Jerry Falwell, An Ambiguous Retrospective

When it comes to evaluating Rev. Jerry Falwell's legacy, it is not a simple matter for us as Jewish Americans. That he had a tremendous impact in American politics cannot be doubted. Jerry Falwell was an important figure, and for us he was also tremendously disconcerting. For better or for worse, Jerry Falwell was a significant pillar of the Reagan revolution. The Moral Majority, which he founded in 1979, has had an immense impact on the political system, even though Falwell disbanded the organization over two decades ago. Still, the Christian Coalition, which more or less took up where the Moral Majority left off, continues to thrive and to flex its muscles.

The Republican Party, and more specifically President Reagan, and both Presidents Bush, owe much to the Moral Majority and its successors. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that the Christian right continues to dominate the Republican Party to this very day. Witness the current race for the Republican nomination. Very clearly, each of the major candidates on the Republican side is treading very carefully, each of them doing his best to remain in the good graces of the Evangelical Christians. Witness the difficulty that Rudolf Guliani is having in gaining their support, not so much because of his personal life, but mostly because of his pro-choice position. It is highly doubtful that anyone will win the Republican nomination without the support of the Christian right. To a large degree, this is a major component of Jerry Falwell's legacy. Where did the Christian right get all of its muscle? Prior to 1979, the Christian fundamentalists were largely non-political. Jerry Falwell played a major role in this story. Before he came along, Evangelical Christianity was inward looking. The Baptists, especially, had been badly burned by the failure of Prohibition and the mockery of the Scopes trial. They almost completely turned away from politics during the first half of the 20th century. As a young preacher, Jerry Falwell himself asserted that the church had no business getting involved in such issues. "I meant well, but I was wrong," he wrote in his autobiography. This change of heart was one of the many unintended consequences of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. It galvanized Falwell. Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979 with a four-point program: "pro-life, pro-traditional family, pro-moral and pro-American." The movement's domestic conservatism virtually transformed the Republican Party for more than a generation. If you survey the landscape of the Republican Party today, you will hardly find a viable moderate Republican, of the Nelson Rockefeller type. They are politically extinct. How did the Christian fundamentalists gain such power, considering that they are, by no means, a numerical majority? Just yesterday, our member Newton Minow offered an explanation to our senior men's group. Minow, who served under President Kennedy and who continues to serve on the Presidential Debates Commission, spoke of the nomination process. He observed that although the system of holding Presidential primaries in most states seems fair and democratic, it really doesn't work out that way. The reason is that most people simply don't vote in primaries. Those who do vote in the primaries tend to be the extremists. On the Democratic side, those on the far left dominate the primaries. And on the Republican side, their primaries are dominated by those on the far right, especially the Evangelicals, who receive their marching order by the pastors of the churches they attend, and they definitely do attend their churches! So, almost every single time, the Republican candidate turns out to be the person most acceptable to the Christian Evangelical community, Thus Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and the other leaders of the Christian right have been able to mobilize their followers into the potent force that they have become. And, as we all should be aware, their agenda is based on fundamentalist Christian beliefs, including opposition to abortion, opposition to feminism, opposition to same gender marriages, opposition to the teaching of evolution in the public schools, even opposition to environmentalism, etc. etc. Jerry Falwell was passionately admired by his flock and passionately reviled by many others, including most liberal Jews. And yes, sometimes he really could be a buffoon. Late in life he made a number of ludicrous comments, chief among them his claim that "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way--all of them who have tried to secularize America" were in part responsible for the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks. To his credit, it should be noted that he later apologized, but still.... Falwell also said "AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals." He claimed that feminists "just need a man in the house." He also argued that environmental activism is the work of Satan. From the perspective of liberal Judaism, just about everything that Falwell advocated and pressed for is inimical to our value system. In fact, it is almost impossible to find any points of agreement. We have fought and will continue to fight tooth and nail against the agenda of Falwell's successors for many, many reasons, not the least of which is that we do not subscribe to their belief that America should be a Christian nation. I was tempted to entitle this sermon: "No Kaddish for Jerry." But I decided against this more than one reason, first because it seemed undignified and unnecessarily offensive. After all, as strongly as we may have disagreed with Jerry Falwell, and even ridiculed him for his over-the-top remarks, I don't think that any of his detractors would be inclined to regard him as having been an evil person. And I also believe in the old axiom of not speaking ill of the dead. And though I am not inclined to praise him for having been a man of God, I must admit that there was a certain integrity about him. He spoke and acted out of conviction, and he was no phony. Falwell was always aware that he was under scrutiny and behaved appropriately. He hated crooked TV preachers like Jim Bakker, and he didn't have much use for hypocrites like Ted Haggard, either. He was married to the same woman for nearly 50 years. He took in millions of dollars during his lifetime without a scandal -- not bad for a televangelist. The other reason why this is not a "no Kaddish for Jerry sermon" is because there are a lot of Jews who indeed are saying Kaddish for Jerry Falwell, believing that we have lost one of the Jewish people's very best friends. The Jews to whom I am referring consist of the strongest supporters of the State of Israel and countless Israelis as well, including the majority of Israel's political leadership past and present. American Jews who now take Evangelical friendship for Israel for granted need to know that this die-hard, rock-solid support is, to a large extent, a blessing that came from Jerry Falwell. Recently Pastor John Hagee, one of America's most dynamic and influential preachers, gave a rousing pro-Israel speech at the annual AIPAC conference in Washington. His absolutely unapologetic and unwavering support for Israel brought several thousand participants to their feet in exuberant appreciation. The response to that particular speech amounted to an acknowledgement of the tremendous support that Israel receives from the Christian Evangelical community. We must be honest with ourselves and admit that their support, even if it comes to some extent from a theological vision that we reject, is greatly appreciated and greatly needed, particularly in these times when Israel finds itself with fewer and fewer friends. Pastor Hagee, and many like him, is the ideological heir of Jerry Falwell. Not that Christian Zionism is the invention of Falwell. It is certainly is not. The roots of Christian Zionism predate Falwell and Robertson by many years. But it was Jerry Falwell who made support for Israel one of the basic planks of the Moral Majority's platform. It was Falwell who placed Israel's security front and center. Jerry Falwell visited Israel more than thirty times, and every time he was welcomed warmly by the leading figures of Israel's governments, Likud and Labor alike. Falwell personally brought thousands upon thousands of Christian pilgrims to Israel, and by the time these people returned home, they had become absolutely committed to the well-being and security of Israel. And that is no small accomplishment. Writing for the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League National Director, who often had been a critic of Falwell, voiced great sadness at Falwell's passing, calling him a "dear friend of Israel" who would be greatly missed.

