Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Life

Eli Valley, Game-changer?

Has Eli Valley, Forward columnist, changed the future of Israel as we know it?

This is from an article about Foxman and Avigdor Lieberman’s proposed Loyalty Oath for Israeli citizens in February:

But the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that is quick to spot instances of discrimination, says Lieberman is right to be concerned about apparent acts of disloyalty by Israeli Arabs. Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s national director, noted with concern the trips by Arab Israeli Knesset members to enemy states and expressions of solidarity with Hamas by Israeli Arabs during Israel’s recent military operation in the Gaza Strip. “There were a lot of people who said, ‘Hey, that’s disloyal,’ ” Foxman told JTA. “That’s what he’s talking about. He’s not saying expel them. He’s not saying punish them.”

Then we print Eli Valley’s Abe Foxworthy, In which a science experiment goes horribly wrong causing a genetic mixture of Foxman and comedian Jeff Foxworthy (author of “Redneck Dictionary” and “How to Stink at Work”) states that he is “here to defend ‘loyalty oaths’ for citizenship —not only in Israel but also in the confederate states of America”

And the effect is almost instantaneous. In the latest Jewish Week Foxman (not Foxworthy) is quoted as saying:

It’s odious. Zionism is something you should aspire to, but it shouldn’t be something that you get punished for if you don’t. … Americans are not comfortable with loyalty oaths — this goes back to our experience with McCarthy.

Is it too much to contemplate Foxman having an epiphany after seeing his genetically altered twin in Eli’s hall of mirrors?

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.