An Open Letter re: Jim C. Perry

[YeahItsMeJP]

It's unfortunate this happened and I am sorry it did. I didn't realize having an interest in theology was such a bad thing or exploring it was such a "great error."

Let's see... I very seriously considered going to UU seminary up until about a year and a half ago when I decided I wanted to explore my Jewish religious heritage a bit and discovered something that I finally liked enough to stick to (so much so that I even did a do-over on the ever painful brit milah to make sure it was done according to Jewish law). Sure, none of this excuses my admitted flakiness, but I have been observant with increasing enthusiasm for over a year now. Not that Sultan Knish has any right to demand I prove my religious observance since a Jew is a Jew is a Jew, but if anyone cares enough to call him, you can PM me for contact information to ask my Rabbi just what *he* thinks of all this.

Sorry Jim but no. You're not just claiming to be a Jew, in the JTA piece you claimed to be a fully Orthodox Jew. You're actually a gay man and you were describing yourself as a Unitarian as recently as a few months ago. You've also got Pagan posts from much more recently than 2001.

So again you're lying and you've been lying all along. If you had stuck to just claiming to be Jewish, you might have walked, but you made the mistake of trying to for maximum authenticity by claiming to be an Orthodox Jew, something you're not.

You have the right to be Gay and a Unitarian, but when you also cynically claim to be an Orthodox Jew for the purpose of creating and running a political Jewish group and give interviews under false pretenses, you're just a fraud.

I notice your name is now gone from the Jews for Ron Paul site. I imagine they want to disassociate themselves from you. It's time you apologized for the deception and ended the fraud.

Since when does being a gay man make one ineligible to be orthodox? Just curious. I know all about the abomination mentioned in Leviticus, thanks. But don't you think that me being a gay man and how that relates to my religious practice is a discussion left to be held between me and my Rabbi? I would think so.

Look, perhaps you have an idea of what orthodox means to you. We all have our own ideas of what certain words mean. As my Rabbi frequently tells me, to be orthodox is to try our very best to be shomer mitzvot and short of that to try our best as increasing our performance of mitzvot until we can reach that stage. I don't think you have the right to judge me on my religious observance as I have no right to judge you on yours.

That said, you DO have a right to judge me based on my actions in dealing with others, both politically and financially. I have made some very poor decisions in my life and I thank G-d that I am in a better position now to work on getting over them, past them and on to building trust with others again. Will it take years? Yeah, it will. I know that, I'm young and I have the time and the desire to rebuild the bridges I burned because those bridges lead to people I have a deep respect for and are folks who I wish to have in my life.

The underlying issue here in your case was you needed a way to attack Dr. Paul and unfortunately I allowed myself to be in a position to be the arrow you shot.

In a way, though, I should thank you. You've made it a lot easier for me to consolidate my screw-ups so I may be better able to right the wrongs I am personally responsible for.

[CNHT]

The underlying issue here in your case was you needed a way to attack Dr. Paul and unfortunately I allowed myself to be in a position to be the arrow you shot.

This is true. No one here is defending the actions of a well-intentioned but sometimes misdirected young person, however, it's just an excuse to smear RP who has nothing to do with anything.

So go back under your rock from whence you came 'knish'. I thought it was against Jewish religion to gossip? How do we even know YOU are Jewish?

[sultan knish]

I know Jim and I can vouch for the fact that his MOTHER is Jewish thus it makes him Jewish. Is there some other litmus test to being Jewish I don't know about? What about the others in the group? Does this mean they can't discuss other religions which they may or may not be a part of? Since when is 'Pagan' a religion?

I'll repeat it slowly this time. In interviews Jim claimed to be an ORTHODOX JEW. This was a lie.

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20071112jewsforronpaul.html

If there's such a thing as a Pagan Minister, then it's rather clearly a religion.

[YeahItsMeJP]

I know Jim and I can vouch for the fact that his MOTHER is Jewish thus it makes him Jewish. Is there some other litmus test to being Jewish I don't know about? What about the others in the group? Does this mean they can't discuss other religions which they may or may not be a part of? Since when is 'Pagan' a religion?

I'll repeat it slowly this time. In interviews Jim claimed to be an ORTHODOX JEW. This was a lie.

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20071112jewsforronpaul.html

If there's such a thing as a Pagan Minister, then it's rather clearly a religion.

I'd be careful calling me a liar on this point. I'll admit I have been a bit flaky in the past and even called myself a Pagan Minister when I was 16, but I am an observant Jew and member of Chabad of New Hampshire and can back that up if need be.

[CNHT]

I know Jim and I can vouch for the fact that his MOTHER is Jewish thus it makes him Jewish. Is there some other litmus test to being Jewish I don't know about? What about the others in the group? Does this mean they can't discuss other religions which they may or may not be a part of? Since when is 'Pagan' a religion?

I'll repeat it slowly this time. In interviews Jim claimed to be an ORTHODOX JEW. This was a lie.

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20071112jewsforronpaul.html

If there's such a thing as a Pagan Minister, then it's rather clearly a religion.

Look as I said, you can take up your complaints with JP himself about whether he exaggerated his 'Jewishness' or not. But as far as denouncing the whole group, which is made up of many famous and important people, you are wrong and you are just a troll against RP.

I think it's clear to everyone here that while we do not defend someone being flaky, JP is Jewish according to Jewish religious law and other than that, what do you care?

Once again, bottom line is, you are looking to smear RP with something this insignificant in the grand scheme of things and that shows me and others what troll against RP you are.

Go away troll!

[sultan knish]

Since when does being a gay man make one ineligible to be orthodox? Just curious. I know all about the abomination mentioned in Leviticus, thanks. But don't you think that me being a gay man and how that relates to my religious practice is a discussion left to be held between me and my Rabbi? I would think so.

If it was just your "personal life" than it would be between you and your Rabbi, but you didn't leave it at that. Instead you tried to market yourself as an Orthodox Jew on a political level. It's cynical, it's hypocritical and now you got caught at it.

Being in a gay marriage makes you ineligible to claim to be an observant Orthodox Jew. Just as being married makes you ineligible to claim to be a Catholic Priest. Let alone to head Catholic Priests for Ron Paul.  When you pull a stupid fraud like that, all you manage to accomplish is to embarrass yourself and whatever candidate you're trying to shill for.

So far there's ample evidence that you were a Pagan Minister and a Unitarian. There's no evidence at all that you're an Orthodox Jew and a preponderance of evidence that you lied and that you're still lying. You've given two different versions so far of when you decided to become observant. There's multiple versions of the time when you stopped being Pagan. Combine that with multiple ID's, including a Cherokee one and joining Mormon meetup groups and you have less than zero credibility.

If I tried to work for a political campaign based on my religion, people would a right to challenge my observance. Your "religion" didn't become an issue until you cynically decided to pretend to be an Orthodox Jew in order to promote a political candidate. And that was when it became an issue and when you got caught. You can't try to market yourself as an Orthodox Jew to the press and then suddenly cry that your religion is a personal issue between you and your Rabbi. It's hypocrisy and it doesn't work that way.

[CNHT]

Instead you tried to market yourself as an Orthodox Jew on a political level. It's cynical, it's hypocritical and now you got caught at it.

Being in a gay marriage makes you ineligible to claim to be an observant Orthodox Jew. Just as being married makes you ineligible to claim to be a Catholic Priest. Let alone to head Catholic Priests for Ron Paul.  When you pull a stupid fraud like that, all you manage to accomplish is to embarrass yourself and whatever candidate you're trying to shill for.

So far there's ample evidence that you were a Pagan Minister and a Unitarian. There's no evidence at all that you're an Orthodox Jew and a preponderance of evidence that you lied and that you're still lying. You've given two different versions so far of when you decided to become observant. There's multiple versions of the time when you stopped being Pagan. Combine that with multiple ID's, including a Cherokee one and joining Mormon meetup groups and you have less than zero credibility.

If I tried to work for a political campaign based on my religion, people would a right to challenge my observance. Your "religion" didn't become an issue until you cynically decided to pretend to be an Orthodox Jew in order to promote a political candidate. And that was when it became an issue and when you got caught. You can't try to market yourself as an Orthodox Jew to the press and then suddenly cry that your religion is a personal issue between you and your Rabbi. It's hypocrisy and it doesn't work that way.

We don't need you here trashing gays or anyone else that supports RP.  What's it to you what he is? His mother is Jewish, that makes him Jewish.
The only reason it matters to you is you are looking for something, ANYTHING, to smear RP, who has nothing to do with this.
I suggest you get lost, and fast...

[sultan knish]

What's it to you what he is? His mother is Jewish, that makes him Jewish.

Repetition #2 - He claimed to be an observant ORTHODOX JEW in media interviews. Not just a Jew.

Being an Orthodox Jew requires observing religious law. It's like claiming to be a married priest.

[YeahItsMeJP]

Since when does being a gay man make one ineligible to be orthodox? Just curious. I know all about the abomination mentioned in Leviticus, thanks. But don't you think that me being a gay man and how that relates to my religious practice is a discussion left to be held between me and my Rabbi? I would think so.

