by BZ [➚] · Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
With Arlen Specter (RD-PA)’s switch to the Democratic Party, there are now no Jewish Republicans left in the United States Senate! (The other Jewish Republican senator, Norm Coleman (R-MN), lost his seat in the 2008 election, and so far has spent his retirement obstructing the seating of his successor. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has never adopted the Republican label, and continues to caucus with the Democrats.)
This is the first time that there have been no Jewish Republican senators since Jacob Javits (R-NY) entered the Senate in 1957, representing a very different Republican party. Eric Cantor (R-VA) is the only Jewish Republican in the House of Representatives.
by Ruby K [➚] · Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
… or will we?
File this under HA HA HA HA HA HA HA:
RJC Announces Norm Coleman to Serve as Consultant and Strategic Advisor
Washington, D.C. (January 22, 2009) — Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks announced today that Senator Norm Colelman (MN) has agreed to join the RJC as a consultant and strategic advisor. In this capacity, Coleman will help the RJC as it plans for the future and looks at ways to continue its historic record of growth and success.
Which success, the one where despite a huge whisper campaign and a candidate named Barack Hussein Obama, Jews voted 78-22 for our new President, besting Kerry’s 04 numbers?
I’m reminded of a certain CT senator staying on the ballot for Senate while running for VP. Getting a job just in case all the spurious claims don’t get you back into that seat, Norm? Here’s hoping a real Progressive is back in Senator Wellstone’s (z’l) chair.
(h/t: TMP and JTA)
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol [➚] · Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
In 2005 Russell Jacoby wrote a short (149 pages, not including footnotes) book about utopians and utopias called Picture Imperfect. Not a best of 08 (not of ’08 at all) – on the day of the inauguration, it is perhaps a good moment to offer to you, our readers, an invitation to read this brief book.
In the introduction,there are two points to pick up on. In this day, most utopians (he says) are either thought of as foolish dreamers or totalitarians in disguise (i.e. you bad bad communists! naughty, naughty! or the like). Jacoby points out that the accusation of utopians as totalitarians is unfair and inaccurate, but I’m actually (unlike Jacoby) interested in the idea that utopians are fools. Jacoby says (p. xiii-xiv) that perhaps it is a lack in modern imagination that plagues us, draining the life from visions of what could be. He describes two types of utopians – “blueprint” and “iconoclastic” and suggests that blueprint utopians are misguided because their visions grow outdated and even ridiculous (he offers a few examples of such stale visions). He cites (xvii) Paul Celan citing another book which paraphrases the Talmud that whoever pronounces the Holy Name loses his share in the world-to-come – and suggests that utopia is like this – we need to have the imagination to break the status quo, but not hem ourselves with details.
Butif anything, this year’s election shows the reverse, that vision takes an object. Atthis moment, what we need is not to abandon specifics, but to the contrary, to be willing to be bold about them, to dream big – but with specificity- to implement visions that are of real people, living in real societies, acting together to create the new, whether that is new technology implemented for solutions, or people coming together to work towards goals that yes – perhaps we can be said to have abandoned too soon- ends that we can achieve, like universal health care, and dismantling the abysmal and dangerous surveillance state, the violations of our civil liberties (well, just to start with, say). We must insist upon not just vision – as if there can be vision if it so lacks connection to the world we live in that it floats away like mist, content to remain a dream of maybe. we must insist on depth, breadth, height and not stint on detail. To say that we shouldn’t invest in details, is to subtly admit that we can’t really achieve our dreams.
This is a betrayal of (in Jacoby’s words) “the Jews [the utopians] mainly were.” On this day before a new era, what we pray for is a new era, a courage of convictions, of change and not a settling for the hopelessly underwhelming pragmatic compromise. We have reached for a dream that encompasses more, for everyone – in other words – a utopia. Obama has stirred great hopes not only in the USA, but around the world, and hope has great power to change us all. He is only a human, and will surely not bring the moshiach. I, of course, believe with emunah shlemah that moshiach will come tomorrow, but certainly not because of one election and not because of one man, a man who has an enormous amount of thankless work ahead of him. A man who will certainly fail at many things, and we should try not to judge him too harshly for being just a human like us. but despite all that, he is also a man who now has the opportunity to bring great change, if he will only be strong and of courage enough not to settle. Not to let reaching out turn into compromise -in the sense of not doing what must be done, but only what can be done.
