Rabbi Donald Rossoff, one of the Rabbis for Obama, says he won’t endorse a candidate from the pulpit, but as a private person he has “the same rights as anyone.”
Sidebar
September 18, 2008
In New Jersey, 24 rabbis are among the 400 who have joined together to back Barack Obama in what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind organization supporting a presidential candidate.
Rabbis for Obama, officially unveiled last week, is a grassroots organization formed after two Chicago-area rabbis came to the Obama campaign wanting to help counter the many false rumors that have been spread about the Democratic candidate.
The local signatories include two pulpit rabbis, Steven Kushner of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield and Donald Rossoff of Temple B’nai Or in Morristown.
“This is my way as a leader in the larger Jewish community, as someone committed to the preservation of Judaism and the Jewish people, saying publicly, ‘I like Obama.’ I know where the Jewish community is coming from when they say he’s not good for Israel, but I do not agree with those people,” said Kushner.
Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, said he believes Rabbis for Obama is a first in the Jewish community.
“I certainly can remember many newspaper ads that rabbis would sign [but] I can’t remember another organization with this kind of title,” said Sarna. He added that the increased mix of religion and politics that the United States has seen in the last 20-30 years makes such a group much more likely to form than it would have been earlier in the 20th century.
Rabbi Steven Kushner does not agree with those people who say Obama is not good for Israel.
Rabbi Avi Friedman says it is not his place to say, “Vote for this candidate or vote for that candidate.”
The letter the rabbis signed, available at www.rabbisforobama.com, cites Obama’s “longstanding stalwart” support for Israel. The letter also praises Obama’s commitment to “Jewish values such as Tikkun Olam and the pursuit of justice” and to civil discourse.
It decries the “smear campaign” it says has been waged, calling it “lashon hara” [malicious gossip] and urges “our fellow Jews to judge Senator Obama based on his own record.”
Rabbis are listed by their hometowns, not their synagogue affiliation, because the signatories wanted to make it clear they were speaking for themselves, said co-organizer Rabbi Steve Bob of Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard, Ill.
“We’re not doing this as rabbis of synagogues,” he said. “We’re doing this as private citizens [who are] rabbis.”
Federal law permits clergy to sign on to such a letter. What they may not do is endorse a candidate in their official capacity — that is, endorse a candidate from the pulpit, say they support a candidate on behalf of a synagogue, use synagogue letterhead to express favoritism toward a candidate, or use synagogue assets on behalf of a particular candidate.
“It’s a common mistake that the rabbi and other clergy must remain silent. That is not true,” said Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Congress.
Among those signing on are rabbis from every denomination, although one independent observer said he saw only a few Orthodox rabbis on the list.
NJ rabbis, in addition to Rossoff and Kushner, include Rabbi Charles Kroloff of Westfield, Rabbi Renee Edelman of South Orange, Rabbi Daniel Fellman of East Brunswick, Rabbi Ruth Gais of Summit, Rabbi Kim Geringer of Short Hills, Rabbi Bennett Miller of Monroe Township, Rabbi Michael Monson of West Orange, Rabbi Robin Nafshi of Lebanon, Rabbi Melinda Panken of Manalapan, Rabbi Shira Stern of Marlboro, Rabbi Annie Tucker of Princeton, and Rabbi Mary Zamore of Westfield.
Not all rabbis feel comfortable with publicly endorsing a candidate.
“It is not my place to say ‘vote for this candidate or vote for that candidate.’ To use my pulpit in that way would be irresponsible,” said Rabbi Avi Friedman of the Summit Jewish Community Center.
Although he has not shied away from voicing his opinion on controversial issues in the past, he distinguishes candidates from issues.
“My political activism and advocacy is always issue-based and not candidate-based,” he said. “As a rabbi, to take a stand like that — it’s hard to then say I’m doing it as a private Jew and not as the rabbi of the Summit Jewish Community Center.”
Friedman said there’s something larger at stake. “To take sides shuts you off from congregants on the other side,” he said.
Rossoff disagrees.
“I think it’s pretty clear to those with even minimum contact with me how I feel. I have an obligation not to endorse a candidate from the pulpit or in the name of the temple, but as a private person, I have the same rights as anyone,” he said. “Clearly, I’m not happy with the direction the country is going.”
Eric Fingerhut is a reporter for JTA.
Johanna Ginsberg is a staff writer for NJJN
McCain camp plans outreach
RABBIS FOR OBAMA may be the first but might not be the last rabbinical effort backing a presidential candidate this election cycle. Fred Zeidman, cochair of the Republican Victory Jewish Coalition, said he spoke to some rabbis earlier this month — and a few days before the unveiling of Rabbis for Obama — who were interested in putting together a similar effort backing GOP candidate John McCain.
In addition, top advisers to McCain were to meet with Jewish community leaders this week in Arlington, Va.
The McCain-Palin 2008 Jewish Advisory Coalition’s National Jewish Leadership Executive Forum was to be held at the campaign’s Arlington headquarters on Sept. 17.
Scheduled participants included the campaign’s director of foreign policy and national security, Randy Scheunemann, and two other top McCain foreign policy advisers, Kori Schake and Richard Fontaine, according to an invitation obtained by JTA.
The Jewish Advisory Coalition’s national chair, Mark Broxmeyer, and communications deputy director, Michael Goldfarb, were scheduled to speak about the campaign’s message and strategy.
— JTA
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