http://blog.thejewishweek.com/ 2008-09-17T11:13:14-06:00 Sympozeum_blog.thejewishweek.com The Latest from Washington, Albany and City Hall http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Political_Insider_has_moved.html 2008-09-17T11:06:00-06:00 The Jewish Week Political Insider has moved! Check out the new, improved blog site here - and remember to update your bookmarks! James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Rabbis_for_Obama.html 2008-09-11T12:10:00-06:00 Political Insider: Rabbis for Obama   With Election Day now looking perilously close, the Barack Obama presidential campaign is ramping up its Jewish outreach in critical states like Florida. And this week a group of rabbis - now approaching 400 - pitched in to make the Illinois senator's case. In its initial press release Rabbis for Obama announced that it represents "every corner of the American Jewish community," but in truth the group, which was started by two Reform rabbis from the Chicago area is weighted heavily to the Reform and Conservative side of the Jewish spectrum. Insiders say, though, that about twelve Orthodox rabbis have signed on. "It began with me and Rabbi Sam Gordon," said Rabbi Steven Bob, spiritual leader of Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard, Ill.  "We independently approached the campaign with this idea in June, and they were encouraging." He said the group "started out with Reform rabbis, because that's who we knew," but that it has spread almost virally in recent days, with more than 40 signing on in the 24 hours after the group was announced. "More importantly, we're getting a lot of rabbis, some of them retired, who are calling and asking if they can go out and speak," he said. "We're seeing a lot of spontaneous efforts by rabbis to get involved." He said he believes this is the first official rabbinic group created to support a candidate. The rabbis' effort comes as the Obama campaign prepares a wave of ads targeting the Jewish community nationwide, but with a special focus on the handful of key states where Jews could make a difference - starting with Florida. Kean University political scientist Gilbert Kahn said the Obama campaign "wants to stay ahead of the curve on Jewish issues," and predicted the McCain camp will trot out its own list of rabbis - probably drawing more heavily from the Orthodox side. Can a group like Rabbis for Obama sway voters? "Among affiliated Jews, these kinds of efforts do get peoples' attention," Kahn said. "But non-affiliated Jews don't put much stock in what rabbis say, anyway. And knowledgeable people will dissect the list of signers to ascertain who's on it - and who isn't." James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Clergy_Civil_Disobedience_on_IRS_Political_Rules.html 2008-09-08T15:04:00-06:00 Political Insider: Clergy Civil Disobedience on IRS Political Rules     Groups on the Christian right have long opposed Internal Revenue Service regulations barring pulpit endorsements of political candidates by pastors or overtly partisan activities at their churches. This week the Alliance Defense Fund called for a day of pastoral civil disobedience on September 28.  And the guessing is it won't be Barack Obama who gets endorsed from the pulpits. The idea is to conspicuously violate current IRS rules and force the agency to take action against the churches, setting up a legal test of the rules. While it's hardly a secret that some rabbis skirt perilously close to the IRS-established line by making their partisan preferences known to their congregations, no major Jewish group is supporting the move. Today Nathan Diament, political director for the Orthodox Union, noted in his blog that "while we favor robust engagement in politics by religious leaders, institutions and citizens we think turning pulpits into explicit political soapboxes is dangerous." Dangerous or not, the McCain-Palin campaign, working to capitalize on the surge of evangelical support triggered by last week's vice presidential nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is expected to pull out all the stops to ensure a huge turnout of religious right voters on November 4.   James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Biden_meets_Jewish_press.html 2008-09-04T10:07:00-06:00 Political Insider: Biden Hits Bush Mideast Policy, Pokes AIPAC in the Eye Since becoming the Democratic vice presidential nominee last month, political observers have been wondering whether Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) - known for his outspoken and unpredictable ways - would curb his tongue. After all, he's no longer just a senior senator but the junior partner in the highly disciplined Barack Obama campaign organization. A Wednesday teleconference with Jewish reporters provided a partial answer.  Biden, known as both an ardent supporter of Israel and a supporter of more active U.S. peace efforts in the region, used the occasion to take some swipes at the pro-Israel lobby and blast current U.S. policy on Iran. Asked what an Obama administration's Mideast policy might look like, he said this:  "I can tell you one thing for absolute certain: we're not going to be bystanders. The first four or five years of this administration, it just stood on the sideline.  