Is Abe Finklestein a real rabbi?
Absolutely not. I actually took the time to listen to part of that ridiculous interview with the so-called rabbi. Any Jew would spot it as a fake in seconds- it is clearly just some Klansman or other white supremacist who has spent some time practising how to fake a Yiddish accent. The accent is the first giveaway- it is clearly someone shamming a “yeshivah Jew” accent. It’s a good enough imitation to fool someone who doesn’t know any better, but nowhere near good enough to fool someone who has spent any time around Yiddish speakers.
The name “Abe Finkelstein” also, does not work with someone who has an accent like this. If they’d called him Avrohom Finkelstein, maybe, but I don’t buy “Abe”. Abe sounds like a second or third-generation American at least and almost certainly modern orthodox or conservative- not Yeshivish or Chassidic. That is an accent either for a man in his 90’s or a Williamsburg Chassid (except it actually isn’t convincing enough to pass) and I’ve never met a Chassid who’d go by “Abe”.
The next huge giveaway is the way the “rabbi” responds to the rather insulting, put down-y questions of the interviewer. His responses are exactly what an antisemite would expect a Jew to say rather than what a Jew would actually say- leaving aside the obvious fact that no self-respecting Jew would ever go on a show like this in the first place.
The third giveaway is the fact that the “Rabbi” has no knowledge of authentic Judaism but just confirms the interviewer’s prejudices about Judaism with comments that mimic apologetics but actually simply repeat and reinforce antisemitic myths and tropes. For a “Rabbi”, Abe Finkelstein is pretty clueless about the basics of Judaism.
This “interview” is a pathetic piece of agitprop theatre aimed at trying to revive a bunch of mediaeval lies about Jews and Judaism. It is despicable and utterly appalling. Moreover, it isn’t even convincingly done. From the moment “Rabbi” Abe greets the interviewer with his cheery “shalom” (not something a real rabbi would be likely to do even if the interviewer was not an openly hostile antisemite, because-surprise surprise- we don’t actually go around saying “shalom” to each other) I could hear the “fake” screaming all over the show. This is about as convincing as having an “interview” with Father Seamus O’Leary who will tell us in a typical “leprechaun Irish” accent, replete with “begorrahs” and starting with “top o’ the mornin’ to ye” all about how paedophilia and secret devil worship are at the core of catholicism! Absolute putrid garbage!
https://www.quora.com/Is-Abe-Finklestein-a-real-rabbi