In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King

In honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., This weeks Tuesdays with Paul will be combined with a late Monday edition of Paulies Point to commemorate the day that recognizes his contribution to humanity.

Dr. King: The Original Christian Zionist

"How easy it should be, for anyone who holds dear this inalienable right of all mankind, to understand and support the right of the Jewish People to live in their ancient Land of Israel. All men of goodwill exult in the fulfillment of God's promise that His people should return in joy to rebuild their plundered land. This is Zionism, nothing more, nothing less." Martin Luther King

It seems that every year during Martin Luther King Day, I write a piece honoring the great civil rights leader and then go into how people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have made lucrative careers destroying Dr. King's dream. I still believe that to be true and in addition I would add that most of the Congressional Black Caucus, Harry Bellafonte and anyone associated with Louis Farrakhan are also contributing to either oppressing African Americans or creating an atmosphere of racism, homophobia or anti-Semitism.

Instead of concentrating on the negatives, lets honor Dr. King with positives.

Agree or disagree with him politically, the Presidential campaign of Barack Obama is historically significant in a mostly positive manner. His recent victory in Iowa, a state that has an African American population that can fit into a Toyota Corolla, shows just how far the color barriers have been brought down in our great country. His showing in New Hampshire, which has a similar black population, is also a credit to race relations in America.

I don't know if Obama will or will not get the Democratic Presidential nomination. Regardless, it is indisputable that America is ready to elect an African American for President. I don't believe Obama is the candidate to win nationally due to his far-left political views. However he has run a very respectable campaign, not playing the "race" card and trying to win by utilizing white guilt. White liberals are already overwhelmed with self-imposed guilt, so that helps him without him using race. If anything the Clinton political/war machine has found ways to make race an issue, but to be fair, the media has made a mountain out of a mole hill regarding their tactics.

I see the Obama campaign as a great achievement for African Americans. As a Jew I was proud of Joe Lieberman when he became a Vice Presidential candidate. Great achievements for historically oppressed people, even if neither of them got my vote. I firmly believe neither would of been possible if it wasn't for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As I pointed out earlier with the above quote by Dr. King, the civil rights pioneer was a good friend to the Jewish people. When white Evangelicals were fighting against the civil rights movement, Jews stood side by side with Dr. King fighting for equality. It is this bond between Jews and Blacks back in the 1950's and 1960's that makes the current reality of tense relations so sad. However there is always hope.

The Black/Israel Nexus is a new publication courtesy of The Jerusalem Connection that promotes relations between Jews and Christians and now with a dedication to black Christians and their friendship with the Jewish people. The blogosphere is also showing their support for Black/Jewish relations. Morton's Two Cents is the creation of an African American Christian, my friend Jeff Morton, who is dedicated to supporting Israel and Black/Jewish relations. Once again our Christian brothers and sisters are coming to lend us a hand of support. This time it is Black Christians who are following the tradition of Dr. King and showing their support for Jews and Israel.

Once again, thank you Dr. King.


Congratulations Rabbi Greenberg

Paulies Point is proud to announce that Rabbi Jonathan Greenberg, National Deputy Director of Synagogue Initiative for AIPAC has been named Midwest Political Director for the organization. On a personal note: Mr. and Mrs. Brilliant blogger are looking forward to welcoming him and his beautiful family into our home for Shabbat dinner as soon as his move to the Chicago area is complete. Congratulations my friend.

Paulie