When Good Militia Men Go Jewish and Blow a Shofar — or Not

By Emily Siegel January 20, 2016

Mazel tov, you made it through another Yom Kippur!

Um, wait, whoops.

This video of two dudes blowing the shofar is not actually signaling the end of a Jewish synagogue service. It’s actually two far right-wing militia men in Burns, Oregon blowing into a quote-unquote “battle horn” during their occupation of a federal wildlife refuge.

In an attempt to get more protestors to join them, militia leader Blaine Cooper posted this video to Facebook, with the caption:

“CHRISTIANS THE BATTLE TRUMPET HAS BEEN SOUNDED TIME TO RISE! CALL TO ACTION SEND IN THE TROOPS TO STAND WITH US IN BURNS OREGON!”

In case you’re wondering why these Christians are using the very Jewish shofar, the militiamen are part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which teaches adherents that they’re descendants of the House of Israel.

Too bad it doesn’t teach them all to blow the shofar like a pro.

The guy on the right has sub-standard Tekia skills. But, once the Burns occupation ends, the guy on the left should consider a career change and look into becoming a professional shofar-blower. I hear the going rates are pretty good on High Holidays.

SHARE UPDATE BURNS OREGON! CHRISTIANS THE BATTLE TRUMPET HAS BEEN SOUNDED TIME TO RISE! CALL TO ACTION SEND IN THE TROOPS TO STAND WITH US IN BURNS OREGON!

Posted by Blaine Cooper on Sunday, January 17, 2016

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

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