Both the Left and Weirdo Right are into Islam. Why?

Like many of my Jewish friends, we belonged to a conservative synagogue. It was a compromise for my parents, both of whom grew up in orthodox homes in Germany. My father had become less religious, while my mother remained orthodox. While we were members in good standing of the local synagogue, my parents did not like the services. They were used to traditional prayers, all in Hebrew, and they did not enjoy the altered liturgy or large English sections of prayer. After my bar mitzvah, the relationship with the place weakened.

One of the funny aspects of this conservative synagogue and others I have encountered was the requirement that the rabbi be pretty much orthodox. Beth Hillel in Wilmette owned a house with a pool within walking distance of the synagogue, so that the rabbi and his family should not have to drive on Saturdays and holidays. The rabbi was expected to wear a kippah on his head and behave like a religious Jew. This business was always strange to me, as people who drove on Saturdays and ate at whatever restaurant they desired asked their religious leader to be the Jew that they did not want to be. The situation reached a head when the rabbi’s son turned out to be a very good basketball player. High school games were on Friday nights, and wailing was heard from the gallery: how can the rabbi’s son play basketball at the beginning of the Sabbath?! And sure enough, the young man only played on other days but never again on Fridays.

When one looks at our confused and confusing political landscape, he concludes something that makes little sense: the far Left and the Weirdo Right are really into Islam. Neither should want anything to do with it, and certainly both should not arrive at the same relationship—should they? Some of the things that Sharia Islam stands for,........

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