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Two Republican county chairmen in South Carolina have apologized for a newspaper op-ed article that stereotyped Jews as financial penny pinchers.
Two Republican county chairmen in South Carolina compared Senator Jim DeMint's fiscal watchfulness to that of Jews.
The chairmen wrote the article in The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, S.C., on Sunday in defense of Senator Jim DeMint's opposition to Congressional earmarks, comparing his fiscal watchfulness to that of Jews.
"There is a saying that the 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 opinion article stated. "By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation's pennies and trying to preserve our country's wealth and our economy's viability to give all an opportunity to succeed."
A Democratic state senator, Joel Lourie of Kershaw and Richland Counties, who is Jewish, called the comment "disgusting" and "unconscionable" and said it represented "prejudice in its purest form." He called for the two chairmen to lose their positions in the state Republican Party and asked Mr. DeMint and Karen Floyd, the state party chairwoman, to denounce their comments.
The authors, Edwin O. Merwin Jr., chairman of the Bamberg County Republican Party, and James S. Ulmer Jr., chairman of the Orangeburg County Republican Party, issued statements of apology on Monday.
The State, a newspaper in Columbia, S.C., reported that Mr. Ulmer had e-mailed a statement explaining that the comment was one he had "heard many times in my life, truly in admiration for a method of bettering one's lot in life."
"I sincerely apologize for this great error," he wrote in the e-mail message. "I meant absolutely nothing derogatory by the reference to a great and honorable people. I hope that anyone and all who were offended by my comment will accept my humble apology."
Mr. Merwin said that he concurred with Mr. Ulmer's statement. "At this time, I wish to deeply apologize for any material included in that letter that would be considered anti-Semitic in any way," Mr. Merwin said in a statement. "I have always abhorred in the past, and shall continue to do so in the future, anti-Semitism in any form whatsoever."
Mr. DeMint said the reference to Jews was "thoughtless and hurtful," and said the authors were correct in apologizing. Ms. Floyd said that the apology would end the matter, and that the two men would retain their jobs.
The article was the latest controversy in a tumultuous year for South Carolina Republicans. In June, Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. In September, Representative Joe Wilson shouted "You lie" during a speech by President Obama to Congress.
Martin Perlmutter, director of the Jewish studies program at the College of Charleston, said the op-ed article did not reflect a broader culture of anti-Semitism in the state. "I think it is, as much as anything, an isolated incident," Mr. Perlmutter said.
[ Rabbi Arthur Segal's comment: Marty , a brilliant academic, lives in Charleston, SC, which until the NYC waves of immigration, was the major hub of Jewish life in the USA. Jews in the South were integrated into SC Southern Society, and held political positions. Two that most remember are Frances Salvador, a representative to the Continental Congress, who was killed in the War for Independence, and Judah Benjamin, the CSA's Secretaries of State, War, and Attorney General. While Southern Jews who blend in have been embraced by Carolinians, Northern Jews who have migrated here since post the War of Northern Aggression, are tolerated at best, especially if they are liberal politically. One notable exception is Harriet Keyserling , a New Yorker, who married Dr, Herbert Keyserling z'l,,(my wife's dad's ,z'l, cousin), a Jew from an accepted Southern family. She became state senator from Beaufort County, SC. Her son William (Billy K) Keyserling, well assimilated into Southern culture, held the same position when Harriet retired, and is now mayor of Beaufort, SC. Putting all of this aside, when one leaves the cities and towns of the SC Atlantic coast, or the one or two cities in the ''up country,'' and lives in rural SC, (most of the state), one will find a 'benign anti-Semitism,' with comments similar to the statements made by Merwin and Ulmer. Shalom, Rabbi Arthur Segal, www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org }
