By Carol Tannenhauser
On Friday, West Side Rag got a tip from John Doe. We don’t know who John Doe is, but he wrote it up, in a sort-of news format, so we’ll start with that:
Progressive Upper West Side Synagogue bars Republican Club from renting space, cancels existing reservation. The SAJ [Society for the Advancement of Judaism] on W. 86th street notified the Republican Club that their reservation for space rental for Dick Morris speech is being revoked and that Republican organizations are no longer wlecvome [sic] in the sunagogue [sic]. The synagogue boasts inclusivity and rents space to many other organizations, including Christian church services every Sunday. However, Republicans are now barred and the Club is left scrambling to find a new space for the Dick Morris event.
Dick Morris is a longtime political consultant and commentator, a Democrat turned Republican. He was President Bill Clinton’s chief campaign strategist before resigning in 1996, amid a prostitution scandal. This July, Morris told the New York Post that “he served as an unpaid, back-channel adviser to Trump in 2020. His father, Eugene Morris, was the longtime real estate lawyer for Trump’s dad, Fred, and then son Donald. So they have a longtime connection.”
WSR emailed Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, whose address was given at the bottom of the tip. She said she would confer with her colleagues and get back to us. On Sunday night, she sent the following statement:
Joint quote from Janet Brain, Chair of the Board and Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann:
SAJ is proud to be a resource to our diverse Upper West Side community, renting our space to day schools, churchs, co-op boards, Jewish congregations, private birthday parties, b’nei mitzvah and more, and will continue to do so into the future.
We were happy to rent our space to the Upper West Side Republican Club for many years, consistent with the community’s commitment towards civility and dialogue. This recent request to use SAJ’s space was the first one by the club since before the Covid-19 pandemic, and the first request to televise their event for a national audience. [The event was to be recorded and rebroadcast through Cspan.] The climate in our country has changed since the 2020 election and January 6. We cannot abide by any speaker in our sacred space whose words amplify and broadcast the anti-democratic ideas of the January 6 insurrectionists, or who condone or incite violence against our elected representatives, whether today or in a future election.
SAJ will continue to welcome diverse religious [and non-religious] groups and organizations who hope to use the space for peaceful discussions.
WSR reached out to Dick Morris and the West Side Republican Club for comments, but neither have responded. We’ll update if/when they do.
Good for SAJ!!
Wham a church becomes political they should lose their tax free status including the one I attend. Church and state do not mix.
Then the Catholic churches who from its pulpits have lobbied for trump’s & MAGA GOP extremist views should definitely lose tax free status.
No one organization has done more to violate civil liberties than the Catholic Church by using its wealth to stack the SCOTUS with rightwing Catholic extremists to further their religious agenda.
It has become a zealot political organization and has forfeited tax free status.
How is this an example of a “church becomes political”? Are you suggesting that SAJ be forced to allow this event to proceed in their venue? Because THAT would be prohibited by the First Amendment.
Frahnco is right. If anything, SAJ is distancing itself from politics by declining to host this event.
Tell that to the Supreme Court.
There’s a fine line, obviously, between getting in the way of free speech and providing a platform to anti-democratic hate-mongers. I for one agree with this decision by SAJ. Dick Morris is wholly disreputable, and while it is problematic to appoint any of us as the arbiter of what’s right and what’s wrong, citizens that care about peace, harmony, justice and general welfare are called upon to speak out against anyone who violates the norms of civil discourse, let alone the basic precepts that our country was founded upon. There are too many demagogues today with a public forum spreading lies and misinformation, dividing our country into opposing teams, poisoning our body politic. Some of them are fierce partisans that lack an ethical compass; some of them are trolls that revel in fostering division; most of them are con artists doing it purely for monetary gain. A private institution such as SAJ is not bound to abide that.
Why not let him speak? Why not let the community ask questions?
Why not have a dialogue?
I’m a registered Democrat, and I despise Trump and MAGA, but I also am a proponent of having conversations.
