Thursday, June 7, 2012

“Christian News” Promotes Anti-Semitic Writers

Christian News, a New Haven, Missouri-based newspaper, featured two virulently anti-Semitic columns in its May 21, 2012 issue. Both articles promote the idea that Jews are vehemently anti-Christian.

The paper is published by Holocaust denier Herman Otten. Otten is the pastor of the Trinity Lutheran Church in New Haven, a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). LCMS is a large conservative Christian denomination with over two million members and more than 6,200 congregations. Christian News is not officially affiliated with LCMS.

The May 21 issue of Christian News features a column by Reverend Ted Pike, a notorious anti-Semite who is the national director of the Oregon-based National Prayer Network. Pike has for years engaged in an anti-Semitic campaign that denigrates the Jewish religion, as well as what he perceives as Jewish-controlled organizations and leaders. In his column, Pike blames Jews for a range of perceived evils, from bringing Socialism to the United States to “normalizing” and promoting homosexuality to creating a “malevolent” system of morals that allegedly undermines Christianity.

Pike attacks Jews for their liberalism and claims that liberalism has “striven to substitute secular, immoral, globalist values that will eventually make America amenable to participation in a Zionist-controlled new world order.” Pike singles out the the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for attack and alleges that the ADL has created programs and influenced legislation that makes it illegal for Christians to criticize homosexuality. Pike goes on to describe ADL and secular Jews as “wreckers of our civilization” and urges Christians to stop giving “aid and comfort” to them.

The same issue of Christian News gives a platform to Khalid Amayreh, a Palestinian journalist who has ties to Hamas and has published articles for several Hamas-linked publications over the years. His commentary regularly features anti-Semitic rhetoric, including describing the media in the U.S. and Europe as “Jewish-controlled,” claiming that Israel “knowingly and deliberately shoots and murders school children” and comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.

In a column for Christian News titled “The Hitler of Bethlehem,” Amayreh accuses Israel of “persecuting and tormenting” Christians…since time immemorial.” He goes on to allege that the Talmud teaches Jews to hate Jesus and Christianity and that “Jewish and Judaic hostility to Christianity is inherent and intrinsic and transcends all Christian pogroms, including the holocaust.” Amayreh claims that Jews have still not forgiven Jesus and that a rabbi he met allegedly referred to Jesus as the “Hitler of Bethlehem.” Amayreh also promotes the idea that there is a conspiracy by the media to keep alleged Jewish hatred of Christianity a secret.

No comments: