Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Advising Presidential Campaigns

I received an invitation to attend an off-the-record meeting at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee with members of the Obama campaign staff. Those in attendance included a handful of representatives of Jewish organizations, as well as Peace Now and J Street.

The off-the-record meeting was opened by Ira Forman, who is directing the outreach to the Jewish community, saying, “I appreciate your coming and were you to receive a similar invitation from the Republican National Committee, you would attend and speak with them and give them advice as well.” It was also made clear to us that we were speaking to the campaign committee and not directly to the White House.

After some niceties and discussion of various issues, I spoke and suggested that there are three primary issues of concern to our community.

I lumped together in the first category domestic and economic issues, including health care and social security. The second area, which Ira alluded to in his introduction as well, was the lack of civility in political discourse today and how the negative antagonistic atmosphere between the parties is turning off so many young people to the political process.

Then I said, “And the third area is the ‘elephant in the room’ – Israel and the Middle East.” In addressing this, I knew that there would be some individuals whose positions about Israel would be different than mine. Nevertheless, I acknowledged that there may be differences on some issues, but that there was surely consensus in the Jewish community that Israel should not be singled out as being the primary cause of the problems in the region. I also said that for Jews, the “kishke,” test, is important – whether or not the candidate feels it in his gut. I specifically pointed to the president acting the “right way” when exercising the veto in the United Nations that would have condemned Israel for its settlement activity, but that the good will was squandered by Ambassador Rice’s statement that accompanied the veto and which equivocated significantly on the issue.

Finally, I also praised the president’s most recent statement at the United Nations primarily because it forcefully articulated the America’s position of support for Israel. Clearly there was no daylight between the United States and Israel and even more significantly, there was no attempt to try to balance support for Israel by adding supportive statements about the Palestinians. In conclusion I said this is the kind of message that our community has been looking for and waiting to hear.

As the only rabbi in attendance, I welcomed the opportunity and thought it was important to give our input so that the candidates know the feelings of the Jewish community and what issues are of concern to us.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Update from Israel

In recent days we have met with Dore Gold, Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Both expressed concern that the window to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is closing.

We also enjoyed an evening at the exquisite and fascinating newly renovated Israel Museum with a private dinner there. We are in the Negev now, with stops at Masada as well as Qumran, the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls. While in the Negev we also are seeing the work of the IDF and its brave soldiers. You cannot but be impressed by the message we hear consistently from the young men and women of how they work so carefully in such precarious conditions to save lives, even of those who seek to take theirs.

Our visit to the south included a stop at Sderot to see the indoor playground built by the JNF so that children would be able to have a place to play – They have 15 seconds when an alarm is sounded to run and take cover in a bomb shelter. We will also visit the Rabin Center and Independence Hall, the place where Israel declared its independence.

Yesterday we met Steph Wertheimer at the Itscar factory who spoke to us about Israel's technological achievements and who impressed us with his humility and gentle manner. He is the founder of the company bought by Warren Buffet several years ago, Buffet's first purchase outside of the U.S. Click on the following link for more detailed information about Itscar and its purchase by Warren Buffet: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/mar2008/sb20080314_011498.htm.)

We continued with the theme of Israel's remarkable hi-tech innovations with a visit to Better Place where we test drove electric cars. This company, which was founded by Shai Agassi, is prominently featured in the book "Start-up Nation.” Here is a link to more detailed information about Shai Agassi and Better Place: https://betterplace.com/the-company-leadership-detail/index/id/shai-agassi.

We are now getting ready for shabbat which we will celebrate at the Western Wall, the Kotel. Earlier today we heard from Nitsana Dirshan Leitner of Shurat HaDin, Israel Law Center, about the amazing work she is doing to stop the terrorists in their tracks by unrelentingly pursuing in courtrooms the banks and financial institutions that transfer money and make it possible for them to act. Here is a link to Shurat HaDin’s website: http://www.israellawcenter.org/.

A moving visit to Mt Herzl with Ariel Kotler of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Herzl Museum was followed by a stroll through the open air market of Mahaneh Yehudah where we enjoyed falafel and other delicacies. Here is the link to JNF’s website: http://www.jnf.org/about-jnf/.

Shabbat shalom.