September 9, 2004

Argentina BombingAcquittal Stirs Furor

Leave a Comment / Worldwide / Florencia Arbiser

On July 18, 1994, Paola Czyzewski was at the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires when terrorists bombed it, killing the 21-year-old law student and 84 other people.

Ten years later, the Czyzewski family — like most of the victims’ relatives — did not go to an Argentine federal courthouse last week to hear that the only people accused so far in the attack — locals named as accessories — had been acquitted.

"We had dinner at home," said Luis Czyzewski, the victim’s father. "The atmosphere was tense. I received the news badly. We somehow expected a conviction."

The Argentine Jewish community scheduled a demonstration Wednesday in Buenos Aires against the acquittals. All of the local Jewish groups, some of which have been at odds over strategies to find those responsible for the attack, sponsored the rally.

Ten years after the worst terrorist attack in Argentina’s history and the biggest anti-Semitic attack since World War II, no one has been brought to justice — and there isn’t any tangible proof about how the building was bombed.

The court record will be officially presented Oct. 29. However, in parts of it that were made available after the verdict was announced, the judges declared that a van was used to bomb the building but said the way the investigation was carried out made it impossible to find the defendants guilty.

The three federal court judges decided unanimously to let the defendants go free, but called for an investigation of the politicians, legislators, judges, prosecutors and lawyers allegedly involved in derailing the investigation.

Ruben Beraja, former leader of the Jewish community’s DAIA political umbrella group, and DAIA’s lawyer, Marta Nercellas, are among those to be investigated.

Also facing investigation are former Argentine Vice President Carlos Alvarez, ex-Internal Affairs Minister Carlos Corach, investigative judge Juan Jose Galeano — who was in charge of the case for nine and a half years — and prosecutors, intelligence service leaders and legislators who formed a special commission to investigate the AMIA bombing and a previous 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy.

Czyzewski said he was surprised that the court "seemed to have forgotten former President Carlos Menem," whom many have accused of derailing the investigation to protect the state security services or even Iran. Menem has denied the accusations.

Members of the Jewish community were devastated by the acquittal.

"This is the consecration of impunity," said Laura Ginsberg, a member of Apemia, a relatives group. "It’s a judiciary regression. It’s the evidence of impunity of state terrorism,"

AMIA President Abraham Kaul left the courtroom by a side door to avoid the media.

"The fact that a democratic country cannot find justice for such an attack is something of strong concern," Kaul said.

Jorge Kirszenbaum, DAIA’s acting president, said, "We feel very bad. We will study how to appeal the sentence."

DAIA members appeared bitter after learning that the group’s lawyer will be investigated.

Not all Jews saw the acquittal similarly.

"I feel angry, but I think the verdict is fair," said Adriana Reisfeld, a member of a Memoria Activa, a group that has demonstrated in front of the courthouse every week for the past decade. "The whole process was so compromised,"

In a court balcony, a dozen or so journalists shared files with relatives of four police officers who were among the defendants. Their happiness at the acquittal contrasted with the anguish showed by two Jewish grandmothers.

"I wouldn’t be able to stand this if I hadn’t taken sedative pills," Eugenia Szejer said.

After the verdict, former AMIA employee Enrique Lubinsky thanked AMIA’s lawyer, Juan Jose Avila, for his efforts. It was seen as a condolence.

Sergio Widder, the Latin American representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said the verdict "is for Jews the confirmation of Argentine society’s failure to find justice. The way the investigation was done made it impossible to find the truth, and that’s a shame for Argentina."

To Baruj Zaidenknop, executive director of ORT Argentina, "the feeling is of absolute frustration. What confidence can we have in this country, in Argentine institutions? What are the guidelines for Argentine Jews?"

Eliahu Toker, a Jewish writer and poet, said the verdict is not in itself anti-Semitic, but that "it affects Argentina, it shows the lack of justice, the muddy way things are done in this country."

President Nestor Kirchner’s government had said before the verdict that it was ready to support investigations against former government and judiciary leaders to find the reasons for the investigation’s failure. Government sources said Kirchner hoped such a step would save his international image.

La Nacion newspaper posted an online poll to find out if readers agreed with the sentence. Initially, 73 percent of respondents said they disagreed with the acquittal, and 88 percent believed justice would never be done.

On Sept. 2, Familiares de las Victims, another group of victims’ relatives, decided it would attempt to take the case to an international court — though it has not decided where.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also issued a statement calling on the Argentine government to fully investigate the attack and prosecute those responsible.

"We continue to be frustrated that the perpetrators of the heinous attack have not been brought to justice," the ADL said in a statement.

The American Jewish Committee, which hosted Kirchner at the group’s annual dinner in May, said the decision should prompt the Argentine government to redouble its efforts to do justice.

"The world is watching and waiting for justice to be served at last," the organization said in a statement.

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Political Activism Inspires Iranians

Leave a Comment / Blogs, Community, Elections, Politics / Karmel Melamed

Iran’s growing nuclear threat has activated members of Los Angeles’ Iranian Jewish community to participate in this year’s presidential campaigns and make their voices heard.

Political activism is a unique phenomenon for Iranian Jews, who, for 2,500 years in Iran, had been barred from taking part in political activities and had been denied certain civil rights.

"It took a while for us [Iranian Jews] to take care of our immediate needs in the U.S.," said Sam Kermanian, one of the co-vice chairs for the George Bush/Dick Cheney 2004 campaign in California. "This is a community that came here as refugees and had to put its foundations in place — so getting involved in politics in the last few years only became a priority after all these other issues were taken care of."

Kermanian recently stepped down as chair of the Iranian American Jewish Federation in Los Angeles in order to join the Bush campaign full-time. He said many of California’s 30,000-35,000 Iranian Jews support Bush’s re-election bid.

But the main challenge, he said, is not to convince Iranians Jews to vote but "to make sure that a community that traditionally does not have a culture of voting, to actually come out and cast its vote."

Since the beginning of the summer, Kermanian has collaborated with the Iranian Republican Coalition and the Republican Jewish Coalition in order to reach Iranian Jewish voters who favor the president’s strong alliance with Israel and unwavering stance against negotiations with Iran.

In August, Beverly Hills Jewish Republican Voters for Bush, a group consisting primarily of Iranian Jews, placed a one-page ad in Chashm Andaaz, the local Iranian Jewish magazine, asking for Iranian Jewish campaign volunteers. According to the group’s representatives, they have helped register roughly 200 Iranian Jews in the last two months.

"Because of Iraq, the situation in the Middle East and in Israel, a lot of people on an individual basis have expressed interest in getting involved, because they believe there is a lot at stake in that part of the world," said Solomon Meskin, a volunteer for Beverly Hills Jewish Republican Voters for Bush.

While support for President Bush is prevalent among many Iranian Jews, there are still many in the community that are equally engaged in campaigning on behalf of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

"The Iranian American Jewish community is not homogeneous and should not be regarded as a monolithic body with one political mindset," said David Nahai, a volunteer co-chair of Jews and Friends for Kerry who co-chaired a June fundraiser for Kerry in Brentwood featuring the Democratic nominee’s Jewish brother, Cameron Kerry.

Nahai, a Century City attorney and board member of The Jewish Federation, said he is trying to educate many Iranian Jews who are not yet fully aware of Kerry’s long-standing pro-Israel voting record.

"I believe that our community is now coming to recognize John Kerry’s rock-solid, 20-year, proven pro-Israel record which dwarfs that of George W. Bush in comparison," Nahai said. "I believe that as Iranian-American Jews learn more about Sen. Kerry, his support in the community can only grow."

Aside from Kerry’s pro-Israel voting record, Nahai said Iranian Jews are just discovering that Kerry has also expressed resolve against Iran’s nuclear program.

"Clearly Sen. Kerry is no dove where Iran is concerned and he has stated unequivocally that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable," Nahai said. "Sen. Kerry supports bringing the matter of Iran’s nuclear program before the U.N. Security Council if Iran does not verifiably foreswear its nuclear ambitions."

Nahai said some younger Iranian Jews he has spoken with have also expressed their backing for Kerry and other Democratic candidates in the upcoming election.

"I believe that younger Iranians are more likely to lean toward the Democrats," Nahai said. "The Republican leadership’s ultra-Christian, neo-conservative, big business ethos is backward-looking and simply does not resonate with the young who are looking for a more hopeful… and progressive vision."

Other Kerry supporters in the Iranian Jewish community said they were backing Kerry because of his domestic policies, including proposals to boost the economy.

"I support Kerry because I think his ideas are different from Bush’s as far as being better for our society, from the economy, environment and other areas," said Zhila Ross, an Iranian Jew who lives Brentwood.

In addition to acquiring volunteers, Kermanian said he has also helped start grass-roots campaigns with other Iranian religious and ethnic groups, namely Armenian Christians, Zoroastrians, Caledonians, Muslims and Bahais in California to support Bush.

"There has been absolute harmony among the Iranian groups behind the president," said Kermanian, who has spoken on Persian language radio and TV programs, as well as at many community events.

According to Kermanian’s election demographic records, approximately 80 percent of Iranian Jews in the state are U.S. citizens and 70 percent are of voting age.

Likewise, Nahai said he has also tried to stir up support for Kerry among local Iranians by appearing on KIRN 670 AM, a popular local Persian-language radio station, as well as on the Voice of America television program.

This past July, both Kermanian and Nahai spoke to an Iranian Jewish congregation at the Eretz-SIAMAK Cultural Center in Tarzana during Shabbat morning services, said Shohreh Nowfar, the volunteer chair for the center’s events committee.

More recently, Kermanian and Nahai said they have been approached by the leadership of the Nessah Cultural Center in Beverly Hills to engage in an open debate about both presidential candidates, but no time has been set for the event.

As the election intensifies, so do emotions for many Iranian Americans — regardless of their religion. Many say they still harbor a deep dislike for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Iranian Americans in general continue to blame Carter for not supporting the regime of the late shah of Iran during the Islamic revolution in the late 1970s that ultimately forced thousands of Iranians, including Iranian Jews, to flee their former homeland and lose their livelihoods.

"Most Iranian Americans of all religions believe Carter had a policy that didn’t support the Pahlavi dynasty and his administration convinced military officials in Iran to step aside while the revolution took over the country," said Dr. Shirzad Abrams, co-founder of the Graduate Society Foundation, a local organization promoting the continuity of Iranian Jewish history and Judaism among young Jews.

Abrams and other Iranian Jewish leaders said that despite the resentment some in the community have for Carter, Iranian Jews by in large still continued to support Democratic candidates and politicians, including former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks).

Others in the Iranian Jewish leadership said that while the Democratic and Republican parties have reached out to Iranian Jews for fundraising purposes, the parties have overlooked the true political potential of the community.

"Iranian Jews have a great authority to mobilize the Iranian American community, which numbers around 1 million people," said Pooya Dayanim, president of the Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee. "In the years ahead, they need to become involved in non-Israel and non-Iranian causes to become fully integrated in the fabric of the American Jewish community".

For more information on the Bush campaign, call Sam Kermanian at (310) 854-1199. For more information on the Kerry campaign, call (310) 556-9172

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Israel, Russia Sign Memo on Terrorism

Leave a Comment / Politics, Worldwide / Dan Baron

Israel has a new, if somewhat reluctant, partner in the war on terror: Russia. Reeling from the loss of at least 335 of its citizens, roughly half of them children, at the hands of Chechen terrorists, Moscow signed a security cooperation memorandum with Jerusalem on Monday, despite a lingering diplomatic dispute on how terrorism should be defined.

"The terrorism that struck Russia is exactly the same kind of terrorism that strikes us," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said, referring to last week’s siege of a school in the disputed Russian region of North Ossetia.

Visiting Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov said contacts were already underway between the two countries’ security agencies and thanked Israel for its help but demurred at the bid by Sharon to establish a sense of common cause.

Although he called terrorism a "universal evil," Lavrov suggested that the Palestinians could be seen as resisting Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while the Muslim separatist cause based in Chechnya is illegitimate.

Russia, a member of the Middle East "Quartet" that pushed the now-moribund "road map" peace plan, was also at pains to make clear that it would not neglect the Arab world.

"I believe the key to the solution of the problem is to bring all countries to fight terror, and I can assure you that in addition to our very close counterterrorist cooperation with Israel, we have similar counterterrorist cooperation with Arab countries," said Lavrov during his one-day visit as part of a Middle East tour.

It was not clear what form the new Israeli-Russian cooperation would take.

Yet, for many in Jerusalem, just the declaration of empathy from a major European player was an achievement. Israeli media quickly called the outrage at the school in Beslan "Russia’s 9/11," hinting that it could bring Moscow more into line with the U.S. war on terror launched following the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks.

"The Soviet Union was notoriously pro-Arab, and the sense in Israel is that Russia has not quite gotten over that," a Sharon confidant said. "It was important that Russia understand, even the hard way, the sort of terrorism we have endured for decades, and especially over the last four years."

Despite killing more than 100,000 Chechens in its 13-year crackdown on the restive region, Russia has regularly censured Israel for its handling of the Palestinian revolt.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom put the new security pact to its first test by calling on Russia to oppose anti-Israel moves by the Palestinians and their Arab backers at the United Nations. In the last 21 U.N. resolutions on Israel, Russia has voted against the Jewish state 17 times and abstained on the others.

Russia did not immediately respond.

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Bush Says Magic Word: Israel

Leave a Comment / Politics, United States, Worldwide / Matthew E. Berger

What’s in a word?

President Bush one-upped John Kerry by uttering the word "Israel" in his speech Sept. 2 accepting the Republican presidential nomination, but it’s unclear whether the simple mention of the Jewish state will have any effect on Jewish voters.

"Palestinians will hear the message that democracy and reform are within their reach, and so is peace with our good friend Israel," Bush said to loud applause from delegates at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Speculation was rampant for weeks that Bush would speak of Israel, largely because Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.) did not when he accepted the Democratic nomination in July.

There also was talk that Bush would speak about international anti-Semitism to catch the attention of undecided Jewish voters.

But in the end Bush said nothing more than Kerry’s running mate, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), did in his Boston convention speech, when Edwards suggested that a change of president would bring the world to America’s side and ensure "a safe and secure Israel."

As the campaigns move toward the final stretch, each believes it has the stronger message to the Jewish community and anticipates making a thorough effort to reach what is considered an important voting bloc.

Republicans have been touting inroads into the Jewish community this election season, and the buzz at the Republican convention focused on how larger numbers of Jews are likely to back Bush for four more years. By making only a perfunctory reference to the Jewish state in his speech, some say, Bush may have missed an opportunity to woo Jewish voters.

Nonetheless, Republican Jews were gratified by Bush’s comment, suggesting that the mere mention of Israel — in an address where every word is carefully considered — was important.

"The silence of John Kerry in his acceptance speech says a lot to the Jewish community," said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC). Brooks said presidential candidates’ speeches are closely analyzed, while speeches by vice presidential candidates such as Edwards are of secondary importance.

Jewish Republicans said Bush’s comments had to be seen in the larger framework of the convention, which included formal Jewish outreach events by the campaign, an appearance by Vice President Dick Cheney at an RJC event and significant comments about Israel and Jews in former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s convention speech.

Giuliani was the key conduit to the Jewish community, using his Aug. 30 speech to attack Kerry’s record in the Middle East.

"In October of 2003 he told an Arab-American Institute in Detroit that a security barrier separating Israel from the Palestinian Territories was a ‘barrier to peace,’ " Giuliani said. "OK. Then a few months later, he took exactly the opposite position. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post he said, ‘Israel’s security fence is a legitimate act of self-defense.’"

Giuliani also referred to the 1972 terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics and the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, in which a paralyzed Jewish American passenger was thrown into the sea.

Democrats downplayed Bush’s Israel reference.

"It’s window dressing," said Jay Footlik, the Kerry campaign’s senior adviser on Middle East and Jewish affairs. "If I were the Republicans, I would be talking up Israel as well in an attempt to draw support from our community."

Footlik said he felt voters weren’t counting who had said the word "Israel" more, but were taking a more sophisticated look at the candidates’ policies.

The battle for the Jewish vote likely will resemble a football game for the next two months, as Republicans work on offense to raise Jewish support and the Democrats play defense to maintain levels of Jewish support they traditionally have enjoyed.

Based on recent polls, Democratic operatives appear confident that the shift of Jewish voters to Bush is not as profound as Republicans have suggested. After Labor Day, they believe, the conversation will shift back to domestic policy, where Kerry has an advantage in the Jewish community.

They also note that they have had only several months to showcase Kerry to a national Jewish audience, while Bush has had almost four years.

But some advisers in the Democratic camp are urging Kerry and Edwards to say more about Israel and the Middle East, believing Kerry’s speech to the Anti-Defamation League in May did not do enough to prove his understanding of Israel. The Kerry campaign reportedly is receptive to calls from the community for Kerry or Edwards to do more outreach out to Jews.

Republicans acknowledge that they have had an easier argument to make to the Jewish community this election cycle, preaching "conversion" rather than working to prevent "converts." They also seem to have the support of the upper echelons of the campaign, including campaign manager Ken Mehlman, who is Jewish, as they tout issues of concern to the community at high-profile events.

Both sides say grass-roots efforts in key battleground states with significant Jewish populations — such as Florida, Ohio and Michigan — will be the focus for the rest of the campaign. Advertisements geared toward the Jewish community, and spending efforts from advocates for both candidates, are expected to start soon.

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Love-Bombing of Jews Hitting Mark

Leave a Comment / Politics, United States, Worldwide / Rachel Donadio

U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania could hardly contain his delight as he addressed a packed ballroom at the Plaza Hotel while he was in New York for the Republican National Convention.

"Just know I love you!" the GOP senator, a Catholic, shouted to the largely Jewish crowd at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s (RJC) Salute to the Republican Congress.

After kvelling about how thrilled he was to have been introduced before Republican Sen. Arlen Specter — his Jewish colleague from the Keystone state — Santorum commanded the crowd to go back home and sing the gospel of President Bush. After all, it could help in swing states like his.

"I will not be satisfied with 20 percent of the Jewish vote, I will not be satisfied with 30 percent, I will not be satisfied with 40 percent," he said as the crowd cheered. "George Bush deserves a majority!"

At that, the crowd began to chant, "Four more years! Four more years!"

Santorum was part of a round-robin of Republican lawmakers who are love-bombing Jewish audiences with testimonials about the courage of freedom-loving Jewish people. It’s a far cry from the "some-of-my-best-friends-are-Jews" tone struck by some Republicans of yesteryear and even from the tepid meet-and-greets with Jewish groups at the 2000 GOP convention in Philadelphia.

This year, Republicans went all out to welcome their Jewish brethren into the GOP fold in a city with a large Jewish population. It’s not just about votes. American Jews find themselves at the center of a new culture war, the one between secular and religious America, between the blue states and the red ones and the hawks and the doves. And the Republicans want them on their side.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) stated it most clearly.

"There is no Palestinian-Israeli conflict, there is only the global war on terrorism," DeLay said at the Plaza Hotel recently. "On one side stands the United States, Israel and dozens of [other] countries. On the other side stand Yasser Arafat, Al Qaeda and an Axis of Evil bent on the destruction of Israel. All the rest is a question of commentary."

