Cantor on the roof

The Third Temple for All Mankind, a hyper-ecumenical proposal by architect Moses V. Komsky.

All week I've been walking past a headline in the Jewish Daily Forward:

Jews Cast Wary Eye on Evangelicals

I finally took the time to look it up online, and found it's reporting a poll from the Public Religion Research Institute that

asked Jewish respondents to rate the favorability of several religious groups. Mormons received a 47% favorability rating, Muslims 41.4%; the group [jump]

described as “Christian Right” was viewed in favorable terms by only 20.9% of Jewish Americans. In contrast, the general American population, as shown by other polling data, views evangelicals more favorably than Muslims and Mormons.

Jeez, I wonder why that would be?

“I find this shocking and concerning,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the first major group to engage evangelical Christians in support of Israel. Eckstein and other activists working on Jewish-evangelical relations expressed a sense of betrayal, accusing Jewish liberals of being prejudiced against Christian conservatives and of clinging to pre-conceived notions and stereotypes about evangelicals’ beliefs and goals.

A sense of betrayal? American Jews are betraying Rabbi Eckstein by not trusting Pat Robertson? Maybe the poll respondents were totally not even thinking about Rabbi Eckstein. Maybe they were just feeling a little spooked by all the talk about evangelical Christians trying to sponsor the  rebuilding of the Temple and raising red heifers for the sacrifices there and generally doing whatever they can to hasten the End Times when all the Jews are to convert to Christianity themselves, at least those that are left after the Antichrist puts an end to the final war (yes, the Antichrist belongs to the peace party).

Or maybe it's just a funny little feeling that the Evangelicals don't like Jews quite as much as they say they do. Apposite to this is the apparent resolution of the Eric Cantor mystery about why the House Majority leader made a $25,000 donation to Adam Kinzinger, the insurgent Republican who unseated Rep. Don Manzullo in a primary campaign, thereby behaving in extremely un–majority leader–like fashion.

It turns out that Cantor may have had one of those funny little feelings about Manzullo ever since he heard about Manzullo fretting that Cantor, the only Jewish member of the House Republican caucus, was not going to be "saved". Asked by Politico whether he thought there was any antisemitism in the caucus, he replied with vague generalities—

“I think that all of us know that in this country, we’ve not always gotten it right in terms of racial matters, religious matters, whatever. We continue to strive to provide equal treatment to everybody.” (via Think Progress)

And pressed to apply what he was saying directly to the House Republicans, didn't say any more at all, but sat making faces until the interviewer thought of something else to talk about. Which sounds to some people who ought to know like, "Yes."

Eric, Eric, these people don't wish you well! We don't like you either, to tell the truth, but family is family, so come on over anyway.