An Open Letter to Arnold Fruchtenbaum

Dear Arnold,

If I told you that you are not a real Christian because you are supposedly a descendant of the Patriarchs I can imagine the outcry. You and your fundamentalist Christian friends would no doubt weep and wail and accuse me of antisemitism, racial discrimination and treating you, poor Arnold, unfairly because of your background.

However, when you dish out the same sort of racist garbage as the foregoing only in reverse we hear not a word of complaint from the moral giants of your world of fundamentalist Christianity (situational morality in action?). So in your book, "Hebrew Christianity" (Ariel Ministries Press, P.O. Box 3723, TUSTIN, California 92681) you write, "Acceptance of Judaism by a Gentile does not make him a Jew but a proselyte" (p.9). This bit of silliness follows from another throwaway sentence on the same page, namely, "A Gentile is simply anyone who is not a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". Tut tut racist Arnold, tut tut.

So its OK to say that a convert to Judaism is not a real Jew on grounds that are clearly racial, but heaven forbid that anyone might say something similar about you. That would not do would it good buddy? Do you think you operate a double standard? By the standards of your particular Christian denomination you are a real Christian. Only a racist would suggest otherwise on the grounds of you "being a descendant of the Patriarchs". Equally, by the standards of Judaism a convert to Judaism is a real Jew (not just a proselyte). Only a racist like you would suggest otherwise on the grounds of the convert "not being a descendant of the Patriarchs" (1).

Even British secular law now recognises that converts to Judaism are Jews. This year (1995) PC Paul Thomas, a convert to Judaism, successfully took action against his employer, the Metropolitan Police, under Britain's "Race Relations Act 1976", for the antisemitism his suffered in its ranks. Initially, the Metropolitan Police argued that there was no case to answer because PC Thomas was a convert and thus not entitled to take action under the 1976 Act as a Jew. The British courts decided otherwise. Your racist version of 'Jew' is being closed down around you Arnold.

I know that not being a Jew any longer now that you have converted to Christianity must be tough, but why not quit the pretence and celebrate your Christianity instead? Otherwise you give the impression that you are not happy with Christianity and that you are having regrets about converting. Your friend, Macabi.
 

References

  1. Christian Extremists and Racist Propaganda.
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