DeLay had thrown down the gauntlet, and the crowd of 1,500 began to cheer. John Kerry, DeLay continued, thinks the war on terror "depends on France and Germany. George W. Bush thinks the war on terror depends on fearless American leadership. That’s the difference that defines them."

A day earlier, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman struck a similar note at an event sponsored by three Jewish groups. Their message was that a vote for Bush is a vote for moral clarity; multilateralism is just a fancy word for appeasement.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), like Giuliani a possible presidential candidate in 2008, also spoke at the event.

At every step, the Republicans message was clear: New York and Jerusalem are closer than you think. When Al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center, America became even more inextricably linked with Israel. The Bush campaign has given the Jews a leading role in the central narrative of the 2004 campaign.

It’s a unique position for a traditionally Democratic constituency. But there’s some logic to it. Since Sept. 11, beleaguered Israel has become a symbol for the U.S. war on terrorism, with the Israelis standing in proxy for the Americans and the Palestinians wearing the face of the whole Arab world.

As such, Israel has become a kind of GOP mascot, one that also plays into Bush’s own religiosity. Israel resonates both in the Bible Belt and the Big Apple.

The Republican efforts may be working. Susan Canter, a registered Democrat who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, explained why she was backing Bush after having voted for Al Gore in 2000.

"He’s just so pro-Israel," said Canter, a lawyer. "There’s been no American president who’s ever come with such strong support for Israel…. I can’t think of not voting for him."

And of course there’s former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who has emerged as one of the most vocal pro-Bush Democrats.

"He knows that Israel faces international terrorism every day, and so do we, and that they are not willing to submit as other countries are, and he’s not going to run out on them," Koch said. "And it happens that international terrorism is threatening to both the United States and Israel. I mean, what they want to do is kill us!"

Koch seems to speak for those who are voting for a commander in chief as much as a president. Indeed, the Bush campaign seems to be taking pains to draw a direct line from Ronald Reagan, the man who toppled the Soviet Union, to Bush, leader in the war on terror.

The narrative conveniently skips Bush’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, who was seen as no friend of Israel during his term from 1988 to 1992. In his failed re-election bid, the elder Bush received only 11 percent of the Jewish vote in 1992.

"Twenty years ago, Ronald Reagan spoke with moral clarity of the nature of the Soviet Union, and it had big-time political consequences," Mehlman said at the Jewish community event on Aug. 29. In a five-minute speech, Mehlman used the term "moral clarity" at least four times.

But even if they’re backing Bush on foreign policy, some Jews are concerned about the evangelical Christian right’s sway with the Bush administration. They did not take kindly to the display at Madison Square Garden during the convention’s first night, when the light and dark wood paneling on the speakers’ lectern took on the unmistakable form of a cross.

The National Jewish Democratic Coalition issued a press release the following day, calling it "the very height of insensitivity" for the Republicans to feature a cross at the center of the podium.

"This wooden cross must be at least 3 feet tall, and it sends a signal of exclusivity loudly and clearly," said Ira Forman, the organization’s executive director.

Others see no threat. "They still think I’m going to hell, because I have not accepted Jeeesus Chrast as mah per-son-al sa-vior," Jonathan Paull from Houston said, adopting a Texas drawl not otherwise evident in his speech as he mingled at the Jewish community event. "I don’t care."

The young attorney said he was voting for Bush because of "a political reality."

Still in New York, where progressive passions have long run high in the Jewish community, there is a core of Jewish voters that remains steadfastly anti-Bush. These Jews don’t cheer when Republicans invoke the mantra of Jewish persecution, and they don’t clap when Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said at the Plaza that "there is nothing they [the terrorists] want but your death and entire elimination from the planet."

Instead, they’ve been protesting. Standing outside the Plaza, a group called Jews for Racial and Economic Justice waved signs reading "elephants are not kosher" and chanted angry slogans peppered with Yiddishisms. "No war in our name, it’s a shanda, it’s a shame," they recited over and over.

As the election nears, Democratic Jewish leaders know they’re in a bind about foreign policy and have been trying to shift the debate away from Israel to trigger issues like abortion, education and the separation of church and state.

"I think it is a mistake to go after George Bush on Israel, because the Jewish community thinks he has been very good on Israel," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). "So here’s what I tell Jewish voters: George Bush is good on Israel, but why vote for someone who you disagree with on everything else? Why let your loyalties to Israel be split from your loyalties on other issues?"

Schumer’s message could help stem some Jewish drift toward the GOP, but it’s hard not to see it as a concession of sorts, an admission by the Democrats that the Republicans have defined the terms of the debate so effectively that it’s not even worth competing on the same rhetorical battlefield.

This shift would have seemed improbable, almost farcical, four years ago, when Al Gore tapped Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut as his Democratic running mate. Lieberman became the first Jew to run on a major party’s national ticket.

For some Jewish Democrats, Lieberman’s nomination was the culmination of its long relationship with the party — particularly since the Republicans had chosen as their candidate the son of a president who was unpopular with the Jews, and who also happened to be a cowboy and an evangelical Christian, who they feared would blur the boundaries between church and state.

It may just be a kind of provincial ignorance, but in the Jewish heartland of New York City, let’s face it, neither of these images played terribly well.

But in the intervening years, some of these same Jews have changed their minds. While few Jewish voters feel much passion for Kerry — even if they are planning on voting for him — Jews for Bush speak about their candidate with an almost religious fervor. It’s the kind of passion that gets them chanting, "Four more years, four more years!" at rallies, and makes this strange new marriage between New York sophisticates and a Texas cowboy seem almost beshert (ordained).

All this may seem like an awful lot of work to win just 4 percent of the voting public. But in today’s frozen political landscape, in which the electorate has hardened into blocks of stubborn Republicans and stubborn Democrats, the support of a well-placed fraction of the Jewish community can ripple and multiply into influence. In states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the election will be close, every vote counts.

"If you look at the states that are close, the change in the Jewish vote could actually throw the election into Republican hands," said Fred Zeidman, chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and a prominent Texas fundraiser who has been working with the Bush campaign on Jewish outreach. "So obviously, we are focusing on the Jewish vote in states that could change the election."

Since 2000, the RJC has opened branches in Florida, Southern California, Philadelphia and New York and is looking to start a Midwest regional office. Its membership has swelled to 12,000 from 2,500.

It’s also focusing on younger Jewish voters who may be less tied to party affiliations than their New Deal Democrat grandparents and civil rights era parents, said Greg Menken, 31, who directs the year-old New York RJC chapter.

Yet even as Republican Jewish events celebrated Jewish strength in the face of adversity, a strange kind of energy also coursed through the crowd. Whenever a speaker says words to the effect that "the very existence of the State of Israel is now under siege," the audience applauds. Of course, they’re applauding, because they agree with the speaker, not because they’re happy about the current state of affairs.

