I did not point out that Satmars have also a rather long ongoing commitment to many acts of charity on a large scale. All that being said, I find it an incredible act of irony that the Obama camp has been attempting to prop up their ‘Jewish” credentials by schlepping in the Sukkah with the Satmars in New York. Arutz Sheva:

(IsraelNN.com) The Obama camp went on the "sukkah circuit" this week in the Brooklyn, New York community of Williamsburg's Hassidic Jews, including those in the anti-Zionist Satmar sect. Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York spoke in a sukkah (a tabernacle which Jews dwell in during the Sukkot Holiday) while wearing a kippah [skullcap] stamped with the words "my Bubby votes for Obama." He touted Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama as good for Israel. The Senator's Jewish outreach director, Jeremy Goldberg, told the Jewish Forward that aides are holding similar events in the community of the Satmar sect, which opposes the existence of the State of Israel.

The Arutz Sheva article goes on to report Joe Biden has been endorsed by Hamas. Anyhoo, I have my doubts about Obama's cavorting with the Satmars will break or influence positively the Jewish vote for Obama but it does significantly add to the ranks of Obama’s anti-Zionist contingent. It makes me wonder who came up with the idea of Obama visiting the Satmar Sukkah in the first place…