Governor’s slap spurs outreach by Birmingham federation

Birmingham\'s Jewish federation said it would reach out to Alabama\'s governor after he said non-Christians were not his \"brothers and sisters.\" The federation told The Los Angeles Times that it would assemble a group of Christians and Jews \"as soon as possible to initiate a dialogue\" to reach out to Robert Bentley, the newly elected Republican leader. Bentley, speaking at a Baptist Church on Monday, the day of his swearing-in, spoke of his evangelical fervor. He said Christians are his \"brothers and sisters.\"

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Jewish Journal

January 19, 2011

Birmingham’s Jewish federation said it would reach out to Alabama’s governor after he said non-Christians were not his “brothers and sisters.”

The federation told The Los Angeles Times that it would assemble a group of Christians and Jews “as soon as possible to initiate a dialogue” to reach out to Robert Bentley, the newly elected Republican leader.

Bentley, speaking at a Baptist Church on Monday, the day of his swearing-in, spoke of his evangelical fervor. He said Christians are his “brothers and sisters.”

“Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters,” he said. “So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.”