So here we are at the crux of the matter. In almost every respect, save one, for us, Jerry Falwell derfinitely was not a kindred spirit. As liberal Jews, we could hardly be farther afield from what he preached and worked for. And yet, as members of the Jewish people, for whom Israel is and will continue dear to our hearts, how can we not feel gratitude for Falwell's friendship and relentless support? It is a truly perplexing matter. Perhaps there is possible resolution to our conundrum. Over the many years that Jerry Falwell was so steadfast in his defense of Israel, never once did he or any of his followers ever express the expectation that their support for Israel carried with it a quid pro quo, namely of Jewish support for the agenda of the Moral Majority or the Christian Coalition. Rev. Falwell and the others knew and continue to understand and accept that we are not on the same page when it comes to our vision for America. They know that there are not many of us would be willing to sell out our core values even for the sake of Israel, nor are we willing to stand by in silent acquiescience as they push their agenda. We will continue to fight them tooth-and-nail on the domestic front even as we gratefully accept their many expressions of support for Israel. At least to date, the Evangelical Christian community has shown both respect and restraint in its relationship with the Jewish community. Jerry Falwell, in spite of a few well-publicized gaffes, epitomized that respectful attitude as well. He even led the way. It is true that we make strange bedfellows. This is not a natural partnership, but it works because, deep down, we have learned to respect one other. Jerry Falwell was a right wing narrow-minded conservative Republican and he was also an authentic and sincere Christian Zionist. So, to conclude, I would assert that the Jews have lost a friend, a friend who did much good for our people, and one whom we can continue to think of as having been an Ohev Yisrael, a friend of the Jewish people, in spite of our profound disagreements. So despite the many diffences, let us affirm: Zecher tsaddik livracha. May the memory of all that Rev. Jerry Falwall did for our people be the blessing that endures and, as for the rest, let history be the judge.