SAJ can’t boast about welcoming diverse views while barring those with whom they disagree.
I am in full agreement with you. I’m disappointed in this congregation for not upholding the wise. and fairminded Jewish tradition based on questioning, debating and all around attitude of “on the other hand”.
Who says there would be a dialogue with differing opinions?
who says there would not?
It is, of course, vital for civil society and the democratic process to have dialogue with those folks we don’t agree with. But that, unfortunately, can lead to a dangerous tendency (which the media often fall prey to) of “both-sides-ism”. Sometimes, there just aren’t two legitimate sides.
There aren’t two legitimate sides on the Holocaust — and there’s no reason to provide a platform to Holocaust deniers. There aren’t two legitimate sides on the existence of climate change — not where the overwhelming scientific consensus comes down on one side. Likewise, there aren’t two legitimate sides on the 2020 election. Trump and his allies filed over 60 lawsuits, many of which wound up in front of GOP appointed judges, some of whom were Trump appointees. He lost every single one for a very simple reason. There is no credible evidence — none — of election fraud. There’s no there there and SAJ is not only well within its rights, but is performing a public service by declining to be a platform for disinformation.
Keep in mind, as well, that election denial is not just one more form of wacky conspiracy theory that people toss around the internet. It is a pernicious strategy designed to undermine democracy itself. It is not an accident that numerous Republican candidates have publicly declined to state that they will abide by the results of the elections they are part of.
These are dangerous times for American democracy. Kudos to SAJ for doing the right thing.
Thank you Jonathan!! Very well said.
Lest we forget Republicans are Americans. Decisions such as this one only contributes to the already tragic nationwide divisiveness. The day we stop engaging in dialogue with one another totalitarianism will have won. I doubt anyone here wants a one party government.
I appreciate your thoughtful post.
Of course I agree re: the Holocaust. While I fully appreciate the threats of climate change, I understand that there are nuances regarding potential responses and so a discussion on that would be interesting.
I agree that MAGA is insane. But it’s a present reality and it won’t go away by canceling anyone. Ideally there would be an opportunity to the audience to engage with the speaker, but I assume that would simply devolve into an emotional shouting match, which I imagine is one reason why SAJ has canceled the event.
“…let him speak…”
There’s no one here that’s preventing him from speaking. They’re simply declining to provide a soapbox for lies.
I was with you until “soapbox for lies”
An open ear is just that, open. You can bet that Eisenhower read Mein Kampf before Operation Overlord, probably long before. If you consider Americans who are conservatives to be The Enemy by definition then you are being unfair.
Good clarification, thanks.
But still, they had agreed to host him and then it was rescinded. I still don’t understand how that is an example of “inclusivity”.
Please stop with the comparisons to Nazis. If you really think they are comparable, then you need to study history.
He’s promoting anti-democratic propaganda and outright lies. That’s not “having conversations.”
UWS-er – I haven’t seen advance notes on his presentation. Have you?
Dick Morris’s stance on the 2020 election is well known. One doesn’t need “advance notice” to be fully aware of it. (I seriously doubt Morris, a veteran political operative and a reasonably disreputable one, believes any of this election nonsense. But, that’s the litmus test one must pass in the today’s GOP).
I guess I’m not convinced that anyone here knows exactly what he was planning to present. I agree that his stance on the 2020 election is ludicrous. But whose litmus test is to be used for future speakers? The board? The rabbi? The WSR readership?
Exactly. We promote inclusivity! What hypocrisy
The only views SAJ welcomes are ones that reflect their own. They disgust me (I’m Jewish).
Liberals welcome all ideas, as long as they are the same as theirs. Disgusting.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (no bleeding heart liberal) famously said that people are entitled to their own opinions but they’re not entitled to their own facts.
There are no “ideas” to bat around regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. None. There are the facts — backed up by recount after recount and “audit” after “audit”. Trump’s 60+ losses in election-related lawsuits simply put an exclamation point on those facts. In contrast to the established facts, there there are dangerous fantasies of election fraud being peddled by many Republicans, including Dick Morris, to usurp the democratic process.
