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Jewish Groups Decry Anti-Obama E-Mails; Obama Criticizes Award To Farrakhan

By Howard Friedman

Today's New York Times reports that leaders of nine national Jewish groups have released a letter decrying false and bigoted e-mails that are being distributed about Sen. Barack Obama's religious beliefs. The anonymous messages have been circulating for months, but apparently more recently have been particularly circulated to American Jews. Snopes.com reproduces one of the e-mails which falsely asserts that "Obama is taking great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim" and says that he attended a Wahabi school in Jakarta, Indonesia and that he used a copy of the Koran when he was sworn into the U.S. Senate. The open letter from the Jewish groups says in part: "These tactics attempt to drive a wedge between our community and a presidential candidate based on despicable and false attacks based on religion. We reject these efforts to manipulate members of our community into supporting or opposing candidates."

Meanwhile Sen. Obama posted on his website a statement taking issue with an award given to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan by Trumpet Newsmagazine, a publication of Obama's Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Obama's statement said: "I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan. I assume that Trumpet Magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree." [Thanks to Melissa Rogers for the lead.]

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 16, 2008 (boomark / email).