Politics makes strange bedfellows, and here is another shining example.

Anti-gay activists have hit the trifecta of racism, antisemitism, and homophobia with newly recognized allies David Duke, Rev. Ted Pike, and Peter LaBarbera.

Rev. Ted Pike makes claims against Jews on his website in the name of Jesus, while Duke not only pushes “white civil rights” and caters to white supremacists, but has published his own “bestselling” take on what he calls “Jewish Supremacism.” Peter LaBarbera aligns himself with this man while claiming to know the truth about what happened when a gay young man called out another young man for making a homophobic remark.

Here’s how they’re all connected: David Duke’s website features a retelling of the incident by Rev. Pike, who encourages people to take up his cause and protest the prosecution of the perpetrator. LaBarbera takes him up on this cause on his own website, encouraging others to do the same, all the while benignly referring to Pike as a “pro-family activist.”

World Net Daily reports their own view of the incident, quoting LaBarbera’s qualms:

“The true danger of hate-crimes laws is selective prosecution and unequal protection under the law. If a homosexual were to push an obnoxious Christian onto the ground, or things got out of control after a verbal spat, would he be facing a felony hate-crime conviction and possible jail time in Champaign, Ill., right now?” LaBarbera asked.

The answer is “yes,” because religion is protected under hate crimes laws. If a gay person were to assault a Christian because they saw them praying on the street or because they saw them wearing a crucifix, this would count as anti-Christian violence and therefore be a hate crime. The same thing would count if a gay person assaulted a Jew for wearing a skullcap or a Muslim exiting a Mosque.

There exists here a practical conflict for evangelical Christians seeking to convert Jews out of “love”, especially Christian Zionists: it does their cause no good when their own kind end up aligning themselves with anti-Semites.

UPDATE:

Peter LaBarbera has responded to Box Turtle Bulletin, Pam’s House Blend, and XGW for our coverage of this issue:

I cited Ted Pike in my original article on this case because, as one who has crusaded against “hate crimes” laws, Pike was the first to bring the VanAsdlen story to national attention (in a mass email) — not because I agree with the thrust of his website (or Duke’s). Like most evangelicals, I abhor anti-Semitism and in fact am quite the hawk on defending Israel. I also decry racism and, of course, white nationalism, “white pride,” etc. [emphasis mine]

As if to prove how un-racist he is, Peter then goes on to talk of what a tragedy it is that gays have “hijacked” the civil rights movement, which in his mind, belongs to African Americans ONLY.

It’s good to see that Peter “abhors” anti-Semitism, but I also hope he understands is that his evangelical support of Israel (or, “Christian Zionism”) is not the same thing as supporting Judaism.

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