It’s true: on Tuesday, Glenn Beck compared politically-progressive Reform Judaism to radical Islam, while taking potshots at a letter signed by 400 rabbis from Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist denominations calling for his ouster from Fox News.
And on Wednesday, Beck led his radio program with a lengthy (and oddly self-congratulatory) apology for the comparison, calling it “ignorant.”
“I certainly had not done enough homework,” Beck said, “to go on the air and haphazardly make a comment like I did.”
Homework? Beck must have some kind of reality-repelling bunker built inside Fox Studios. What kind of political commentator knows so little about the role of Reform Judaism in contemporary American life?
Jewish Funds for Justice responded to the apology by pointing out that Beck regularly demonizes progressive religious people of all faiths. “Glenn Beck’s characterization of Reform Judaism is in keeping with his longstanding hostility toward people who see their faith linked to pursuing the common good,” said a statement issued by the group, which organized the petition calling for Beck’s removal. “This was made clear in March of 2010, when Mr. Beck advised people to leave their churches if their clergy spoke about social justice.”
