What Does Sarah Palin Really Think About Jews?

On September 25, 2008, at the Clinton Global Initiative, Gov. Palin had the opportunity to meet and greet Israeli President Shimon Peres. According to The New York Sun:

President Peres of Israel yesterday met for the first time with Governor Palin and with Senator McCain, who called the veteran Israeli statesman "my old friend." The warm handshake and exchange of broad smiles occurred during an international gathering known as the Clinton Global Initiative, hosted by President Clinton. "I wanted to meet you for many years," Ms. Palin told Mr. Peres, according to an aide to the president. "The only flag at my office is an Israeli flag," she was quoted as saying, "and I want you to know and I want Israelis to know that I am a friend."

I wonder what President Peres would have said to Gov. Palin if (a) he wasn't a polite elder statesman who is smart enough not to get involved in the internal politics of an ally or (b) he knew a bit more about Gov. Palin and her church.

For example, on September 4, I wrote about Gov. Palin's attendance at a church function where David Brickner, the executive director of "Jews for Jesus", preached about his group's efforts (fraudulent as they may be). During Brickner's presentation to the congregation, Gov. Palin heard him say that terrorist attacks on Israelis are God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. I'm just guessing here, but I don't think that President Peres would respond very warmly to someone who believed that terrorist attacks on Israelis were God's "judgment of unbelief" or who didn't speak out against Anti-Semitic comments like that.

On September 19, I discussed Palin's involvement with an African witchhunter who offered "bold" prayers for her to become governor of Alaska. Well, it turns out that in another presentation by that same African witchhunter to Gov. Palin's church earlier this month (with Gov. Palin in attendance), he said:

The second area whereby God wants us, wants to penetrate in our society is in the economic area. The Bible says that the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous. It's high time that we have top Christian businessmen, businesswomen, bankers, you know, who are men and women of integrity running the economics of our nations. That's what we are waiting for. That's part and parcel of transformation. If you look at the -- you know -- if you look at the Israelites, that's how they work. And that's how they are, even today.

Um, what was that? Did the witchhunter really just say that "Israelites" are running the economics of nations and that "we" need Christian businessmen, businesswomen, and bankers because the "Israelites" are the wicked storing the wealth for the righteous? I didn't see or hear Gov. Palin jump up to defend Jews or Israelis from the witchhunter's Anti-Semitic smear.
(Here's a link to the video; the above quotation comes at about 1:20.)

And, at about 7:30 in the video, Gov. Palin comes up to the pulpit to receive the witchhunter's blessing (and endorsement, it sounds like) as he repeatedly talks about the "enemy" and evil. What do you suppose President Peres would say of or to a candidate willing to accept a blessing from a man who, just minutes before, repeated tired, old Anti-Semitic charges about Jews controlling the world ecomony?

So what does Gov. Palin really think about Israel? More importantly, what does Gov. Palin really think about Jews?

Unfortunately, as I listen to sermons from Gov. Palin's church, I'm reminded a bit too much of Rev. John Hagee (a supporter of Sen. McCain until some of Rev. Hagee's Anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic statements became a problem for Sen. McCain). Rev. Hagee supports Israel because of the coming "end of days" and the need for Israel to exist for the messiah to come. Of course, Hagee also blames Jews for the Holocaust and suggests that the Holocaust was a good thing because it led to the creation of Israel. But if you look at what Rev. Hagee says and then look at some of the sermons and blessings coming out of Gov. Palin's church, there are a few too many similarities for my comfort.