You and I know the catalyst for being able to deal with bringing together the Palestinians and Israel has always been the United States,, it has always been hard work, it entails risks and it entails somebody on the ground who everybody knows, who has the ear of the president of the United States." He said the fact that President Bush waited seven years into his administration to go to Israel communicates "the notion that we are not ready to take some real hits in terms of our support for Israel." And he telegraphed what has become a key part of the Democratic pitch to Jewish voters - that the Bush administration has put Israel in jeopardy by a range of Mideast policies. "The fact is, Israel is less secure today than it was eight year ago," he said, citing what he said was the Bush administration's failure to support Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, its insistence on Palestinian elections that ended up strengthening Hamas and missteps in Lebanon. He called administration opposition to Syrian-Israeli negotiations "absolutely mindless." Then he jumped into really treacherous waters when he was asked about times when he has opposed policies of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby. "AIPAC does not speak for the entire American Jewish community," he said bluntly. "There are other organizations as strong and as consequential. AIPAC does not speak for the state of Israel, no matter what it insists on." He said his disagreements with AIPAC have always been "tactical," not on basic goals, but then he got a little more personal. "AIPAC has a tendency, like other organizations do, of thinking they know the senate better than I do," he said. "They don't know the Senate better than I do, and they don't know to get things done in the Senate better than I do." He also flayed the Bush administration for its Iran policy. "Since this administration has come into office, with all the bluster and all the talk, we've seen the circumstance in which Iran has moved closer to a nuclear weapon. We have seen the circumstance where Iranian proxies - Hezbollah and Hamas -- have grown in their political significance as well as their military capability. We have seen a circumstance in which the rest of the world has been increasingly reluctant to go along with us." But asked if an Obama administration would oppose a military strike against Iran, he said "Israel has an absolute right to defend itself, it doesn't have to ask us anything. We'll always stand by that right of Israel…. I have faith in the judgment of the democracy of Israel; they will arrive at the right decision as they view their own interest." James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Berkley_Supporting_Obama.html 2008-08-28T12:12:00-06:00 Political Insider: Pro-Israel Hawk On Obama's Congressional Team As I reported this week, Jewish Democrats in the House and Senate are playing a key role in the Barack Obama campaign's efforts to crank up the candidate's Jewish numbers on November 4 and ease concerns about the nominee's Mideast policies.   And none could be as important as Rep. Shelley Berkley D-Nev.).     Why? Berkley said it herself at a sparsely attended press conference at the Denver Convention Center on Tuesday: "There isn't anybody further to the right in Congress than me when it comes to issues that affect the state of Israel," she said. When she arrived on Capitol Hill in 1999 Berkley was regarded as a leading congressional supporter of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, but since then she has moved steadily to the right on matters relating to Israel.  In the past few years she has often supported positions of the much-more-hardline Zionist Organization of America, including opposition to the Annapolis peace conference and to aid for the Palestinian Authority. But Berkley said that her initial reservations about Obama were allayed after "several conversations" with the candidate. After those talks, she said "I believe he shares my concerns. He has said many times that this relationship, between the United States and Israel, is paramount in our nation's foreign policy. I believe the Jewish community in the United States, when they become more familiar and are comforted by his positions on peace in the Middle East and this nation's continuing support for the state of Israel….will come to the same conclusion I have." She also castigated the Bush administration -- and linked its policies to Sen. John McCain - for not working to stop the rearming of Hezbollah and Hamas. The selection of Joe Biden as Obama's running mate just added to her enthusiasm, she said. "I have received calls from pro-Israel activists around the country who said they were delighted with this selection, and that they will support this ticket with great enthusiasm," she said. All the Jewish Democrats in the House and Senate are strongly pro-Israel and many are already campaigning actively for Obama in key states. But none has Berkley's credentials as a pro-Israel hawk; her strong endorsement could have an impact with Jews in states like Florida, where some still worry that the Democratic nominee is a secret Palestinian sympathizer, or at least a pro-Israel dove. James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Biden_and_the_Jewish_Vote.html 2008-08-23T21:16:00-06:00 Political Insider: Joe Biden: Good for the (Democratic) Jews?     Will Sen. Joe Biden's selection as Barack Obama's running mate have much of an impact on the Jewish vote on November 4? Well, it depends on your perspective. If you think that the continuing resistance to Obama's candidacy among a segment of Jewish voters is based on his relative lack of experience in foreign policy, then the Biden nomination might help somewhat - although studies show that despite the quadrennial hoopla, vice presidential nominees rarely decide elections. As chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and a veteran legislator who has made foreign policy a specialty, Biden is well known to the pro-Israel community and could be a reassuring presence to Jewish voters who fear a sharp change in U.S. Mideast policy. AIPAC lobbyists know him well and generally get along with him; although Biden has sometimes seemed to gravitate toward the more dovish views of the Israel Policy Forum, he's never been regarded as a problem by major pro-Israel groups. But if you think the Jewish resistance to Obama has more to do with other factors - including race - then his nomination is unlikely to have a huge impact. But if you think Obama's Jewish problem is the result of his stature as a non-traditional Democrat, Biden's nomination could help with many Jewish voters who are the very epitome of "traditional" Dems. Biden's nomination may bring a seasoned foreign policy hand into the campaign, but it doesn't bring much in terms of political demography; Delaware isn't exactly a swing state.  Biden is also known for shooting off his mouth, which could be a problem for the highly disciplined Obama campaign. In a conference call with Jewish reporters two years ago meant to reinforce traditional Jewish ties to the Democrats he brought up his differences with leaders of the Israeli right on peace process issues. "I have a great relationship with Bibi Netanyahu, he is a close personal friend, but I have great disagreement with his assessment (of) how Israel should proceed," he said. That may put him squarely in line with a majority of Jewish voters, but it's not the kind of talk the Democrats want to hear during this year's campaign. In that same conference call he articulated a view on why the Democrats support Israel that could play well with many Jewish voters. That support is "not based on the Christian Coalition notion that we're going to be there for the 'rapture,' that the reason to support Israel is that there will someday be the Second Coming," he said, a dig at elements of the religious right that support Israel because of Bible prophecies and the Republicans who court them. So the short answer to the initial question about whether the Biden nomination will help Obama with his Jewish problem is this: it depends. We should keep things in perspective here; Obama's Jewish "problem" consists of polls showing he will get a less overwhelming proportion of Jewish votes than Democratic candidates are accustomed to, but a larger share of the vote than he will get from just about any other group of white voters. But the Republican Jewish Coalition, ever hopeful of a bigger swing in Jewish votes, was ready for the announcement; within hours of the Obama campaign's text message to supporters revealing his choice, RJC officials were blasting Biden as soft on Iran. James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/McCain_campaign_attacks_kurtzer.html 2008-08-21T09:35:00-06:00 Political insider:  McCain Campaign Takes Up ZOA Refrain on Kurtzer     The John McCain campaign is starting to sound a lot like the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) in its efforts to win over Jewish voters. This week the campaign reprised a favorite ZOA them when it went after former diplomat Dan Kurtzer,  a Barack Obama foreign policy adviser who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2005. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, the vanquished GOP contender who is now a McCain surrogate, and senior foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann held a special news teleconference to attack Kurtzer for visiting Syria last month and urging its leader, Bashar Assad, to move forward with peace talks with Israel. According to Giuliani, last month's trip represented a "playing-out of (Obama's) negotiating with dictators and people like that without preconditions." This week the Politico Web site reported that when JTA's Ron Kampeas asked an uncomfortable question about Scheunemann's recently reported lobbying on behalf of Georgia and the Giuliani law firm's ties to the Saudi government, he was apparently cut off in mid-sentence.    The Kurtzer-in-Syria story was first revealed by the New York Sun,  which reported that Kurtzer was there as part of the American Bar Association's "Rule of Law Initiative," not as an Obama representative, and that the group of legal experts offered some tough talk to the Syrians about the need for an independent judiciary, something pretty much unknown under Assad's dictatorial regime. But never mind; in a campaign in which every word and every event is studied under a microscope to determine its value in the fight for Jewish votes, Kurtzer's visit was deemed worthy of its own conference call by top McCain surrogates. Kurtzer was a favorite target of ZOA's Mort Klein, who waged several campaigns against the former diplomat for what the group called his "long, documented record of history to and severe pressure upon Israel." A ZOA press release in April reached all the way back to Kurtzer's 1976 PhD dissertation at Columbia University as proof of his unfriendly views. But Kurtzer, with close personal and family ties to the Jewish state and heavy involvement in Jewish life here, has always enjoyed good relations with major Jewish groups and leaders.  And when he was ambassador to Israel, he was carrying out the policies of a Republican administration whose foreign policy the McCain campaign is generally promising to continue. So the question: will Giuliani's criticism fly with your average Jewish voters - who, polls show, support most of the things Kurtzer advocated when he was working for the State Department, including a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? J Street, the new pro-peace process lobby and political action committee, doesn't think so. "It's not clear what John McCain gains by attacking both stated Israeli government policy and a leading American Jewish diplomat," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, the group's executive director.  "Is it really John McCain's policy to oppose Israel's efforts to end its conflicts with its neighbors diplomatically?" But maybe the McCain campaign isn't worried about rank and file Jewish voters; instead, they are just hoping to move an extra few percentage points of "Israel focused" voters into the Republican column in November - a small change that could have a big impact in a handful of key states, if the vote is close enough. ZOA president Mort Klein was happy with the McCain campaign move. "I am pleased John McCain recognizes the hostility toward Israel and pressure toward Israel that Kurtzer has exhibited over the years," he said. Klein added that he has had several "private meetings" with McCain during the campaign - and that he provided the candidate with ZOA press releases about Obama's advisers. James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Carter_Speaking_at_Democratic_Convention.html 2008-08-19T16:36:00-06:00 Political Insider: Bad News for Jewish Dems: Carter Speaking At Convention   The Barack Obama presidential campaign, still fighting hard to shore up the Jewish vote (this week Daniel Shapiro, an advisor to the campaign, signed on as official Jewish outreach coordinator) can't be entirely thrilled with today's announcement of additional speakers for next week's convention. Buried in a long list of names was one certain to raise the hackles of many Jewish voters: former President Jimmy Carter. It's traditional to have former presidents speak at conventions; political observers point out there's no way the Democrats could have barred Carter without a ruckus that would undermine the show of unity the party has planned. But there's also no way Jewish Republicans won't spin Carter's involvement as just about the biggest news of the convention to a pro-Israel community that, by and large, regards him as hostile to the Jewish state, and maybe anti-Semitic as well. Having Carter on the dais will also be an unwelcome reminder of 1980, when Ronald Reagan won 39 percent of the Jewish vote in his victory against the incumbent president -- a benchmark Jewish Republicans hope Sen. John McCain, their presumptive nominee, will match this year. Carter will speak at the opening session on Monday night, which will be keynoted by Michelle Obama and feature more than a dozen other speakers. Also on the speakers list: Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. whose father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, won't get any air time at the convention -- not surprising after his embarrassing open-mic comments about the man who will be the center of attention in Denver. James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Political_Insider_New_Orleans_Jewish_Pioneering_Country.html 2008-08-17T09:09:00-06:00 Political Insider: New Orleans: "Jewish Pioneering Country"   New Orleans is being rebuilt - with some notable and controversial gaps - and the devastated city's Jewish population is on the road to recovery, as well. On Friday one of that community's leaders was in Washington, making the case that New Orleans Jews have come a long way - but still need outside help to finish the job. Michael Weil, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, said his community is in the "third phase of recovery: the long term building of a community. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are not going to get back to where we were before - that's not going to happen- - but perhaps we'll get to a better place." Weil was in Washington to coordinate with disaster recovery agencies like FEMA and the Jewish groups that have provided targeted help to New Orleans' Jewish community, starting with the United Jewish Communities (UJC). UJC, Weil said, played a critical role in a "financial stabilization plan that allowed our 19 synagogues and other institutions to continue functioning." But New Orleans continues to need help from the outside because "What we want to do is beyond the ability of any individual community to do on its own," he said. In his Washington meetings, Weil said he also focused on the issue of preparedness in case the devastated city faces another disaster like Katrina, and on sharing his community's hard-won expertise with other communities. He was also on Capitol Hill, hoping to advance earmarked appropriations to help with the rebuilding process. Before Katrina, New Orleans was home to about 9500 Jews; that dropped to 6000 at the start of 2005 but is up to about 7500 - in part because of a "newcomers incentive plan" that has lured "about 650 Jews, mostly young, many from the Northeast," he said. "And many are moved by the idea of Tikkun Olam; they feel, as we do, that today New Orleans is Jewish pioneering country."     James Besser http://blog.thejewishweek.com/post/Lieberman_update_.html 2008-08-15T15:23:00-06:00 Political Insider:  Pelosi: Lieberman Could be Toast Sen. Joe Lieberman is riding high as a top surrogate for his pal John McCain, but he could face rough going in the Senate next year if the Democrats pick up as many seats on November 4 as most experts predict. This week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued the strongest-yet warning to the former Democrat - not that Lieberman seems very interested in the opinions of his old colleagues. Pelosi was infuriated by recent Lieberman comments that seemed to impugn the patriotism of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama. Lieberman, in a Pennsylvania interview, said this year's election is really a choice between "one candidate, John McCain, who has always put his country first, worked across party lines to get things done, and one candidate that has not." That angered many Democrats, who are already inclined to rage at their former partisan colleague, and Pelosi, speaking on a California radio program, said publicly what many Democrats have been saying privately: if the Dems build up their majority in the Senate, Lieberman could be toast as far as his chairmanship of the critical Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee is concerned. Lieberman has been an independent since he lost a reelection primary in 2006, but he caucuses with the Democrats, who treat him with extreme caution because they don't want to jeopardize their razor-thin partisan edge in the Senate. "The Democrats in the Senate are in a tough spot," Pelosi said. "They have 51 votes. Joe Lieberman organizes with them.  In 85 days or something, they will have five more Democrats. They won't need him to make the majority. And it will be interesting to see what the leadership in the Senate, the Democratic leadership in the Senate, does at that point in terms of Joe Lieberman's chairmanship of his committee." Pelosi, of course, doesn't make the rules for the Senate Democratic caucus, but she is an influential party leader who probably accurately reflects widespread Party sentiment about Lieberman. Kean University political scientist Gilbert Kahn said Lieberman, if he gets the heave-ho from the Dems, could always remain an independent and caucus with the Republicans - or go all the way and join the GOP, although his chairmanship would be history. And the whole scenario depends on big gains for the Democrats on Election Day; if the partisan balance remains anywhere close to the current 51-49 margin, Lieberman may still get treated with kid gloves no matter how angry he makes his former Democratic colleagues. Meanwhile, speculation continues that Lieberman is still on John McCain's short list for vice president - part of a wave of vice presidential speculation meant mostly to provide fodder for pundits who are finding the political pickings slim in the dog days of August. But McCain and Lieberman have a strong personal affinity, which could be a factor in the presumptive nominee's choice, and picking Lieberman would be a bold move that could bolster McCain's reputation as someone who isn't constrained by party lines. But McCain's recent trial balloon suggesting he might pick someone who supports abortion rights - like Lieberman - prompted a furious reaction from many on the Christian right, a bloc he needs to turn out in large numbers if he wants to beat Obama. That, political handicappers say, lengthens the odds against a Lieberman nomination - although in this topsy-turvy election year, anything is possible.         James Besser