Rabbi Destroys Democrat Who Claims to Support Israel While Funding Iran
George Washington once said, “A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of his friends.”
A Jewish rabbi and once “close friend” of Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey made the same point in a post about the differences between the senator’s words and actions.
On Sunday, Booker posted a video of himself from Israel. Booker said that he happened to be in Israel when the nation was attacked by the radical terrorist group Hamas.
Booker posted, “I was in Israel when the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas started on Saturday. My team and I are now safe, but like many we are shaken, angered, and heartbroken by the hundreds killed, the thousands injured, those taken hostage, and all who are directly affected by these sickening terrorist attacks.”
“After this experience,” Booker added, “more than ever, I am committed to working with my colleagues in the Senate to continue supporting Israel’s security and ensuring stability in the region — and I hope one day soon, a long-term and just peace in the region.”
In the video, Booker described returning to his hotel when he heard Israel was under attack and gathering in the stairwell of the hotel with other frightened people.
He ended the video by stating, “We who believe in peace and freedom and human rights for Palestinians, for Israelis for all humankind, must reject those who use terror as their weapon.”
I was in Israel when the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas started on Saturday. My team and I are now safe, but like many we are shaken, angered, and heartbroken by the hundreds killed, the thousands injured, those taken hostage, and all who are directly affected by these… pic.twitter.com/E4BgEZxSTC
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) October 8, 2023
Rabbi Shmuley, a conservative rabbi and one of the leading defenders of Israel, reposted the video with his very direct take on Booker’s post.
A 2019 article in the Washington Post described Shmuley Boteach as a “close friend and spiritual mentor during what Booker describes as a ‘profoundly shaping’ period of his life.”
According to the Post, Boteach and Booker struck up an unlikely friendship while they were both living in England. Booker was studying at Oxford University, and Boteach had been sent by the ultra-Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic sect to establish a presence at Oxford.
They met when a Jewish woman Booker was interested in stood him up after asking him to meet her at the “L’Chaim Society.” Boteach’s wife, Debbie, noticed Booker and, since they were celebrating a Jewish holiday, invited him to stay for dinner.
The two spent many Shabbat dinners after that debating and discussing scripture. Booker and Debbie would cook “kosher soul food” together. Boteach taught Booker the Torah, and Booker can still recite passages of Hebrew thanks to Boteach.
Booker even ended up as the co-president of L’Chaim Society. When other Jewish leaders on campus asked Boteach to remove non-Jews from the society, Boteach refused, and the society became an independent group.
As life moved on, Booker went into Democratic politics, and Boteach became a well-known author and TV host.
But although they both lived in New Jersey in 2019, the two were no longer talking to each other.
According to the Post article, Boteach said his friendship with Booker ended when Booker supported the Iran deal in September 2015, which Boteach said was an “unforgivable betrayal of Israel.”
Boteach also said Booker became almost “embarrassed” of his connections to Judaism as he sought to grow his influence in the Democratic Party.
Boteach once wrote in the Jerusalem Post, “I will always love Cory as the man who became my closest friend. But I cannot overlook his stunning unfaithfulness to the Jewish people.”
That unfaithfulness and the disastrous Iran deal have come back to roost, and Rabbi Boteach is calling Booker out on it.
Rabbi Shmuley BLASTS ‘Good Friend’ Sen. Cory Booker For Posting Support For Israel After Funding Iran https://t.co/W5phjFXQJm pic.twitter.com/RZLkHIrLUR
— The Politic Manager (@ThePoliticMana1) October 9, 2023
Boteach reposted Booker’s post about the attacks on Israel, writing: “Cory Booker voted to give Iran $150b. Then he ran today away from Israel.”
“@corybooker please stop bragging about how you endured rockets in Israel,” Boteach continued.
“You were my closest friend for 25 years. You were my student president at Oxford and my brother. Then you voted to give the Iranian terrorist monsters, who are largely responsible through Hamas for this attack that murdered 700 Israelis, $150 billion to murder innocents, in order to preserve your political standing. Also, right after you made this video, your staff spirited you right out of Israel. And I wonder if you got special treatment to get on a plane to get out of the war zone,” he wrote.
Boteach then proceeded to offer Booker a chance to redeem himself and prove his friendship.
“The only hope for our friendship and your relationship with Jewish Community is for you to finally come to the well of the Senate floor this week and condemn your own vote to give billions to Iran and by extension Hamas and to apologize profusely, and beg forgiveness of the innocent Iranian people being brutalized by their Goverment and the world Jewish community,” Boteach wrote.
“Otherwise, we are not interested in these posts,” he continued.
“Words are cheap Cory,” Boteach concluded.
“Remember all the Torah we studied together? It’s action that counts.”
.@RabbiShmuley to @CoryBooker: “Condemn your own vote” to give Iran billions
“You were my student president at Oxford and my brother. Then you voted to give the Iranian terrorist monsters, who are largely responsible through Hamas for this attack…” https://t.co/zdBGlBaX2n
— Save Jersey (@SaveJersey) October 9, 2023
Actions speak louder than words.
Booker has proven that his ambitions are more important to him than his deepest friendships and alliances.
Will he respond to his old friend and condemn the attacks?
Or will he stand by his party and refuse to take a clear side?
The fact that he ended his video calling for “human rights for Palestine,” attempting to bring equivalency to what is happening to Israel with the complaints of Palestinians, seems to answer the question.
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