As opposed to Trump-following Republicans who don’t consider anyone else’s views but the ones Trump imposes (lies).
Nah. We don’t “welcome” the idea of insurrection against our own democracy. At all.
I’m no fan of Dick Morris or Trump but the members of the West Side Republican Club are not the crazies who stormed the Capitol and nobody ever accused Dick Morris of ever having anything to do with this despicable event.
The SAJ is certainly entitled to allow or prevent whoever they want from speaking in their building. However, by banning Morris they are suggesting that all Republicans are automatically reprehensible and this belies their commitment towards “civility and dialogue”.
I’m curious if the SAJ would ban Democratic Party speakers because of the anti-Semitism and extremism of Democrats like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
By banning Morris, all SAJ is doing is making clear that they will not allow their building and their platform to be used for the spreading of dangerous disinformation. Period. Indeed, if they believed “all Republicans are automatically reprehensible”, why would they have hosted the Republican Club in the past? As recently as 2020?
Speaking for myself, and not for SAJ, I believe the Republican Party is at an inflection point. Put aside, for the moment, Trump’s blatant racism, xenophobia, likely criminal behavior and unparalleled pathological lying. Either one stands up and loudly labels Trump’s election lies for what they are, or one remains silent (or worse endorses those lies). There is no middle ground here. American democracy is under attack in way not seen since the lead up to the Civil War. Anyone unwilling to stand up to protect democracy is indeed “automatically reprehensible”.
Could not agree more!
No, they’re not “suggesting that all Republicans are automatically reprehensible”. They’re suggesting that Dick Morris, who by his own admission, continued to support Trump after his reprehensible behavior as President, is not someone to whom they wish to provide a forum.
SAJ has been clear that Dick Morris has been out there spreading Trump’s lies that the election was stolen and THAT’S why they don’t want him speaking there. Those lies are precisely what led to the crazies storming the Capitol.
Thank you, SAJ.
Dick Morris has a radio show on Sundays and he has forgotten more about politics than most people will ever know— too bad—if you heard him speak you might learn a thing or two—he’s obviously worked both sides of the aisle with the stories to go with it—oh well your loss and that MAGA that you hate so much—your doormen, porters and other blue collar people are probably part of it along with firemen and police—if you depend on blue collar people to truck in your food and supplies and upgrade your buildings you depend on many MAGA supporting people—try going MAGA free if you can and not just virtue signal with easy things like this
Take a look at Dick Morris’s website. He says Hillary will run for president in 2024; Trump’s collusion with Russia, which was well-documented by the Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is a lie created by the FBI; and that Trump stole the top secret documents “not to hide them but to expose them to public view so he can demonstrate how blatantly and illegally the FBI and the DOJ have turned the machinery of government against him.” He also wants to defund the IRS, surely so he and his political donor class can continue to cheat on their taxes.
The man is delusional and makes things up as he goes along. He just another right-wing grifter and most people can see that clearly.
What nonsense! Joe Biden has done more for working class America in 2 years than the GOP in the last 40.
Biden is the reason I’m voting Republican for the first time.
Not only he didn’t do anything, he is censoring free speech, retooling major institutions to fit just a few, have borders open but requires mandates for citizens.
“Joe Biden is censoring free speech, so I’m voting for the party trying to ban books and end free elections” is quite the statement.
I will try going MAGA free if MAGA will try going Democrat money free. Most of these bright red states that cry about how bloated the federal government is and how high taxes are are net takers of federal funding. Especially when you factor in military spending. Let’s cut that off and see how things go.
Democrats need to fight fire with fire. I’m a moderate so not a big fan of the woke end of the party, but let’s send AOC and the like to try to speak at similar locations in very red areas. Will she be “cancelled?” Perhaps this would shut them up. Though of course that would never be reported on Fox News, where they get all of their biased information from.