And so, let us say good bye – I hope- to the era of narrowing, and let us come forth, and continue to go forth into a new land where we might just achieve something bigger than we thought possible, before we realized that we could do it. And yes, we did it , and we can do it again.
by dlevy [➚] · Monday, January 19th, 2009
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is currently collecting sermons and orations delivered this week about the inauguration of Barack Obama. They’re asking for audio or video recordings, and are accepting transcripts and associated materials (such as printed programs) for the archive, which will join the library’s other collections of “everyday citizens’ reactions to major historic events in our collective American experience.”
I’ve always had a special place in my heart for libraries — I’m what you might call a “heavy user” and have been for as long as I can remember. And the LOC holds an even more special place for me, not in the least because they have in their collection Stephen Sondheim’s personal record collection (over 8500 LPs!). But in reading up on this new initiative, I had one of those “proud of my government” moments that I’m hoping to have more and more of in the coming administration. In particular, I was thrilled to see the following included right up in the first paragraph of the Sermons and Orations Project home page:
It is expected that such sermons and orations will be delivered at churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship, as well as before humanist congregations and other secular gatherings. The American Folklife Center is seeking as wide a representation of orations as possible.
I wonder if anyone told George Bush that his government is recognizing humanist congregations alongside places of worship.
Anyway, if you can’t wait for the LOC to make this collection available for your own perusement (that’s my portmanteau for when you peruse amusing things), Michael Paulson, religion writer for The Boston Globe has asked Boston-area clergy and the like to also submit their sermons to his blog, Articles of Faith. He’s posting them as they come in, and you can go directly to the inauguration sermons here.
by chillul Who? [➚] · Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Progressive Jews across the country are energized for the change arriving in just a few days in Washington, and the Avodah/AJWS Partnership (a league of superheroes if there ever was one) is organizing gatherings in three cities with local Jewish social justice groups.
Join a discussion on the new opportunities and challenges that face our tikun olam campaigns & causes, experience a special havdala service, watch the Inauguration Day events on a big screen, or just celebrate with your friends, family, and compatriots who are working to make the world a better place. See you at the celebrations!
If you’re in DC..
”Cashing in on the Change: Inauguration Celebration”
(Avodah/AJWS, Jews United for Justice, Tikkun Leil Shabbat)
Time: Saturday, January 17th 2008
Place: The Theatre at Mt. Vernon Methodist Church. A map is here.
RSVP: Click here.
We’re kicking off the night with a powerful Havdalah service led by Tikkun Leil Shabbat, to be followed by a panel and discussion about what the future may hold with a few Jewish Justice All-stars, including:
+ Ronit Avni, founder of Just Vision, which supports Israeli and Palestinian non-violent civic peace builders through media and education.
+ Ben Brandzel, formerly of MoveOn.org and now an online organizing consultant for progressive organizations such as SEIU and Avaaz.org.
+ Saul Garlick, founder of Student Movement for Real Change, supporting young people in their work for sustainable international development.
If you’re in NYC..
”INAUGURATION CELEBRATION!”
(AJWS/AVODAH, the AJWS/AVODAH NY City Team, the New Israel Fund’s New Generations, the Young Leaders of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society)
At this Inauguration Celebration, we will:
+ Watch footage of President Barack Obama’s swearing in and his inaugural address, as well as other highlights from the inauguration festivities.
+ Party with our change-making friends in the Jewish social justice community and beyond.
+ Set our intentions for holding the new president accountable to his change-making agenda!
Mostly, we will celebrate new beginnings, together and in community.
Time: Tuesday, January 20th @ 7pm
Location: Sounds of Brazil (commonly known as SOB’s)
Address: 204 Varick Street in Manhattan
Cost: Free!
To register (requested): Click here.
The event is being presented in collaboration with SOB’s Party for Change, the info for which can be found here.
If you’re in SF..
“100 Days, 100 Ways”
(AJWS/AVODAH, Progressive Jewish Alliance)
Next week a new administration will take office, and in the first 100 days President-elect Barack Obama will begin laying out his plan. In this historic political moment, what’s YOUR vision for change and what will you do to help make it a reality?
Join:
+ Ben Winig, Municipal Attorney and Jewish Vote Deputy Director for Obama Campaign, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (who will be arriving from the Inauguration)
+ Sarah Church, Program Director, Progressive Jewish Alliance
+ Rabbi Lee Bycel, Western Region Executive Director, American Jewish World Service
…and a community of socially-conscious Jewish folks for a night of reflecting, strategizing, connecting and taking action. Whether this year’s election countdown had you phone banking, door knocking, or just glued to CNN, take time to reexamine your role in your community, your country and your world.
