Paul Gosar (R-AZ), One of the Most Antisemitic Members of Congress, Cites "Judeo-Christian Values"
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) tweeted that he “wished we taught Judeo-Christian values in schools” in response to a quote from Joe Biden at the Million Muslim Votes Summit, in which the presumptive Democratic candidate said he “wished we taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith.”
Perhaps initially a nod to religious texts used by both Jews and Christians, used to inspire American Christian opposition to the Nazis, “Judeo-Christian” in has been a conservative slogan for decades. By 1950, it was clear that the phrase was used to essentially just mean “Christian,” with “Judeo” tacked on to give the impression of diversity of faith. This was demonstrated in a statement from the Earl McGrath Commissioner of the Federal Office of Education (now the Department of Education). McGrath asserted that American public schools should uphold the “ideals of the Judeo-Christian conception of life” in order to build a “truly Christian, democratic community.”
Rather than pointing to commonality between Judaism and Christianity, the term “Judeo-Christian” effectively and intentionally excludes Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Indigenous faiths and more. While people of all ethnicities practice all of these religions, it is not a coincidence that the faiths excluded from “Judeo-Christian values” are more often associated with people of color. It’s a blatant example of the way Jews and Judaism are used as a shield by conservatives to attack other minority groups.
Dozens of Jews, including Big Bang Theory producer Bill Prady, as well as some Jewish organizations, objected to Gosar’s use of the term. Gosar angrily responded that Prady was “not elected to speak on behalf of all Jews” and cited Ben Shapiro, a conservative writer who, despite being Jewish, regularly repeats antisemitic and racist tropes:
Gosar’s use of the term “Judeo-Christian values” was particularly troubling given his history of antisemitism and white nationalism. In 2019, it was reported that Gosar followed several Twitter accounts on his personal account which published racist or white nationalist viewpoints, including accounts employing the n-word, and featuring Nazi symbols. It is clear that rather than understanding or caring about Jewish values, Gosar sees Judaism as a political tool to wield against Muslims.