Yet at the same time, these Jews seem to show a certain pride, a sense of vindication that the Republicans are beginning to see how ugly things can get. Who knows how it’ll play. What’s bad for the Jews might turn out to be good for Bush.

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Cossacks Look to Make Over Image

Leave a Comment / Worldwide / Sue Fishkoff

Nikolai Kozitsyn, chief of the Great Host of Don Cossacks, comes rushing into his second-story office in downtown Novocherkassk, apologizing for the informality of his navy blue sweat pants and flip-flops.

"I’ve been taking care of my horses," he explains.

Of course. What else would a Cossack leader be doing on a Thursday afternoon?

Kozitsyn’s military greatcoat, festooned with rows of medals from the various campaigns he’s taken part in, hangs to the right of his desk. He’s a major general, a knight of the Order of Malta, a veteran of a clandestine Russian mission in Chechnya. On the wall behind him hang ceremonial swords and pistols — gifts from other Cossack leaders — a Cossack banner, a portrait of 19th-century Cossack hero Matvei Platov and photos of himself with various world leaders. On his desk sit a Russian flag and a gilt-framed icon of Mary.

Since his 1991 election as ataman, or leader, of the Don Cossacks, the largest of Russia’s 12 recognized Cossack groups, Kozitsyn has been interviewed by many media outlets, and has become a well-known proponent of Cossack nationalism and restored militarism.

Cossacks are an ethnic nationality, like Armenians, Georgians, and — in the former Soviet Union — Jews. One is born a Cossack, but one can also marry into the group. It’s relatively easy to claim Cossack identity; one need only dig up a Cossack ancestor.

And although a minority of the Don Region’s population is technically Cossack, Kozitsyn says, affection for the swashbuckling, leather-booted, horse-riding warrior caste is on the rise nationwide.

"Everyone in Russia wants to be a Cossack," he declares. "It’s become fashionable."

"Nikolai Ivanovich is a great friend of the Jews," says Anatoly Iasenik, chair of the Jewish community of Novocherkassk, who has arranged this meeting with a hasty phone call.

It’s a surreal scene: a Jewish reporter being introduced to the head of the Don Cossacks by the chairman of the local Jewish community. My grandmother, a survivor of the Kiev pogroms, would have plotzed.

Cossacks are first mentioned in the 15th century as freedom-loving ex-serfs, Tatars and descendants of Scythian warriors living on the open plains of southern Ukraine and Russia’s Don River basin. The Don Cossacks had their own independent republic for most of the 17th century, and in 1835 reached an agreement with the Russian czar, according to which they would provide him with highly trained soldiers in return for land and special privileges.

By the beginning of the 20th century, half the Don Basin population was Cossack. Considered mercenaries for the czarist order, Cossacks fought the Bolsheviks in Russia’s Civil War, and were officially suppressed in 1919 by the new Soviet state. Those who could, fled abroad; many of those who remained behind were killed, their property confiscated by Soviets. It was only with the fall of the USSR in 1991 that Cossacks were officially "revived," permitted to reopen their schools, wear their uniforms and practice their traditions of horsemanship, sword fighting and going to church.

An extensive exhibition on Cossack life is mounted in Rostov’s city museum. Along with documentation of what’s described as the Soviet genocide against the Cossacks are several displays suggesting good relations with local Jews. Kozitsyn says the Don Cossacks "understand" Russian Jews, because both groups suffered the same oppression under Soviet rule. He neglects to mention the historic animosity between Cossack and Jew in the Russian Pale of Settlement, nor does he bring up those who welcomed the Nazi invaders in 1941 as "liberators" from their communist overlords.

The museum’s senior curator, Margarita Sokolova, says foreign Jews mistakenly lump all Cossacks together, when in fact it was the Ukrainian Cossacks, not those along the Don River, that persecuted Jews.

"No more than 100 Don Cossacks took part in the 1905 pogroms," she insists. "They were ordered to by their officers."

Jews and Don Cossacks had historically fine relations, Sokolova adds. She is herself the product of such relations: her father is Cossack and her mother is Jewish. "Many Cossack mothers preferred that their children marry Jews rather than ethnic Ukrainians," she notes.

Sokolova is putting a more pleasant spin on Cossack-Jewish relations than that chronicled by the local and national media. FSU Monitor, for example, documents dozens of instances of Cossack violence against Jews and other immigrants, who have poured across Russia’s southern borders to escape ethnic violence in Chechnya, Georgia and Dagestan since 1992. That reaction is generally understood as xenophobia, or an anti-Muslim sentiment that is at least as strong as the group’s anti-Semitism.

Cossack patrols man the streets of Rostov, Azov, Stavropol and other South Russian cities, recreating their historic role as protectors of the regime. Kozitsyn wants to strengthen Cossack culture and get his message out to the world. Six Cossack cadet schools have opened in the Don region, teaching several hundred young Cossack boys about their military heritage, and Cossack cultural festivals mark the yearly calendar.

As far as relations with the Jews are concerned, he says, "These questions have to be discussed between our communities, together. National questions should depend on people, not governments."

Noting that he "had a lot of Jewish teachers" growing up, the Don Cossack ataman nods sagely and intones. "There are no bad people, only bad leaders."

Cossacks Look to Make Over Image Read More »

Groundwork Laid to Evacuate Gaza

Leave a Comment / Israel, Politics, Worldwide / Gil Sedan

Despite political hurdles, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is forging ahead with his Gaza disengagement plan, giving various government agencies the green light to prepare for the evacuation of settlers — using both carrots and sticks.

Even as Israeli police begin laying the groundwork for evacuating Gaza, an interministerial team of some 70 officials is working out details of a bill to compensate evacuees in hopes that the prospect of money and alternate housing will help avert a violent confrontation between settlers and police.

Despite police objections — "no budget, no manpower" — the Cabinet decided that Israeli police would perform the actual evacuation.

Tzachi Hanegbi, who recently resigned as minister of internal security, wanted the army to do the job, as it did in the evacuation of Yamit in northern Sinai 22 years ago. But most ministers preferred to spare young soldiers the experience of a potentially violent confrontation with Jewish citizens.

So police have begun making necessary preparations. Step one: allocating the funds.

Not only will the government need to pay generous compensation to evacuated settlers — about $400 million — the actual process of evacuation will require substantial funds. Police Inspector General Moshe Karadi met Sept. 5 with senior officers to assess the costs involved.

