Jackie Mason on the “UCLA types” and O'Reilly on the “George Soros crew” said to be destroying Christmas

Appearing on The O'Reilly Factor to discuss the “war on Christmas,” comedian Jackie Mason said, "[T]he people who are making these complaints represent nobody but themselves. UCLA [sic] types, anti-religionists, secularists talk about all the time." O'Reilly added, "[T]here has to be a power behind this. I think it's the George Soros crew."


On the December 2 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly featured comedian Jackie Mason as a guest to discuss the “war on Christmas.” Mason said: “I'm telling you that the people who are making these complaints represent nobody but themselves. UCLA [sic] types, anti-religionists, secularists is what you talk about all the time. They're people who have a guilty conscience about anything they might do that's dirty or off-color or vulgar or obscene.”

Mason was presumably referring to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and not the University of California-Los Angeles.

Mason continued: “You can't stop a rap singer from telling people to kill every Jew in the world, every gentile, every short person, every homosexual, everybody.” Then he declared: “The Ku Klux Klan is allowed to march and they're allowed to holler 'Ku Klux Klan,' but God forbid you had a Christmas tree in front of it. They wouldn't be allowed. You can call the Ku Klux Klan, but if they said 'Merry Christmas,' they'd be wiped out.”

O'Reilly responded, "[T]here has to be a power behind this. I think it's the George Soros crew."

Mason then said, “The ACLU are a bunch of sick people who fight for anything that's anti-American, anything that's dirty or vulgar, and they hate anything that's respectable or decent.”

Mason is an advisory board member of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, which purports to offer “a Jewish response to anti-Christian bias in the news media, entertainment, government and the culture” and has expressed support for the fight against the “war on Christmas.” The group's advisory board also includes David Horowitz, Republican activist Barbara Ledeen, radio hosts Michael Medved and Barry Farber, and columnists Jeff Jacoby and Mona Charen. Mason has co-written, with attorney and fellow Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation advisory board member Raoul Felder, articles for conservative outlets such as Jewish World Review, The American Spectator, and The Washington Times.

From the December 2 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: But we had a poll this week: 90 percent of Americans, 90 percent celebrate Christmas. But somehow, somebody has intimidated the CEOs of Sears and Wal-Mart and a lot of these other places. Who are these people?

MASON: First of all, there's no constituency for it. If you -- I'm telling you that the people who are making these complaints represent nobody but themselves. UCLA [sic] types, anti-religionists, secularists is what you talk about all the time. They're people who have a guilty conscience about anything they might do that's dirty or off-color or vulgar or obscene. Is there something wrong with a country that pornography is so popular and if, God forbid, if you question the rights of -- to disseminate porn, right away it's freedom of speech? You're allowed to do all the pornography you want. You can't challenge it; it's freedom of speech. Rap singers tell you how to kill people day and right. You've been doing it on your show all the time.

O'REILLY: Right.

MASON: You can't stop a rap singer from telling people to kill every Jew in the world, every gentile, every short person, every homosexual, everybody. You know why? Because it's freedom of speech. But if you want to say something good, talk about love and brotherhood by recognizing Christ as the savior and everybody wants to enjoy the merriment, all this is not allowed. The Ku Klux Klan is allowed to march and they're allowed to holler “Ku Klux Klan,” but God forbid you had a Christmas tree in front of it. They wouldn't be allowed. You can call the Ku Klux Klan, but if they said “Merry Christmas,” they'd be wiped out.

O'REILLY: But there has -- there has to be a power behind this. I think it's the George Soros crew. You know?

MASON: These are sick people. See, there's -- somehow it's a popular thing. It's in now to be -- to hate religion. It's in now to be hip, to be a swinger because they're living a dirty, filthy, obscene, vulgar life, and they're guilt-ridden about it. So any connection with religion somehow feels like an interference to their lifestyle. So they want to eliminate religion; they shouldn't feel dirty.

O'REILLY: How do you read the ACLU?

MASON: The ACLU are a bunch of sick people who fight for anything that's anti-American, anything that's dirty or vulgar, and they hate anything that's respectable or decent.