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WASHINGTON (JTA) Al Sharpton appealed to Reform Jews for a united front in facing down anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of bias and acknowledged his role in stoking division, recounting how the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s widow reprimanded him for his cheap rhetoric.

The civil rights activist and MSNBC hostreportedlyhas expressed regrets privately to Jewish leaders for the incendiary rhetoric that helped fuel the deadly Crown Heights riots in 1991. But Mondays remarks here at the Religious Action Centers Consultation on Conscience were the closest he has come in public in acknowledging his role.

The invitation earned criticism for seeming to rehabilitate a figure at the center of a number of anti-Semitic clashes in the 1990s. After the accidental killing of a black child in Brooklyn by a car driven by a member of the Lubavitcher rebbes entourage, African-American protesters targeted religious Jews in the Crown Heights neighborhood.

Yankel Rosenbaum, a graduate student affiliated with Chabad-Lubavitch, was stabbed to death in the rioting.

Sharpton also was accused ofinciting the violent firebombing of a Jewish-owned clothing store in Harlem in 1995.

Without mentioning the Crown Heights riots specifically, Sharpton said he could have done more to heal rather than harm. And he said that all the public criticism he received paled next to the rebuke from Coretta Scott King, who was known for her closeness to the Jewish community. It appears to be the first time Sharpton has publicly shared the tale.

Al Sharpton speaks to the media after meeting Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg for lunch at Manhattans Harlem neighborhood, April 29, 2019. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

One of the things she said to me, she said, Al, the purpose of our movement has never been to just get civil rights for us, its to protect and stand for civil and human rights for everyone,' he recalled.

She said that sometimes you are tempted to speak to the applause of the crowd rather than the heights of the cause, and you will say cheap things to get cheap applause rather than do higher things to raise the nation higher.

She said, I know that you may not have done things youre accused of, but you could have spoken out louder, if you are going to be in the King tradition and if you are going to be invested in your roots, and if you are going to be what we invested in you to be.

All of the editorials and the cartoons, and all that have raised various questions in my controversial career, never really impacted me like Mrs. King, who I grew up [with] in that movement, that had a gentle but firm way of correcting some of my excesses.

Sharptons overarching message to the Reform gathering was that blacks and Jews must overcome past differences to confront an increase in bias against all groups, particularly under President Donald Trump. Henoted his recent work with the Reform movement exposing U.S. government abuses against migrants on the border, as well as attacks on houses of worship.

You cannot fight racism without fighting anti-Semitism, he said.

Referring to white supremacists behind two recent deadly attacks on synagogues, as well as the 2015 mass shooting in a black church in South Carolina, Sharpton said, Unless we stand up together against this blatant anti-Semitic spirit, then I dont have the right to stand up when they go into Charleston.

Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, who runs social media for Chabad, the movement whose members were principally targeted in the 1991 riots, watched the livestream of the speech and expressed his outrage on Twitter.

The willingness to wash away our pain is so cruel, he said. The Religious Action Center needs to deplatform hate Not give it a pulpit and whitewash it.

Lightstone, who with his wife is also director of Tech Tribe, a Chabad center in Brooklyn, was tweeting in his personal capacity as a resident of Crown Heights, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Rosenbaums brother, Norman, wrote in a Washington Examinerop-ed that inviting Sharpton sends a very dangerous and intolerable message to the anti-Semites among us.

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, the Religious Action Center director, acknowledged the pain that Sharptons appearance must be causing others.

That there are members of our Crown Heights family and our Chabad family that are in pain over this actually creates a lot of pain for us, and were sorry about that, he said in an interview with JTA.

At this moment when children are being separated from their parents at the border, and Jews are being murdered in the synagogues, and people of color are being gunned down in their churches, and people in mosques are being firebombed we need to stand together, and Reverend Sharpton has stood with us these past couple of years.

In the same interview, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said Sharptons role as an ally in this moment of increased bias and violence should be factored into understanding why he was invited to speak.

There are many chapters in Reverend Sharptons life, Jacobs said. We are in a moment of urgency, and Reverend Sharpton has spoken up and has stood strongly with the Jewish community.