The cost of the evacuation will depend on the scope of resistance, both in Gaza and in Israel proper. No one knows for sure how many people will actively resist the evacuation, or over what period of time. Therefore it’s not only a matter of budget but of recruiting the necessary manpower.

It’s assumed that large police forces will be kept busy not only in the Gaza Strip but also within Israel, dealing with demonstrations against the disengagement.

Police were planning to set up an "evacuation administration" comprising two arms, one responsible for planning the evacuation and the other for carrying it out. The Border Police, which usually is deployed in the territories to deal with the Palestinian population, has been selected to evacuate the settlers.

The Border Police plans to reinforce its 12 companies with an additional 20 reserve companies, which will free up regular forces to cope with the evacuation.

Sharon hopes to create sufficient motivation among settlers to evacuate their homes willingly in exchange for generous compensation packages, avoiding violent confrontations like those in Yamit.

An interministerial team is working out details of the compensation bill. The general idea is to offer settlers a house in exchange for a house; they also will be given the option of relocating en masse to communities in Israel.

Government assessors were instructed to appraise the houses according to equivalents in regions that are better off than development towns, but not as upscale as Tel Aviv.

The evacuation administration already has proposed advance payments that would be deducted from final compensations, but advances can’t be handed out until the complicated legal procedure behind them is finalized.

The government will commit itself to paying out the full value of compensation packages even if the disengagement plan eventually collapses. Settlers also will receive special compensation worth six months’ salary to find alternative employment.

Eran Sternberg, spokesman for the Gush Katif settlement bloc, insisted in an interview with JTA that only a handful of families have expressed interest in entering negotiations on compensation.

"We regard this entire talk on compensations as psychological warfare," Sternberg said. "Sharon in his desperation shoots in all directions."

The overarching imperative in preparing for the evacuation is to avoid civil war. Policemen in the evacuation task force will undergo special psychological seminars, preparing them for confrontation with their "brothers."

When will all this take place? Sharon recently told his Likud Party’s Knesset faction that he did not intend to "drag out the disengagement plan over a long period of time."

He has presented the following timetable for the disengagement:

• By Sept. 14, the prime minister will present the Cabinet a blueprint for evacuation and compensation of the settlers.

• By Sept. 26, a draft disengagement bill will be presented to the Cabinet.

• By Oct. 24, the financial compensation bill will be brought to the Cabinet.

• On Nov. 3, the compensation bill — "The Law for Implementing the Disengagement Plan" — will be brought to the Knesset.

It’s assumed that the actual evacuation would take place no later than February 2005.

After Likud voters rejected Sharon’s disengagement plan in a May 2 party referendum, and following the impressive human chain protest of some 130,000 people in late July, settlers now are planning additional anti-disengagement campaigns, including an upcoming massive protest in downtown Jerusalem.

"Over 3,000 children and youths began the school year this week at our schools," Sternberg said. "I’m sure we will all be there to open the next school year."

Groundwork Laid to Evacuate Gaza Read More »

The Circuit

Leave a Comment / California, Circuit / Gaby Wenig

FIT FOR AMIT

To inaugurate Debbie Herbst, the new regional president, 30 members of AMIT gathered July 15 at the Luxe Hotel in Beverly Hills for an installation brunch.

AMIT, the Zionist program supporting religious education and social services for Israeli youth, has until now “been largely sustained by the older generation,” said Gail Bershon, Western regional director.

One of Herbst’s goals as president is to integrate younger generations to create a more intergenerational program.

“We want to continue with the AMIT mission, but we also want to create a new generation for Los Angeles,” said Herbst, who will serve as regional president for three years. “We want to expand and focus on bringing in new members…. We want to do more events and want the public to be more knowledgeable about what we do, which is helping the neglected and abused kids of Israel.”

Ex-president Dina Goldstein was honored for her three years of service and “untiring efforts,” receiving a small sculpture representing the AMIT icon. All other ex-presidents in attendance were presented with small Israeli flags. — Lauren Bragin, Contributing Writer

STARS GIVE HOPE

City of Hope’s 2004 national convention July 17-19 at the Beverly Hilton concluded with a traditional black-tie banquet.

The banquet honored former City of Hope head Ben Horowitz and actress Rhonda Fleming for their dedication and commitment to City of Hope, known for its cancer, HIV/AIDS and diabetes treatment and research centers.

Comedian Norm Crosby, who celebrated his 21st year as City of Hope’s national ambassador of good will, introduced Carol Channing who presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Fleming, her longtime friend.

“I just have to say one thing: I give God all the glory, because he blessed me so,” said an emotional Fleming. “This is one of the highlights of my life, to have this happen tonight.”

Chairman emeritus Mike Hirsch introduced special honoree Horowitz, who was greeted by a standing ovation.

“I have been sharing the most significant aspects of my life with the City of Hope,” Horowitz said.

“May the light you shine bring hope to the world and to all mankind,” he added, speaking to the more than 1,000 delegates in attendance, at which point he was surprised with a cake to celebrate his 90th birthday.

Among those present at the convention were actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr., with his daughter, actress Stephanie Zimbalist; unmerciful fashion critic Mr. Blackwell; and former game show host Monty Hall, who emceed the Roll Call of the Nation, at which volunteers turned in the money they’d raised on behalf of City of Hope, among others.

JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME

Aish L.A.’s sold-out Journey of a Lifetime dinner at the Beverly Hilton June 8 attracted a crowd of more than 1,100 guests to raise money for Aish programs.

Aish, which became popular with its SpeedDating program, now has more than 25 branches in eight countries. Aish provides “outreach for the unaffiliated Jew to reconnect as a young adult,” said Chana Heller who is in charge of women’s outreach programming. Besides social events, Aish L.A. offers everything from weekly study classes and discovery seminars to low-cost trips to Israel.

At the dinner, speakers shared personal stories about their trips to Israel with Aish.

“Jews and Israel are tied together — it recharges your soul when you go there,” said Lauren Kest, recalling her trip to Israel with her family through Aish L.A.

Following dinner, more than 400 young professionals in their 20s to early 40s attended the after-party upstairs in the penthouse suite, with refreshments and drinks and mingled until the wee hours of the morning

“Aish L.A. aspires to be the No. 1 place in Los Angeles for young Jews to meet, network and learn more about their Jewish heritage,” said Rabbi Aryeh Markman, Aish L.A.’s executive director.

For more information on Aish’s programming and next trip to Israel, call Rabbi David Ordon at (310) 278-8672, ext. 503. — Mihal Peretz

DESIGNING WOMAN

New jewelry stores are always welcome additions to Los Angeles’ shopping landscape. In June, designer Hilary Druxman opened Hilary Druxman Design, her flagship store at 1413 Montana Ave., Santa Monica.

COMMANDMENT PERFORMANCE

More than 500 people filled the sanctuary at Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks July 25 for a free preview performance of “The Ten Commandments: A New Musical,” sponsored by The Jewish Journal, BCBG and Max Azria Entertainment.

Rabbi Richard Spiegel of Temple Etz Chaim opened the evening, followed by “The Ten Commandments” director Robert Iscove, who discussed the success of the musical abroad, which opens in Los Angeles on Sept. 18. He introduced two of the original cast members, Kevin Earley and Nick Rodriguez.

Earley and Rodriguez each sang a selection from the original score, then concluded with the duet, “Brothers Still.”

The performances were followed by a panel discussion about the Ten Commandments and pop culture, moderated by Spiegel. Panelists included Rabbi Isaac Jaret, president of Brandeis-Bardin Institute, Rabbi Daniel Bouskila of Sepharadic Temple Tifereth Israel and Rabbi Morris Rubenstein of Valley Beth Israel in Sun Valley.

At the event’s conclusion, guests viewed original artwork by artist Melissa Blatt, while they enjoyed a catered dessert reception donated by Delice Bakery in Los Angeles.

The successful event was the second in a series of free community events sponsored by The Jewish Journal and Jewish Families of Conejo and the West Valley.

For more information on free Jewish Journal-sponsored events in the Conejo Valley or your area, call (213) 368-1661, ext. 246. — MP

OSBOURNE’S CANCER SHOW

People who know the Osbourne family from their eponymous MTV reality show will probably know that matriarch Sharon Osbourne had a not-so-wonderful reality of her own — cancer.

Following her struggle with colon cancer, Osbourne decided she wanted to get involved by providing support for the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was treated. The establishment of the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program was announced July 28.

“The program will focus on three main components,” said Dr. Edward Phillips, director of the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery. “It will provide financial assistance and sponsored care to those who might not otherwise be able to afford treatment, it will give all patients access to state-of-the-art treatment protocols and at the same time, it will research new treatments and elevate public awareness about colon cancer.”

“Colon cancer is a particularly insidious disease that strikes both men and women,” Osbourne said. “If caught in time, the treatments can be highly effective — but they are not fun for anyone and can be out of reach financially for too many. When I saw people taking the public bus after a chemotherapy treatment, I knew I had to get involved.” — LB

CANCER CRUSADERS

The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) is an organization that does a lot of fundraising in America so that scientists in Israel can continue seeking a cure for cancer.

In Los Angeles, the ICRF held its ninth annual Women of Action luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel June 23. The luncheon bestowed the Women of Action award on actress-dancer Debbie Allen, artist and ICRF board chairman Jacqueline Bell, internist and cardiologist Debra R. Judelson and investment banker Lauren B. Leichtman.

Other guests included Robin Broidy and luncheon chair Norma Fink. There was also a surprise visit from mayoral candidate Robert Hertzberg who stopped in to give the awardees city proclamations.

ICRF has contributed nearly $28 million to underwrite 1,413 research grants at all the major hospitals, universities and cancer research institutions in Israel. art of giving

The Circuit Read More »

For the Kids

Your Letters

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor, Opinion / Jewish Journal

Hawaiian Gardens

We are surprised that The Journal allowed letter-writer Rabbi Julian White to characterize our organization as “nasty ‘stopmoskowitz.com’ antagonists” in his recent letter about Irving Moskowitz’s casino license (Letters, Sept. 3). We are actually stopmoskowitz.org, and White also got it wrong that our opposition to Moskowitz’s casino license was based on his efforts against Israeli-Palestinian peace. Our opposition was based on extensive evidence of Moskowitz’s economic and political damage to Hawaiian Gardens.

Jane Hunter, Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem Los Angeles

Goodbye Mr. Pickles

Mr. Pickles Kosher Deli located across from Costco on Washington Boulevard has closed and I feel our community has really lost something wonderful and needed. A kosher restaurant serving remarkable food in an area that never had kosher food before [allowed us] to bring our loved ones to eat in a manner consistent with traditional Judaism.

I feel that Mr. Pickles going under as a restaurant is a badge of shame on our Jewish community on the Westside/South Bay. We should not have let it happen! We should have encouraged our congregants to have eaten more meals at our restaurant. We should have held more meetings at our restaurant. I am so sad to hear of this closing.

Mr. Pickles will be missed.

Joanne Samuelson, Los Angeles

Durban to Beersheba

Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Dr. Harold Brackman would do well to note that the biggest barrier to Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan is the “supercharged ideological hatred” of Jewish religious nationalists (in Israel and abroad) and extremist Israeli settlers, not NGOs or even (for once) the Palestinian leadership (“From Durban to Beersheba,” Sept. 3). Blaming the Beersheba attack on a 3-year-old failed U.N. summit is an exercise in self-defeating self-delusion and the authors’ approach even manages to offend the memory of Sept. 11. Finally, it is frankly inexcusable for a rabbi ever to declare that “hope” is “destroyed.”

If our religious leaders do not encourage us to keep up hope, who will? Has Cooper forgotten the words to “Ani Ma’amin”?

Shawn Landres, Los Angeles

In their article, “From Durban to Beersheba,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Dr. Harold Brackman provide an important perspective how NGOs lead the demonization campaign that began at Durban. They also note that NGO Monitor is central in holding these non-governmental organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty, to account for exploiting the rhetoric of human rights while perverting its substance. Please note that the NGO Monitor is not based in Geneva, as stated in the article, but rather is part of the Israel-based Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and funded by the Wechsler Family Fund. NGO Monitor’s material and resources are available at www.ngo-monitor.org.

Gerald M. Steinberg Editor, NGO Monitor

Simon Plosker, Managing Editor, NGO Monitor Jerusalem

Everything’s Relative

In Tom Tugend article “Everything’s Relative” (Sept. 3), he states that Dr. Einstein’s papers of 1905 lead to the discovery of a number of discoveries. Among these he mentions X-rays. Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895. The paper concerning the photoelectric effect dealt with light rays knocking that “knock” electrons from the surfaces of metals.

Martin W. Herman, Rancho Palos Verdes

You have Einstein labeled as an atheist. But he wasn’t that at all. He was among the most spiritual of men. He rejected the biblical description of God, but did conclude that there was a grand creator or designer of the universe. The biblical picture of God was — and is — too simple-minded and limiting, compared to what the universe evidences. Einstein understood that.

Sandra L. Lerner, Las Vegas

Judy Gruen

I have really enjoyed Judy Gruen’s columns. It is a pleasure to read articles by a Jewish woman whose writings reflect her pride in her religion. Too many of your columnists scorn and ridicule our beautiful religion’s values. Let’s have lots more of Judy Gruen and others like her who put the “Jewish” in Jewish Journal.

Frederica Barlaz, Los Angeles

California Budget

Idan Ivri writes regarding our apparently budget-to-budget gap of $10 billion, “…higher taxes or cutting social services, there doesn’t seem to be a third option. California needs to either spend less or take in more revenue, despite the ongoing appeal of doing neither” (“California’s Budget, Compromised,” Aug. 20).

What Ivri and California liberals fail to acknowledge is one of the main reasons for the seemingly permanent budget shortfall: The Business Shortfall. A great deal of business has left California, is leaving California and will leave California. Putting a business into California means constantly having to deal with malignantly opportunistic and dishonest lawsuits.

Jarrow L. Rogovin, Los Angeles

Real Planning Guide?

Wouldn’t it have made for better reading (and guidance) had your “B’nai Mitzvah Planning Guide” (Aug. 13) included some of the following:

At birth — choose a meaningful Hebrew name. Make sure that you are members of a synagogue and make Jewish life and practice an important part of your family lifestyle.

Eight to 10 years ahead — enroll your child in a Hebrew school or Jewish day school.

One to three years ahead — have a meaningful conversation with your child about the importance of becoming bar or bat mitzvah, highlighting the link to their tradition and heritage that they are joining.

Special day onward — emphasize the importance of continuing your child’s Jewish education. Encourage active participation in the synagogue, teen programs and summer camps, and continue to make Jewish life and practice an integral part of your family’s life. Motivate your child toward giving a portion of his/her gifts to tzedakah.

Imagine had the article used the above values as its theme — what a different world this would be!

Name withheld by request, Los Angeles

Spiritual High

On behalf of the entire Academy for Jewish Religion family, I wish to express our deep appreciation to The Jewish Journal for the beautiful stories highlighting our accomplished students and graduates (“Midlife Calling” and “New Prayer Communities Seek Spiritual High,” Aug. 20). It is an honor and a privilege to have created a rabbinical, cantorial and chaplaincy school able to teach such dedicated, motivated and passionate individuals. Having achieved success in their “first” professions, they are now poised to make a profound impact on the Jewish community. We will all benefit as a result.

Rabbi Stan Levy, Chair Board of Governors Academy for Jewish Religion Los Angeles

Stem Cell Research

Dr. Charles Hyman seeks to reassure us that, despite Bush’s position on stem cell research, the work will get done abroad, and therefore shouldn’t be a factor in the election (Letters, Aug. 13). I am not at all reassured. First, the same ideologues who want to prevent the research in this country might very well strive to prevent the use in this country of any treatments created by stem cell research elsewhere.

My second and much greater worry is that outsourcing what might be the most promising new direction in medical and biological research could be disastrous for scientific research in this country, and not just in the medical area. All the fields of both biological and physical sciences are becoming increasingly interconnected; blocking stem cell research could have a “domino effect” on wide variety of areas of science and the technology by cutting off potentialities that we cannot even imagine at the moment.

Finally, from a tribal point of view, losing out to other countries in medical and scientific research and development would also be “bad for the Jews.” As in so many other fields of intellectual endeavor, we Jewish Americans are prominent in many of these arenas far out of proportion to our numbers. I cannot prove it, but I think that this fact contributes to our political clout as well.

Deborah Bochner Kennel, Los Angeles

Christian Nation

Cathy Young (“Texas GOP Pushes ‘Christian Nation,'” July 23), objects to the symbolic reference to America as a Christian nation. But the European religious landscape raises the question of whether such symbolic slights are Jews’ biggest problem.

The Texas platform contrasts with the new European Union Constitution, which, at France’s behest, omits any reference to God.

In this secular environment, French Jews are denied the right to wear kippot in school, denied the right to vote absentee if an election falls on a Jewish holiday and denied accommodations when exams fall on Shabbat. Several European nations have outlawed the production or even importation of kosher meat, and others are threatening to outlaw circumcision, as well.

These restrictions are supposedly pro-animals and children, rather than anti-Jewish, in motivation. But Jews cannot thrive where religion does not.

In places like Texas, religion is deemed a constructive activity that deserves respect (even when it’s a minority denomination). In places like France, it’s considered by many to be a nonconstructive, divisive activity that must yield before other goods, like “social unity” or the rights of animals.

Jews have less to fear from positive support for religion than from negative restrictions on it. The Christian resolution might make some Jews uncomfortable, but it does not make their religious practice illegal.

Mitchell Keiter, Los Angeles

Presbyterian Dialogues

Mark Pelavin’s essay on the need to renew dialogue with Presbyterian leaders makes me wonder if he has actually read the resolutions passed by this church (“We Must Renew Presbyterian Dialogues,” Aug. 13).

I have.

Certainly, most Presbyterians are as shocked as I am by what their leaders are doing. As they should be, because the behavior of these men is shocking.

The Presbyterian resolutions call for turning Israel into a Muslim/Palestinian state by demanding “the right of [Palestinian] refugees to return to their homeland.”

And while the formal resolutions did not brand democratic Israel as an apartheid state, the church’s official press release did. Moreover, the leaders of this church, notably Stated Clerk Clinton Kirkpatrick, have libeled Israel by accusing it of apartheid in numerous formal statements, the earliest at least four years old.

The leadership of the Presbyterian Church is quite deliberately working to destroy the Jewish state by demanding a right of return, by promoting divestment, by regularly publishing outright untruths about events in Israel and by demonizing Israel in programming and official statements going back over a decade.

I believe that the Jewish community will be best served not by talking with the Israel-hating Presbyterian leadership at the national level but by going directly to the millions of Presbyterian pastors, elders and individual Christians who understand that the Jewish state has a right both to exist and to defend itself.

Diana Appelbaum, Boston Israel Action Committee Newton, Mass.

Over Mourning

Bravo to Managing Editor Amy Klein for her courageous piece on mourning (“Over Mourning,” July 16). I agree with her on our need to move from a perspective of victimization to one of dignity and empowerment. Here’s to continuing the conversation and moving forward.

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Argentina BombingAcquittal Stirs Furor

Political Activism Inspires Iranians

Israel, Russia Sign Memo on Terrorism

Bush Says Magic Word: Israel

Love-Bombing of Jews Hitting Mark

Cossacks Look to Make Over Image

Groundwork Laid to Evacuate Gaza

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