I am a registered Independent and have attended West Side Republican club meetings there. They have a wide range of members- Pro Trump, Never Trumpers, pro choice, moderates, you name it. Big tent club. Short sighted of SAJ to ban speech they don’t agree with…
I, like Sue, am an Independent (not registered with either D or R parties) and have attended several WS Republican meetings on Zoom. The members were articulate and considerate and two of the speakers were interesting. I did not agree with everything they said, but some good points were raised. Dick Morris is a PR guy who knows how to get people enthusiastic or riled up (depending on your perspective), but this does not mean the entire club or one speaker should be banned.
Trump has gone full Quanon to try to stay out of jail. If Morris wants to be an unpaid advisor to assist trump further his violent agenda than shame on him. (The unpaid part was a foregone conclusion.)
We are not talking policy difference discourse. This is unhinged violent rhetoric to fomant domestic terrorism.
Good on SAJ!
As a Jewish member of SAJ, this is the last straw. They have speakers who are Anti Israel, but that OK and groovy because they are Democrats. Embarrassing.
The West Side Republican club – that has only had polite, peaceful and respectful events has been cancelled from the SAJ synagogue permanently.
Westside Republican Club membership is made up of registered Democrats, Libertarians, Independents and Republicans.
There are pro Trump and Never Trumpers, Pro choice, Pro life, Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, Protestant members, etc. all getting along, communicating with each other and understanding different points of views.
Everyone is Welcome.
But…. This is the Club that was banned because they had a speaker that the SAJ didn’t agree with..
I as an individual didn’t agree with the Speaker either, but any attempts at a polite discussion have now been terminated by a synagogue that doesn’t allow free speech.
Under the developing body of constitutional law as determined buy the esteemed Republican justices of the US Supreme Court, the SAJ is merely taking an exclusionary action to avoid a conflict with its beliefs. This is no different than a Catholic hospital refusing to perform abortions. Freedom of religion!!!
The Republican party has become toxic and I’m not surprised this has happened. You do have crazies among the Manhattan Republicans. Not only that, but you also have Maria Danzilo being spurned by many politically influential people on the Upper West Side and moderate engaged citizens being treated rudely by Gale Brewer’s staff. None of this surprises me.
Typical liberal hypocrisy, they claim that tolerance is their number one priority, but that’s of course only if you agree with them. Heaven forbid you take an adverse position and start a dialogue. Democracy works best when people with adverse interests and positions sit in a room and try to convince the other they are right. It doesn’t when censorship prevails.
Is “typical liberal hypocrisy” anything like typical conservative hypocrisy?
Not at all. Tolerance is allowing someone to speak or act as they wish (providing they’re not doing harm to others, of course). Tolerance does not include an obligation to provide a forum for someone whose speech or actions you find offensive.
Then fine. Forget about allowing Morris to speak. How about a screening of the highly acclaimed new movie, “My Son Hunter,” instead which has received Rotten Tomato’s score of 90.
Does SAJ support the silencing of Jewish voices happening at many college campuses?
As a Jew, I was raised to believe that all voices should be heard and that disagreeable messages should be met with a better counter-argument.
Seems like so many people on the left and the right, Jewish or gentile, just want to tune others out.
Would you support a neo-Nazi being invited to speak? ALL voices do not need to be heard.
I support free speech, as did the old ACLU.
Please don’t compare Nazis with the GOP. It’s offensive and wrong.
It is “offensive and wrong”. But the Nazis are no longer around to complain, so I think it’s OK in the end.
No, it’s offensive and wrong to survivors, to their families, and to the Jewish people.
To suggest that today’s GOP is comparable to the Nazis is to minimize the horror and gravity of the Holocaust.
Seriously, please study the history. At the least, watch the Ken Burns documentary currently being shown on PBS. It’s a good place to start, but I implore you to learn about it.
If you watch the Ken Burns documentary, you’ll see an awful lot of parallels between the current GOP and the early days of the Nazi party. Hard to overlook them.
