Curt Schilling asks CNN’s Jake Tapper why Jews back Democrats

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) – Former All-Star pitcher Curt Schilling is in political hot water even before his political career has begun after he pressed a Jewish CNN anchor to explain why so many Jews support the Democratic Party. Schilling, a registered Independent, appeared Friday, Oct. 21 with CNN’s Jake Tapper on his “The Lead” program, during which he announced that he is considering a 2018 Senate bid in Massachusetts as a Republican to unseat Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Schilling is an outspoken supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“I would like to ask you something as a person who is practicing the Jewish faith and has since you were young. I don’t understand – and this is, maybe this is the amateur, non-politician in me – I don’t understand how people of Jewish faith can back the Democratic Party, which over the last 50 years has been so clearly anti-Israel, so clearly anti-Jewish Israel,” Schilling said.

Tapper responded that he does not speak for Jews and that he does not support a particular political party, but guessed that perhaps “one of the reasons many Jews are Democrats has more to do with Democrats’ support for social welfare programs and that sort of thing than it does for Israel.”

“That’s fair,” Schilling replied.

“And I know a lot of Jews who are very strong supporters of Israel do support the Republican Party, but again, I don’t speak for Jews,” said Tapper, who also said he does not vote in elections that he covers.

“Right, no, I know you don’t. I just always find it a great conversation for somebody of your faith to – because I want to understand the reason behind some of those things, so I appreciate that,” Schilling said.

Schilling later the same day defended his question to Tapper in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on “Hardball.” “I’m apparently an antisemite, because I had the gall and the audacity to ask someone of the Jewish faith why or how they believe people of Jewish faith vote Democrat,” he said. “God forbid I listen to someone of the faith, rather than the media, who clearly are not biased and don’t have an agenda.”

Matthews responded that it may not be the best idea to “ask a person of a religious faith or a race to speak for that religious group and ask them to sort of account for it.”

Last year, Schilling was temporarily suspended by ESPN, where he worked as a live game analyst, for tweeting a meme that showed an image of Hitler against a dark blood-red background that compared modern Muslims to the German population under Hitler. Schilling deleted the tweet shortly after posting it.

“It’s said that only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists,” the graphic read. “In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How’d that go?” Schilling added in his own accompanying text: “The math is staggering when you get to true #’s.”

Earlier this year, ESPN ultimately fired him for a Facebook post that mocked transgender people.

Schilling played 19 seasons for five teams and won World Series championships with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. He was a six-time All-Star.

Bill Clinton: Jewish Americans can’t sit out election

(JTA) – Jewish Americans more than any other group of Americans cannot afford to sit out this presidential election, former President Bill Clinton said.

“I could talk about all the issues in this election, but the real thing I want to say is every Jewish American should participate in this election, because this is about more than party,” Clinton said. “If there is any group of people in this country that should understand the threat to the fundamental character of the nation and the future of our children and grandchildren posed by the choice in this election, it should be members of the Jewish community. No one should sit it out.”

Clinton made his remarks Sunday, Oct. 23 at an event at Century Pines Jewish Center in Broward County, Florida.

Clinton said that Americans should handle their political disputes the way Israelis do.

“Disagree the way Israelis do: Fight like the devil over the things we disagree with, but in the end have this process by which we come together and we get the show on the road and move into the future and go on and remain a beacon of hope and freedom to the rest of the world. That’s more important than any specific issue,” he said.

He said Americans must work to improve democracy in the United States. “This is about tikkun olam,” the Jewish concept of repairing the world. “We have bridges in our country. We have to repair them,” he said.

Former vice presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Lieberman also stumped for Hillary Clinton in Florida late last week.

Hillary Clinton leads Republican candidate Donald Trump by a slim margin in Florida, where Jews make up about five percent of the population, according to polls.