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Al Sharpton admits to using 'cheap' rhetoric about Jews ...

5/9/2019 12:30 AM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

Al Sharpton isn't surprised that President Trumpwas reportedly bleeding money -- about a billion dollars worth, no less -- in his "heyday" as a mogul ... 'cause that's been his MO.

We got the reverend leaving Capitol Hill in D.C. Wednesday, where our photog asked about the big NYT story from yesterday -- in which the paper claimed to have uncovered 9 years worth of Trump's taxes between 1985 and 1994 ... showing he spent a decade in the red.

Rev. Sharpton says the news didn't strike him as much as it might have the average Joe, as he says that anyone who dealt with The Donald in those days knew full well that he wasn't the business hotshot he portrayed himself as ... especially in "The Art of the Deal."

According to Al, there's only one business Trump has been successful in ... and he says the Prez has carried that same formula over to the White House. Any guesses???

Bottom line for Mr. Sharpton ... it's time to change the channel away from Trump.

See the original post here:
Al Sharpton Says Trump Belongs in The Con Man HOF ... - tmz.com

The 2020 Democratic primaries are taking place next year, but the contest to be the presidential nominee is already throwing up some unforgettable images.

Weve already seen Beto ORourke standing on things, Elizabeth Warren cracking open a beer, and Bernie Sanders shouting and pointing, but step aside, all of you, because now, we have a mind-boggling photo of Mayor Pete Buttigieg meeting the Rev Al Sharpton in front of every single photographer in New York City.

Buttigieg dined with Sharpton, the longtime civil rights activist and founder of the National Action Network, at Sylvias restaurant in Harlem on Tuesday.

The meal and chat, as Buttigieg seeks to further boost his campaign, spawned an image that scans like a postmodern take on privacy and politics in the modern era: dozens of journalists straining for a glimpse from outside a window as Sharpton and Buttigieg have a nominally private conversation.

Both men are pretending to be oblivious to the scrum of photographers. An earnest-looking Buttigieg animatedly gestures and smiles at an utterly impassive Sharpton, the scene bringing to mind an eager sales rep trying to foist a new line of faucets on a department store owner.

If the setting looks familiar, well, it should. Silvias is Sharptons go-to place to fix Democratic presidential hopefuls with his inscrutable gaze.

The California senator Kamala Harris met Sharpton in the same restaurant, and sat in the exact same spot, just last week. Sharpton again looked as though he was taking part in a staring contest.

Back in 2016, Sharpton was staring at Bernie Sanders although on that occasion at least both men seemed equally skeptical of each other and Sharpton met Obama at Sylvias there in 2007, peering at the eventual president as Obama crammed a chicken wing into his mouth.

Buttigieg was in New York as he attempts to bolster his support among African Americans, after surging in Iowa and New Hampshire polls.

Its unclear if his effort will be successful, and unclear if Buttigieg can sustain his meteoric rise.

One thing, though, is certain: he wont be the last candidate to be stared at by Sharpton in Harlem.

Originally posted here:
Through the looking glass: Pete Buttigieg and Al Sharpton ...

When Pete Buttigieg asked Rev. Al Sharpton for advice on campaigning for president in the Souths Bible Belt as an openly gay white man, the civil rights leader responded, I think you should say, I am who I am.

ButtigiegmetSharpton for lunch at the landmark Harlem soul food restaurant Sylvias on Monday to discuss the need to confront homophobia in the faith community as well as the South Bend mayors policy agenda for the black community in Indiana and around the country, according to a campaign statement.

We need to deal with homophobia in the faith in the black community, said Sharpton.

In the past month, Buttigieg hasclashedwith Vice President Mike Pence over his faith and sexuality; faced antigay protestors and hecklers outside of hishomeand on thecampaign trail; and received criticism from evangelical leaderFranklin Graham, who said the mayors homosexual lifestyle was not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized.

You should be judged on your merits, Sharpton told Buttigieg, who sat across from him at a table for two. And we cant fight against bigotry based on race and were going to be bigots based on sexual orientation.

