LiveWire

So, which message do you think was meaningful, heartfelt, well-informed and timely?

And guess which one was full of pandering, platitudes, clichés, “social justice” blather… and no mention of God.

Via Washington Post:

First part:

President Obama: “Tonight, Jews in America, Israel, and around the world come together to light the first candle of the Festival of Lights. At its heart, Hanukkah is about the struggle for justice in the face of overwhelming obstacles.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.): “Today Heidi and I wish the Jewish Community a very Happy Chanukah. On this holiday, we remember the miracle that enabled a freedom-loving people – led by the heroic Maccabees – to defeat the oppressive dictator Antiochus so that they could once again freely worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For the eight days of Chanukah, the Jewish people commemorate their liberation from oppression and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. As the Talmud teaches, God delivered ‘many into the hands of the few, strong into the hands of the weak, and evildoers into the hands of the righteous.’”

Obama’s Hanukkah is universalist, about a “struggle for justice.” There is no mention of God. Cruz’s Chanukah (note the less common, but more traditional spelling) is about the Jewish people, with God’s help, winning the right to worship against an oppressive dictatorship.

Second part:

Obama: “It’s a chance to reflect on the triumph of liberty over tyranny, the rejection of persecution, and on the miracles that can happen even in our darkest hours. It renews our commitment as Americans – as people who live by faith and conscience – to lead the way and act as unyielding advocates for the fundamental dignity of every human being.”

Cruz: “Today, the Jewish people, together with freedom-loving people around the world, once again find their religious faith and liberty under attack from radical forces of oppression and intolerance. Whether it is the BDS movement on college campuses, anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, or radical Islamic terror in Israel and around the world, we need modern-day Maccabees to stand together and push back against the forces of evil. As a nation founded by a people seeking religious liberty, America stands with the Jewish people both at home and abroad in protecting the light of faith and liberty.”

The lesson from Obama’s Hanukkah is that Americans should advocate for “the fundamental dignity of every human being.” Jews as such are incidental to the holiday, as is religious freedom. Cruz’s Chanukah lesson is that Jews must be protected from their modern enemies….