Good for them. Not all Republicans are barred, just the ones that want to overturn the results of free and fair elections so that they can impose an authoritarian Christian nationalist theocracy on the country. And that’s OK.
What?!!! As much as I’m against using excessive exclamation points, I could help it after reading this comment.
“Christian nationalist theocracy”?!!! Half of the country who work on the jobs you wouldn’t even consider such as law enforcement, firefighting, trucking, etc, everything we depend on are conspirators in this theocracy of yours?
Not all Republicans, just the ones who want to impose an authoritarian Christian nationalist theocracy. And if you think that’s not happening you haven’t been paying attention. I respect Republicans who respect democracy, the rule of law and my right to vote.
I really hope that in terms of serenity you see how absolutely bonkers this sounds.
Appropriate for a party whose likely 2024 candidate is one that courts anti-Semites, white supremacists and Jan 6 insurrectionists/sympathizers (note Trump’s recent appearance at a Qanon-laden rally last weekend: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/19/trump-qanon-song-rally-video-ohio-vance)
Sorry NYC Repubs – your party has lost the plot and this is but one result.
They’ve actually nominated for governor a person who voted to overturn the free and fair election of 2020 so that Donald Trump can be dictator for life. Lee Zeldin did that and they think we’re going to forget?? That’s how much they’ve lost the plot.
I think Yeshiva University will welcome him, and I hear that they have a lot of space available after their anti-LGBTQ actions.
Good. Cancel anything maga.
Dick Morris is brilliant. This decision reeks of fear and insecurity. When you don’t know who your friends are your enemies are strengthened. In plain English? Meshugana.
Thank you SAJ. You did the correct thing by cancelling the rental of your premises for a group that spreads the viscous Big Lie which threatens our democracy. It is your right to choose who to rent to. This is not a free speech issue. Those people are free to speak and to spread their Big Lie, and the SAJ is free to choose not to rent to them and not to help them. This is easy, not complicated.
Let’s think if there was ever a time when Jews were banned from anything. Hmmm what would be the out come of that or of banning anyone at all?
Good to hear that money cannot but everything. Well done SAJ!
good for SAJ! the GOP is promoting violence – religious institutions should be about peace!!!
SCOTUS mandates that a football coach can force his players to say a Christian prayer. They mandate that companies can refuse to cover birth control. And this church shouldn’t be able to rescind an invitation to Morris?
This synagogue can and did rescind the invitation. No one has prevented them from doing so. The discussion is about the merits of the cancellation vs allowing him to speak.
Thanks for the explanation.
Another one-sided victory for the forces of “unfree speech” Not a victory for democracy…..just for Democrats……
Clearly there is room for civil discussion and civil disagreement. Dick Morris and MAGA are not part of this kind of civility. January 6 showed that MAGA will use violence to overthrow an election, even going so far as to call for the hanging of their own Vice President. So before we condemn a synagogue (a synagogue!) for rethinking an invitation to a notorious election denyer in a post 1/6 world, let’s rethink this idea that Dick Morris and MAGA have any interest in civil discourse. There’s nothing wrong with demanding certain criteria before giving Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and MAGA / QANON devotees a literal platform at the bima. Proclaim that Joe Biden won the election fair and square. Denounce white supremacists, anti-Semites and Holocaust denyers. Disavow Donald Trump as a fascist criminal for whom 1/6 proved his most infamous authoritarian boast: “I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a single vote.”
Once the above criteria are met, a speaker can be welcomed into an Upper West Side synagogue to engage in civil discourse.
A poll today said that 71% of Republicans think America should be a Christian nation! What?? Have they forgotten that America was founded on the principle of religious freedom and separation of church and state??
There is no question that Trump gave the worst fringe elements of the Republican Party a platform with “the good people from both sides”; with Q Anon, Neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, and the January insurrection. Anti-semitism has not been as pronounced in this city since WWII! I could not be more in agreement with SAJ for using their intelligence, their respect for their community, and their caution in barring this Republican event.
Ah, the good bleeding heart liberals of the UWS, always so open-minded.