Sharpton suggested Buttigieg put the black LGBT community on the table, particularly when the mayor returns to campaign in South Carolina next month.

Buttigieg laid out his agenda for black voters, which he said focuses on homeownership, entrepreneurship, health, education, and criminal justice. But he also touched on issues that have given black voters pause. Buttigieg talked about hisfiringof South Bends first African-American police chief, a decision he said still stings with the black community. Later in front of reporters, Buttigieg reiterated his opposition to giving incarcerated felons the right to vote.

While Mayor Pete has risen to national prominence and has become a factor in the crowded Democratic presidential field, South Bends black residents have expressedlukewarm attitudestoward him and he still has along wayto go towin overblack voters across the country. Perhaps in an attempt to make up that ground, Buttigieg has now met twice in one month with Sharpton, who called him very much authentic and firm in who he was and what he represented.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, right, meets with Rev. Al Sharpton in Harlem. (Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

In early April, Buttigieg and other Democratic hopefuls spoke at Sharptons National Action Network annual conference. It was there that Buttigieg called for abolishing the death penalty and said he would sign a bill to commission a study on reparations for descendants of slaves.

Sitting across from Sharpton in Sylvias, as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., had donemonths before, Buttigieg candidly outlined his campaign strategy to reach diverse constituencies around the U.S, comparing it to rock climbing.

I know Ive got a handhold with the LGBT community [which] is a minority, but also touches every other part of the coalition, he told Sharpton during lunch, which he apparentlydidnt knowwas being broadcast live. Or people in the Midwest Ive got a handhold there. So I can reach into the Latino community ... just take whatever relationships we have, then try to use those to reach other people.

The problem I have is some people will just come find me, Buttigieg continued. Theyll come to my rally, theyll rush to my event, theyll be at my fundraiser. But if Im only talking out to the people who come to me, its not going to become more diverse.

So youre going to reach out? interjected Sharpton with a wide, sweeping arm gesture.

I got to, said Buttigieg.

Its important for this midwestern mayor to come to the mecca of black America, Harlem, to speak to our premier leader of black communities, said Alvin Ponder, leader of NANs New York City chapter, who called Buttigiegs appearance with Sharpton good politics. The black vote is going to be extremely significant in the 2020 election. ...[H]es more in line with my views, which are between moderate and progressive.

But while politically savvy New Yorkers recognized Buttigieg on Malcolm X Blvd. and struggled to pronounce his name others failed to see the cause for commotion.

Jerome, 31, from East New York, was having lunch at Sylvias when Sharpton and Buttigieg showed up trailed by men in suits and cameras. He recognized the reverend but couldnt name the presidential candidate. Then again, he said he likely wouldnt have recognized some of theother 182020 hopefuls anyhow.

I kind of lost interest in politics, he told Yahoo News. When Hillary won the popular vote, but Trump ended up winning the election, it was kind of discouraging.

Jerome, who nonetheless plans on voting in 2020, said Buttigiegs race and sexual orientation didnt matter to him but called it a good thing for Buttigieg to come to Harlem. Hopefully, this is him having good intentions, being genuine and actually seeing what issues black folks care about, said Jerome.

Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg comes to Harlem. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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In Harlem, Al Sharpton tells Pete Buttigieg to be himself

It wasnt about the food.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg barely touched their lunches Monday as they powwowed at historic Sylvias restaurant in Harlem.

The South Bend, Ind., mayor ordered collard greens, fried chicken and sipped on iced tea while Sharpton nibbled at dry toast.

We had a very candid lunch. I asked him about the police issue in South Bend. I asked him about the removal of certain housing in South Bend, Sharpton told reporters. He answered very frankly. He didnt duck any of the issues.

Buttigieg offered a similar take.

I valued the conversation, he said.

The small-town mayor was the second Democratic presidential candidate to pay homage to Sharpton at Sylvias California Sen. Kamala Harris met him at the same restaurant in February.

But Buttigieg took the subway to Harlem.

Most of the top Democratic contenders including Buttigieg spoke at the annual conference of Sharptons National Action Network in March.

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Pete Buttigieg, Al Sharpton talk politics during lunch in ...