REFLECT on the elections ~~ DREAM BIG about your vision for a more equitable world ~~ CONNECT with people and projects that are working to create a more socially just and caring society ~~ ACT in new ways big and small that promote tikkun olam ~~ BUILD a movement of social change makers working on critical issues, from prison reform to climate change!
Time: January 22, 2009. 7-9 pm
Place: The Women’s Building, 3543 18th Street, SF.
RSVP and questions to mayatrabin@gmail.com.
by chillul Who? [➚] · Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
A little late, but we’re still pre-inauguration…
Remember the persistent media meme during the U.S. elections, how Israelis supported McCain by a three-to-one margin, how if Israel were the 51st State it would glow a deep and bloody red?
Lisa Goldman at On The Face provides some… um… actual numbers about Israeli opinion. Apparently the networks were oversampling the Nationalist-Religious sector – which despite making up a good portion of the American expat-oleh community, is still not representative of Israeli political leanings on the whole.
by Shalom Rav [➚] · Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Let’s hope Obama won’t be a friend of Israel, writes Gideon Levy in a recent Ha’aretz editorial. Now before you get your knickers in a knot, read on:
When we say that someone is a “friend of Israel” we mean a friend of the occupation, a believer in Israel’s self-armament, a fan of its language of strength and a supporter of all its regional delusions. When we say someone is a “friend of Israel” we mean someone who will give Israel a carte blanche for any violent adventure it desires, for rejecting peace and for building in the territories…
That’s just how we like U.S. presidents. They give us a green light to do as we please. They fund, equip and arm us, and sit tight. Such is the classic friend of Israel, a friend who is an enemy, and enemy of peace and an enemy to Israel.
Let us now hope that Obama will not be like them. That he will reveal himself to be a true friend of Israel. That he will put his whole weight behind a deep American involvement in the Middle East, that he will try to solve the Iranian issue through negotiation – the only effective means. That he will help end the siege on Gaza and the boycott of Hamas, that he will push Israel and Syria to make peace, that he will spur Israel and the Palestinians to reach a settlement.
We should hope Obama will help Israel help itself, because that is how friendship is measured. That he will criticize its policy when he must, because that, too, is a test of true friendship.
Let him use his clout to end the occupation and dismantle the settlement project. Let him remember that human and civil rights also apply to the Palestinians, not only to black Americans. And apropos world peace, he needs to start with peace in the Middle East, home to the most dangerous of conflicts, which has been threatening the world for a century now, and is feeding international terrorism…
Changing the Middle East was in the power of each and every U.S. president, who could have pressured Israel and put an end to the occupation. Most of them kept their hands off as if it were a hot potato, all in the name of a wonderful friendship.
So bring us an American president who is not another dreadful “friend of Israel,” an Obama who won’t blindly follow the positions of the Jewish lobby and the Israeli government. You did promise change, did you not?
Hear, hear. And those of us in the American Jewish community who agree with the above should do everything we can to give Obama the cover he needs to be such a friend…
by Aryeh Cohen [➚] · Friday, November 7th, 2008
This is the day that God has wrought, let us rejoice and celebrate in it.
There are times when poetry is called for, when the simple act of trying to match words with events in something resembling a linear fashion is not only impossible, it is a desecration. There are times when we can only rely on the deep song of the soul, revealed in the chance encounters which poetry allows. At those times we might fashion the silver filigree, and hope to glimpse the golden apple of truth, as the poet wrote in the Song of Songs.
That most anti-poetic of writers, Maimonides, feared just this about language—that it had a surplus of meaning which could not be controlled and might be misunderstood, misconstrued and misused. Maimonides expended an enormous amount of effort in the Guide to the Perplexed attempting to nail down meaning so that it would not loose itself in fits of mythical ecstasy. Yet, when caught by the fervor of memory or hope, Maimonides’ own quill sometimes let go. The Sages of old, Maimonides wrote, would “kiss the stones and roll in the dust” of the Land of Israel. Maimonides begins and ends the Guide itself with verse. “God is very near to everyone who calls, / If he calls and has no distractions; / He is found by every seeker who searches for Him, / If he marches toward Him and goes not astray.”
Henry Louis Gates tells us that when “Frederick Douglass, the greatest black orator in our history before Martin Luther King Jr.,” heard that the emancipation proclamation was signed, he “said that the day was not a day for speeches and ‘scarcely a day for prose.’ Rather, he noted, ‘it is a day for poetry and song, a new song.’”
When John F. Kennedy was inaugurated, on a cold and bright winter day upon which so many hopes were pinned (many to be dashed) he asked Robert Frost to sing. Frost, had penned the following lines:
It makes the prophet in us all presage
The glory of a next Augustan age
Of a power leading from its strength and pride,
Of young amibition eager to be tried,
Firm in our free beliefs without dismay,
In any game the nations want to play.
A golden age of poetry and power
Of which this noonday’s the beginning hour.
The sun blinded the aging poet, however, and the words he spoke instead from memory that day were perhaps more prescient. “The deed of gift was many deeds of war”. The power that led from pride led to bloodshed for the next decade.
When Bill Clinton was inaugurated, he asked Maya Angelou to summon song. She summoned humility.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
Once again we find ourselves at a juncture at which only poetry will suffice. In his victory speech, Barack Obama summoned Lincoln and King as his muses and the poetry of farmworkers as his refrain. We stand on the shores of a new epoch, and God seems to be telling us “Go forth.” How do we rise to this challenge so that, truly we might be “a blessing?”
On that dark and frightful evening, as the sun set and sleep overtook Abram, God appeared as fire and smoke (as God would later appear at Sinai) and cut a covenant through the assembled sacrifices, promising exile and redemption. Abram would not live to see it, but the fourth generation would return to the promised land. And yet, in the very next moment of this story, Abraham acquiesces in the persecution of Hagar. In the shadow of Sinai the Golden Calf is built.
Once we get beyond Hallelujah and the wordless niggunim of joy, who might be summoned to sing the joy and limn the hopes and possibilities of these next four or eight years? What might they sing?
Sing to God a new song; play sweetly with shouts of joy.
For the word of the LORD is right;
God’s every deed is faithful.
God loves what is right and just;
(x-posted to jspot)
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol [➚] · Friday, November 7th, 2008
Well, despite the ongoing attempts to sell the idea that Jews are moving to the right ( first, all of us were supposed to vote for McCain; then,we were supposed to be voting for McCain in slightly higher numbers than we would vote Republican in the past, because of Israel, you know; then, it was that young Jews were going to vote more for the right, let’s wait and see how many more attempts at change through lying the right will throw around) it turns out, as predicted, that Jews voted for Obama at equal to, or slightly higher numbers than usual – as mentioned in the Forward, “Early exit polls of Jewish voters indicated that between 77% and 78% Jews voted for Obama for president, equal to or slightly higher than the proportion of the Jewish vote won by the Democratic nominee Senator John Kerry in 2004.”
But, wait, they all cry, there’s still plenty of time for Obama to show how much he really hates us and what a bad idea this is, well yeah, except then he starts building his team with whom? Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois (who began his career with the consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action… bodes well IMO)to be his White House chief of staff. IN case anyone missed this, Emanuel is Jewish and has an Israeli father. And his nice Jewish mom? The daughter of a local union organizer, and among other things, herself a civil rights activist. And by the way, he’s married to a nice Jewish girl too. She converted. I’m so glad to see Judaism (and Orthodoxy, even) finally being represented in the public eye by people who are out to do the right and the good. WOOT!
But I digress, what I really want to say is that it’s kinda cool to hear people talking about President elect Obama as, among other things, a hope for reconnecting the Jewish and African-American communities, giving us hope for coalition building there as part of the greater stage of coalition building that Obama has successfully begun amongst all sorts of groups throughout the USA.
Or maybe I just like to see the lameness of people like Matt Brooks, the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, claiming victory because since in some exit polls “Obama made major gains among Hispanic, Asian, Catholic and other ethnic and religious voters compared to how John Kerry performed four years ago — gains that exceeded those he made among Jewish voters,” he’s going to try to claim that that’s proof that Jews are REALLY moving to the right this time. “What the numbers continue to show is that Barack Obama continues to under-perform among Jewish voters relative to the general electorate,” he said.
YAAAAWN.
Don’t worry, I’ll probably get tired of talking about this subject soon.
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol [➚] · Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
I’m just saying that so I can have an excuse for posting this….A new president. Congratulations, President Obama.
I’m proud to be an American today.
I’ll leave the analysis and the Jewish angle at length for someone else, or later, or something. For now, I’m just going to be proud of my country for coming through.
*Image from BangItOut, because I couldn’t have said it better myself.
by Kung Fu Jew [➚] · Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Although his official rememberance day is Monday, November 10th, today is the 13th anniversary of Yitzak Rabin’s assassination, which we consider as violent settlers increase their “price tag” intimidation and as Likud campaigns to end all negotiations. All this in the shadow of American elections. The symbolism is layered within the American Jewish community, and complex.
Today is the day where Americans choose to renounce or continue the path of the Bush administration. In Israel, elections could land a pro-negotations Tzipi Livni or an anti-concessions Bibi Netanyahu. And in Palestine, Hamas threatens not to recognize Mahmoud Abba as President past December, demanding new elections. All three reset buttons have been hit.
To wit:
The new leaders of America, Israel and Palestine-to-be must look at the legacy of the Israeli man who made unpopular political choices and paid for it. They must consider the heavy weight of confronting our own, internal and personal fundamentalists — Christian in America, Orthodox Jewish in Israel, and Islamic in the territories. They must know the risks of waiting again are heavier than any personal risk or political gamble.
More »
by Justin [➚] · Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
While standing in line to vote in 2004 I was reminded what makes democracy special. In ’04 I lived in in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. I went to the polls before work. At the time, I wore a white Breslover style kippah (the big, cranium sized ones). I was standing behind a middle-aged black man who I learned was named Jerome. He turned around, and upon seeing my skull-cap, he said, “Asalaam Aleikem.” I pulled back my trenchcoat, revealing my tzitzit, and responded “Aleikhem Shalom.” We proceded to have a wonderful, uplifting conversation about the Qu’ran and Torah, the democratic process and the first four Bush years.
Over the next six months, until I left Boston for LA, I would see Jerome around the neighborhood, and we’d stop and chat. Were it not for that election, a Jew and a Muslim would never have forged that friendship. In my mind, THIS is what democracy is all about, and why Election Day is such a special and meaningful time. It allows all of us the opportunity to see who lives in our neighborhood, and to forge bonds that might otherwise not be formed.
No matter who wins at the end of this election, let us all hope and/or pray that the true victor is the democratic process. After two questionable elections, our country deserves to see true democracy in action. Let’s all make that a reality and get out and vote! When you’re in line, talk to your neighbor for a minute–that is community, and THAT is what democracy is made of.
by shamirpower [➚] · Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Rabbi David Seidenberg, a recent West coast turned Western Mass. transplant reminds you that whoever or whatever you are voting for, take a moment in the booth to mark the occasion with these words of prayer:
With my vote today I am prepared and intending
to seek peace for this country, as it is written:
“Seek out the peace of the city where I cause you to roam
and pray for her sake to God YHVH, for in her peace you all will
have peace.” (Jer. 29:7)
May it be Your will that votes will be counted faithfully
and may You account my vote as if I had fulfilled this verse
with all my power.
May it be good in Your eyes to give a wise heart
to whomever we elect today
and may You raise for us a government whose rule is for good and blessing
to bring justice and peace to all the inhabitants of the world
and to Jerusalem,
for rulership is Yours!
Just as I participated in elections today
so may I merit to do good deeds and repair the world with all my actions,
and with the act of…[fill in your pledge] which I pledge to do today
on behalf of all living creatures
and in remembrance of the covenant of Noah’s waters
to protect and to not destroy the earth and her plenitude.
May You give to all the peoples of this country, the strength and will
to pursue righteousness and to seek peace as unified force
in order to cause to flourish, throughout the world, good life and peace
and may You fulfill for us the verse:
“May the pleasure of Adonai our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands for us,
may the work of our hands endure.” (Ps. 90:17)
Click here for a PDF that includes the Hebrew.
by Reb Yudel [➚] · Monday, November 3rd, 2008
A couple of months ago I published a book, How Would God REALLY Vote: A Jewish Rebuttal to David Klinghoffer’s Conservative Polemic, in response to Klinghoffer’s How Would God Vote: Why The Bible Commands You To Be A Conservative.
My favorite chapter is the one defending gay marriage on halachic, midrashic and public policy grounds.
But on the eve of the election, I’d like to share my concluding chapter, God’s Platform: How Would God REALLY Vote, which includes the bottom-line answer to my book’s title: How would God really vote tomorrow More »
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol [➚] · Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
Last week, Salon’s Glenn Greenwald took on the continuing Nareshkeit about how Obama has a Jewish problem, how our grannies aren’t voting for Obama, and so on ad nauseum. Greenwald gives as examples a tediously long list of media and blatherers who have claimed this, such as,
then-Weekly-Standard blogger and now McCain campaign spokesman Michael Goldfarb, who claimed earlier this year:
Obama has a Jewish problem, whether or not it’s merely guilt by association is irrelevant. Politics is about perception, and the perception is that Obama’s one step removed from the Nation of Islam.
he includes such theoretically reliable (I don’t think so, but then I think all the corporate media are basically shills anyway) such as U.S. News & World Report (“the uneasy evolution of Obama’s relationship with a wide swath of the nation’s Jewish voters,” ) The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Miami Herald.
Well, guess what? Sarah Silverman, don’t go around thinking that Bubbe and Zayde are dumb or bigoted just because they’re old, ‘kay? Turns out they’re just fine, thanks, along with the rest of us.
On the 23rd, Gallup finally brought out its support for those who have been actually paying attention to facts, rather than MSU (Making Sh** Up) – debunkers including The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, back in March, ABC News’ Jan Crawford Greenberg in May, and Salon’s own Mike Madden, also in May.
Here’s what Gallup had to say:
Jewish voters nationwide have grown increasingly comfortable with voting for Barack Obama for president since the Illinois senator secured the Democratic nomination in June. They now favor Obama over John McCain by more than 3 to 1, 74% to 22%. . .
…support for Obama among Jewish voters has expanded …from the low 60% range in June and July to 66% in August, 69% in September, and 74% today.
The current proportion of U.S. Jews backing Obama is identical to the level of support the Democratic ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards received in the 2004 presidential election (74%) . . .
In a slightly later released Quinnipiac poll, Obama is shown leading in Florida 77 – 20 percent among Jews.
So, now can we quit hearing from the right how only the ones who want to convert us really love us and will protect our interests? Cause, you know, guys, we just aren’t falling for that crap again. Bubbe is smarter than you.
by shamirpower [➚] · Friday, October 31st, 2008
The Huffington Post lets the man be heard with his debut post:
The most vexing problem Israel faces is its relations with its neighbors. From the inception of the state until today, Israelis have felt besieged, surrounded by enemies who want to make them disappear. The constant security threat has made it very difficult for Israel to address the long list of problems that for the most part have been swept under the rug while awaiting peace. These include a disastrous educational system, a widening gap between rich and poor, and bitter division between secular and religious Jews. Israel desperately needs peace if it is to come anywhere close to being the “light unto nations” of Jewish dreams.
I quarrel with the oft-heard assumption that “George W. Bush is good for Israel.” He gleaned many Jewish votes on that slogan, but I take a contrarian’s position. Israel is further from peace than it was at the end of the Clinton administration. The smoldering hatred between Iraq’s Sunni and Shi’a has burst into flames as a result of the American occupation. An emboldened Iran, with its Shi’a majority, has strengthened and armed Israel’s enemies Hamas and Hezbollah. But Israel’s most immediate danger comes from a nuclear Iran. Under the Bush administration, conversations with the Iranians began only at the end of May 2007 and have been badly mishandled. The result of the Bush doctrine in the Middle East has been an America and an Israel that are regarded with hatred and fear.
The region requires an honest broker that will push both sides towards a workable solution and a two state outcome. I remember the scene at the White House when President Clinton helped Prime Minister Rabin to shake Arafat’s hand. Whether an American president is prepared to preside over another handshake–one that could build lasting peace–should not be measured by his professed love for one side or the other, but by his judgment.
How refreshing to hear from establishment Jewry in this way.
h/t to Shammai the Subversive
by Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek [➚] · Friday, October 31st, 2008
When Joe the Plumber emerged as the everyman railing against Obama’s “one-step-closer-to-socialist” tax program, progressives were quick to jump. We jumped on him because he wasn’t really a plumber, he wasn’t anywhere near buying a plumbing business, and that in the life he actully lived, Obama’s tax plan would be better for him than McCain’s. We thought it was just another case of the working class voting against their own self interest.
What we failed to grasp is that Joe the Plumber wasn’t talking from who he was, but from who he would like to be. We all have internal narratives in which we locate ourselves, and in Joe’s narrative, he wasn’t an unliscenced plumber, but a man on the verge of becoming a small business owner. The fact that Republicans have been consistently better than Democrats at speaking to people’s narratives, to their aspirations to be wealthy is no small part of why they have been so successful the past 30 years (though hopefully not next week!)
The legal philosopher Robert Cover talked about law as the bridge that connects where we are to where we see ourselves. Thankfully, Obama is a democratic candidate who undstands that and has buildt a campaign around it. Hopefully the rest of us who want to effect progressive social and religious change will be able to do the same.
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