ADL slams two U.S. Republicans for calling Jews penny-pinchers

The Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday said that despite the apology of two South Carolina Republican Party chairmen for characterizing Jews as penny-pinchers, "they need to do more to publicly disavow their words and to understand why their remarks were so insensitive."

In an opinion piece published Oct. 18 in The Times and Democrat newspaper, Bamberg County GOP Chairman Edwin Merwin and Orangeburg County Chairman James Ulmer defended the fiscal policies of U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, by saying he was "like Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves."

The two Republican county officials have since apologized for making the comments disparaging Jews.

DeMint called the comment thoughtless and hurtful. One of South Carolina's two Jewish legislators, Democratic Sen. Joel Lourie, said he was outraged by the remark. He called on the chairmen to be removed.

State GOP Chairwoman Karen Floyd also called the statement absolutely unacceptable.

"Their apology is a first step, but it doesn't go far enough," said Bill Nigut, ADL Southeast Regional Director.

"Stereotypes about Jews' facility with money have survived through generations and have been inculcated into our culture," he continued.
"Mr. Merwin and Mr. Ulmer need to better understand the impact of their words, and how those words will resonate and reinforce anti-Semitism."

The ADL said it would gladly facilitate a dialogue between the two county chairmen and members of the South Carolina Jewish community.

"The best outcome of this sad episode would be for Mr. Merwin and Mr. Ulmer to learn more about the root causes of anti-Semitism," said the ADL statement. "They need to do more to publicly disavow their words and to understand why their remarks were so insensitive."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1122621.html