Rabbi Nachum Shifren, known as the Surfing Rabbi, is a candidate for a California Senate Seat in Culver City and surrounding communities on Nov. 2. He is an Orthodox rabbi, a product of the Chabad movement that captured his attention at U.C. Santa Barbara and led to his spiritual conversion. He ran away from his San Fernando home at age 12 to Malibu and became enamored of watching the strength and grace of surfers. He ultimately became a Los Angeles County lifeguard, surfer and an accomplished triathelete.
As he told us in a recent interview, he is the only declared State Senate candidate who has come out against Sharia. He has spoken at Tea Party and Republican conventions. He considers members of the Tea Party movement and other Republicans as “the salt of the earth.” They are concerned about the direction in which the country is heading in under the Obama administration. Among his admirers is Nevada GOP U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle. She heard Rabbi Shifren speak at a national GOP meeting in Reno.
Off to Jolly Old England
But in the midst of the final weeks of his state Senate campaign he is traveling to the U.K. to show solidarity with the anti-Islamic English Defense League. This has caused The Guardian newspaper of London to portray Rabbi Shifren as part of an international web involving the U.S. Tea Party movement and the anti-Sharia cause.
That, in turn, has made the British Jewish establishment uneasy about Rabbi Shifren's appearances and speeches in Britain. Privately, that is the rabbi's objective in making this trip to the U.K.
He said as much in this quote from The Observer of London investigation:
“Shifren, a California senate candidate, said Britain's Jewish community should rally behind the EDL: ‘The Jewish community is paralyzed with fear, exactly what most radical Muslim agitators want. The people of England are in the forefront of this war — and it is a war. One of the purposes of this visit is to put the kibosh on the notion in the Jewish community that they cannot co-operate with the EDL, which is rubbish.’”
This is far from his origins as a surfing San Fernando Valley guy who worked in the McGovern campaign in 1972. He frequently quotes Churchill about the transformation of liberal youth to conservative adulthood: “If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart. If you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”
In 1991 he was able to secure teaching credentials in the Los Angeles school system because of his special skill. He could speak Spanish. That led to a lengthy stint in what he characterized as a dysfunctional Los Angeles school system contending with Hispanic and African-American gangs. Among his supporters in the State Senate race are African American pastors who recognize his valued contributions during his career as an educator.
So is Rabbi Shifren an extremist?
The answer, I believe, can be found in statement the late Conservative and Libertarian, Sen. Barry Goldwater, in his 1964 GOP Convention Presidential nomination acceptance speech:
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
How to contact Rabbi Shifren:
Website: http://www.RabbiForSenate.com
Facebook: Nachum.Shifren
Twitter: RabbiShifren