If it was just your "personal life" than it would be between you and your Rabbi, but you didn't leave it at that. Instead you tried to market yourself as an Orthodox Jew on a political level. It's cynical, it's hypocritical and now you got caught at it.

Being in a gay marriage makes you ineligible to claim to be an observant Orthodox Jew. Just as being married makes you ineligible to claim to be a Catholic Priest. Let alone to head Catholic Priests for Ron Paul.  When you pull a stupid fraud like that, all you manage to accomplish is to embarrass yourself and whatever candidate you're trying to shill for.

So far there's ample evidence that you were a Pagan Minister and a Unitarian. There's no evidence at all that you're an Orthodox Jew and a preponderance of evidence that you lied and that you're still lying. You've given two different versions so far of when you decided to become observant. There's multiple versions of the time when you stopped being Pagan. Combine that with multiple ID's, including a Cherokee one and joining Mormon meetup groups and you have less than zero credibility.

If I tried to work for a political campaign based on my religion, people would a right to challenge my observance. Your "religion" didn't become an issue until you cynically decided to pretend to be an Orthodox Jew in order to promote a political candidate. And that was when it became an issue and when you got caught. You can't try to market yourself as an Orthodox Jew to the press and then suddenly cry that your religion is a personal issue between you and your Rabbi. It's hypocrisy and it doesn't work that way.

Never said my religion was between me and my Rabbi but rather how my being gay relates to my religion. But since you are attacking me on this point, let me be clear that as far as I know you are neither orthodox nor a Rabbi making you ineligible to make a ruling as to whether or not I can claim orthodoxy or observant status. But seeing as my Rabbi frequently makes a point of reaching out to and including me in the minyan at shul, I think I'll trust his validation of my observance, thanks.

[sultan knish]

Jim,

I'm sure you'll make a great politician, insofar as you can lie with a straight face and argue the definition of "Is" or "Orthodox Jew" until the cows come home. I don't plan to make a hobby of restating the obvious so this will be my last reply to you, especially since this isn't my computer or a decent hour.

You created a political organization and very calculatedly tried to promote yourself as an Orthodox Jew. You were talking about being a Churchgoing Unitarian as recently as a few months ago. You erased your website when Free Republic first caught you, but you didn't erase nearly enough. Now there are backups of everything. You're still in a gay marriage. What all of that adds up to is you lied to the JTA intern and it backfired.

None of this would have been an issue except that you cynically tried to exploit your claim to being an Orthodox Jew in a political campaign. You should have stuck to Cherokee or Quaker. Or maybe you can become the first Orthodox Cherokee Quaker and corner the market on Ward Churchill style fraudulent tokenism.

[YeahItsMeJP]

this will be my last reply to you

Thank G-d.

[CNHT]

None of this would have been an issue except that you cynically tried to exploit your claim to being an Orthodox Jew in a political campaign. You should have stuck to Cherokee or Quaker. Or maybe you can become the first Orthodox Cherokee Quaker and corner the market on Ward Churchill style fraudulent tokenism.

No, none of this would be an issue to anyone, except to YOU, and that's only because you are looking to do harm to a candidate, but guess what? NO ONE CARES.

If you have an issue with this person's religion, I'd say that's none of your business either. Go air your anti-semitic and anti-gay attacks elsewhere.
Furthermore, if someone wants to call themself a virgin whore they are free to do so. And once again it should be no concern of yours.
You do not know this person, you have no interaction with him except to express disapproval of his religious beliefs as you see them.
It's none of your business.

[J’raxis 270145]

... Being in a gay marriage ...

For someone so insistent on proper terminology, you should know that there's no such thing as "gay marriage" in New Hampshire. There aren't even such things as "civil unions" until next year.

[Faber]

You (shock) might not have all the information, J'raxis.  JP might have gotten married in Massachusetts.  Besides, he refers to himself as married and with a husband, I think it's respectful to use the same terminology.

I can't believe whether or not JP is Orthodox or not is the question now being discussed here.  Can't we leave that to the scholars and Rabbis?  There are more important things about which to whine and debate endlessly

[CNHT]

Faber it's quite simple: The troll SK wishes to cast aspersions on JP's jewishness so as to somehow prove that RP has no jewish support.

Right there the whole premise falls through because there are plenty of others who would pass SK's litmus test.

It's more of an attack on RP than on JP.

Bottom line is, it proves nothing, or least nothing that SK set out to prove.

SK has been exposed -- so he should move on..