Nathan Guttman February 9, 2012

Rick Santorum is back in the headlines after his sweeping victory Tuesday in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. His success is cause for renewed attention and for a better look at this interesting nugget dug up by the New York Observer’s political reporter Hunter Walker.

It is a Hanukkah card sent out by Rick Santorum’s South Carolina campaign a couple of months ago. The card shows a menorah and candles, and is decorated with a few Stars of David, but the greeting itself is rather odd. It reads: “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” This quote could leave Jewish supporters scratching their head since not many Jewish Americans grow up reading John 8:12 of the New Testament. The card did omit however (perhaps in consideration of the Jewish recipients) the first part of the verse which makes clear that it is Jesus speaking.

The card has been popping up in websites today with some writers trying to guess whether Santorum was secretly trying to convert his Jewish followers.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But the real question is who was this greeting card intended for? South Carolina has a lot of Jewish history but a rather small Jewish community and if national Jewish voting patterns apply to South Carolina, Republican Jews in the state are hard to come by. What would make more sense is to address these cards to the state’s large evangelical population, which, in general, holds warm feeling toward Israel and the Jewish people, and could probably better appreciate a quote of Jesus from the New Testament.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount