Another Israel (almost) reference
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was supposed to have joined the "we'll do a better job securing Israel" chorus Wednesday night.
Richardson was bumped from the schedule on the night that the Democratic Party convention in Denver focused on national security and foreign policy. A line in his speech pledged that the nominee, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), "stands behind Israel with full-time diplomacy to achieve peace in the Middle East."
He rewrote the speech for his appearance Thursday night to comport it with that evening's theme: distinguishing Obama from his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and despite a number of foreign policy references, the Israel line was gone.
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Lashon HaRa, and I approve this message
Jewish Democrats didn't spare themselves when they contemplated Jewish ethics and politics at a roundtable session Wednesday during the Democratic convention in Denver.
Much of the discussion naturally focused on Republicans, particularly the Republican Jewish Coalition. Some inveighing at the National Jewish Democratic Council session was misdirected: A number of panelists (perhaps inartfully) crammed "RJC" and "slanders that Obama is a Muslim" into the same sentence. In fact, the RJC has abjured those libels about Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the Democratic presidential nominee.
More to the point was Mel Levine, the former California congressman, who called RJC attacks on the pro-Israel records of Obama and his running mate Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) a "shonda."
"If they can find something in someone's past that doesn't comport with their version of what is pro-Israel, then you're anti-Israel," Levine said. "The RJC should be ashamed of itself."
But the Democrats said they were not guiltless. Josh Rales, who ran in the Democratic primaries in the 2006 race for one of Maryland's U.S. Senate seats, cited attacks on President Bush last year for designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group. It was incumbent on Jewish Democrats to defend Bush at that time, he suggested.
"It's very consistent with Jewish values to take a position with an opponent when you agree the opponent is right," Rales said.
Menachem Genack, who heads the Orthodox Union's kashruth division, cited attacks on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as having identical positions to President Bush. He noted recent McCain decisions that almost cost him the nomination, for instance, in opposing ethanol subsidies, a position which cost McCain the Iowa caucuses.
Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the Reform movement's Religious Action Center, nodded vigorously, noting that McCain "really has been a maverick on issues we care about," listing the environment, immigration, global warming and campaign finance.
(Genack's example might have been more to the point because it is so recent: Democrats acknowledge McCain's past record, but say he has reversed himself on the issues Saperstein mentioned.)
Ira Forman, the NJDC's director, cited himself for describing Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) as a "disgrace to the Jewish community" for letting lobbyist Jack Abramoff cater a fundraiser for free. (Cantor said the non-payment was an oversight and paid Abramoff, who was later jailed for his fraudulent dealings with Native Americans. Cantor was cleared by the congressional ethics committee.)
A portion of the discussion focused on how far to take the Talmudic injunction against malicious language. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the principle helped guide him as he wrote the law that now requires politicians to say they approve an advertisement.
Steve Rabinowitz, the Democratic consultant, dismissed the notion that the injunction extends even to truthtelling, noting that the same passage also counsels speaking when blood is spilled. "Barack Obama's blood is being spilled politically and we should not stand idly by," he said to applause.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler agreed, interjecting references to "lashon hara" (malicious language) and "derech eretz" (ethical conduct).
A U.S. lawmaker dropping Hebrew phrases? Somewhere, Rev. Ezra Stiles is smiling.
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Will.i.am am by amself
Will.i.am just sang his viral paean to Barack Obama's candidacy, "Yes, We Can," but more or less solo - no appearances by MOTs Scarlett Johansson and Maya Rubin, who appear in the online video. (A "Kein, Anu Yacholim" would have moved a few Jewish votes, no?)
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Saperstein leaves them wanting more
You've got three minutes, and now it's two: what do you cut?
Here are some of Rabbi David Saperstein's choices: a nod to Martin Luther King, a prayer for the war dead, and a couple of God references.
Saperstein, the director of the Reform movement's Religious Action Center, was asked to deliver the invocation Thursday night, when Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) accepts the party's presidential nomination. (The rabbi is a favorite of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who is chairing the Denver convention.)
Saperstein and other speakers were asked to cut content because time had to made to accommodate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who had been bumped from a slot Wednesday night when proceedings went overtime.
We got Saperstein's prepared comments, and were able to see what he cut: a prayer for wounded and dead veterans; a reference to the 45th anniversary Thursday of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and appeals to the "God of our memories and hopes, God of this urgent moment."
Here are the comments as delivered (incidentally, the RAC sent out the abridged version after delivery - but left out Saperstein's pleasing Hebrew flourish):
As we bow our heads in reflection: Eternal God, you ennoble our lives by empowering us to do your work here on earth in creating a world of justice and peace for all. We pray for America, that it may ever be Ohr leGoyim. a light unto the nations, a beacon of freedom, human rights and economic opportunity. The protector of this precious earth, which you have entrusted to our care, may your name be invoked only to inspire and unify our nation but never to divide it.We ask your blessing on all the leaders of our nation, that they may lead wisely and with civility and work together for the common good, and we ask especially that you be with that mighty guardian of the contemporary American conscience, Edward Kennedy. We ask that you send your blessing on Joseph Biden and now, on this historic day, upon Barack Obama, as candidate for the highest political office in our nation. Guide him that he may ever be a champion for justice.
These things we ask of you, Eternal God, in the sunshine of renewed dreams, committed that the torch of hope shall pass from hand to hand, from heart to heart, until the radiance of peace and righteousness for all God's children shines to the ends of the earth. Amen.
There were two other Jewish speakers: U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), one of Obama's earliest backers; and Susie Turnbull, the Democratic National Committee vice-chairwoman, one of several party officials who moved a resolution thanking host state Colorado.
Turnbull gave a shout out to her birth state, Ohio, her home state, Maryland, as well as to Colorado, which left us wondering: Did the Richardson speech keep her from delivering a little naches to mishpokha?
UPDATE: Here is the text of a speech delivered earlier in the convention by the Orthodox Union's Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb.
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Uniting on the 45th anniversary of “I Have A Dream”
Actors Blair Underwood and Alfre Woodard read the "I Have A Dream" speech, faith leaders of all stripes provided reflections and Al Sharpton and Elder Bernice King brought the house down at Thursday morning's "Unity Prayer Breakfast" in Denver marking the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington.
Speaking early in the lengthy program – which didn't end until close to lunchtime – Rabbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Va., recalled that while legendary Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and many Jews were active in the movement, others "struggled with the implications of the message."
He then told the story of how Jacob "slept upon the lonely mountain," and when he awoke," he felt God had been there and he didn't know it. The story reminds "us of the power of dreams," he said, wishing everyone that when they lay their head down to sleep after a day for working hard for "collective healing ... may God give you dreams."
Sharpton urged black leadership to "not segregate the Obama campaign" and say his presidency would be an achievement just for their community. "This is an American victory," he said.
And Jewish Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) – one of the few speakers who adhered to the time he was allotted – reflected on his time as a "Freedom Rider" and said the lesson he learned was that "ordinary people can do extraordinary things."
Barack Obama has spoken of retoring the partnership of blacks and Jews forged in the civil rights movement, and one of the breakfast's speakers, movement veteran Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), believes he can be successful in that quest.
"I think he can make a great deal of progress, restoring and recreating that unbelievable solidarity that existed on a national level," adding that in his hometown of Atlanta and elsewhere, the two groups have a strong bond. Lewis said that Obama's lack of connection to the civil rights movement would help him in that effort.
"It's liberating," he said. "His makeup would give him the capacity."
It was an emotional morning for Lewis – discussing with another reporter how Obama would be accepting the Democratic nomination for president 45 years to the day from the March on Washington brought tears to this eyes.
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McCain rally scheduled for motzei Shabbos
With the media buzzing interminably about John McCain's still unnamed (and reportedly undecided) running mate, Michael Cooper of the New York Times found meaning in the timing of a campaign rally on Saturday:
It turns out that the Saturday rally in Senator John McCain's roll-out tour of a vice-presidential running mates will take place in the early evening. Could it be a clue, given that one of the finalists on Mr. McCain's shortlist, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, is an Orthodox Jew who does not work on the Sabbath?Doors to the rally, at a stadium in Washington, Pa., are supposed to open at 3 p.m. Sundown is not scheduled until 7:55 p.m. It would be a long time to ask people to wait – but the campaign has scheduled John Rich, a country music star, as a warm up act.
Only time will tell….
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JTA VIDEO: Cantor or Lieberman?
Ron Kampeas and Eric Fingerhut breakdown speculation that John McCain could end up tapping either Joe Lieberman or Eric Cantor for the Veep slot:
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Where’s that mute button?
Shmais.com reports that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) appealed for support for his presidential campaign in a conference call Wednesday with Chabad rabbis.
The call, made at the request of McCain's presidential campaign, included a direct solicitation, according to the report by the movement's news service: "I'd be grateful for your support, it would mean a great deal to me." (Here's the recording.)
Which is a little odd: Chabad-Lubavitch is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit and prohibited from political endorsements (something that Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the Washington Chabad office director, emphasizes in the report).
McCain goes on the record endorsing school vouchers and pledges, "We will never allow another Holocaust."
Forty rabbis representing all 50 states were on the call. (Rabbi Shemtov is here in Denver, by the way, attending the Democratic Party convention. I expect to see him next week in St. Paul, Minn., for the GOP convention next week.
UPDATE: Some commenters think I was suggesting that it was untoward that Lubavitcher-Chabad took the call. Absolutely not (who would turn down a call from a presidential candidate?) I was only suggesting that it was odd that McCain would believe that the movement could deliver an endorsement when (as Chabad officials made clear) they could not.
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More support for an Iran strike than you probably thought
The Israel Project released a poll this afternoon finding that 55 percent of Americans would approve of the "United States and its allies making targeted conventional military strikes against Iran's nuclear weapons facilities" – a surprisingly high number considering the opposition generated by the war in Iraq.
At a press conference announcing the findings – which technically were 33 percent strongly approving and an additional 22 percent somewhat approving – pollster Frank Luntz suggested that the reason was simply that "Iran scares people."
"He is the most frightening world leader," said Luntz of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Americans are disturbed by his threats.
An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities is less popular among Americans, with only 43 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving. But if economic and diplomatic sanctions fail and Iran acquires nuclear capability, the approval number rises to 63 percent.
Still, there was a great deal of support for diplomacy, with 62 percent saying an "opportunity for a diplomatic solution still exists."
Luntz also presented research on the language of the presidential candidates on Iran and Israel. Using a technique he is frequently seen utilizing on cable television news channels, focus groups turn a dial in a positive or negative direction to signal their opinion on the words being said by the candidate.
He showed the groups of voters, half leaning Republican and half leaning Democrat, portions of the candidates' speeches at this year's AIPAC policy conference. He noted that voters partcularly like when candidates present specific details on the Iranian threat, as Barack Obama did in his speech. He said that Hillary Clinton's strong statement of "no nuclear weapons for Iran" received over 90 percent approval from both sides of the aisle – something he had never seen before. And he said John McCain gets significantly lower numbers from Democrats than Republicans when he talks about Iran because "he reminds them of George W. Bush."
The survey of 800 likely voters was conducted by telephone in late July by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percent.
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Taking apart tiny
Jake Tapper dismantles the McCain campaign's latest ad, targeting Barack Obama's perception of the Iran threat. His assessment: "dishonest." (Nice shot of the Israeli flag and the Dome of the Rock, though.)
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