Not a Soldier

Obama was never a soldier. Can he lead?

Some of America's greatest presidents have been military veterans, but not all military veterans have been great presidents. Ulysses S. Grant [a president who had military service] is rarely listed as one of America's great presidents. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a wartime president who had no military service, usually is.

Obama, if elected, will be the sixth president that did not soldier, like Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt, Warren Harding, Woodrow Wilson and Martin Van Buren. Americans are committed to civilians leading the troops: Jefferson fought the Tripolitan War, Martin Van Buren fought the Aroostook and Second Seminole Wars.

World War I and World War II were both led by presidents that never soldiered--Wilson and Roosevelt, respectively.

The longest gap between presidents with military service was 36 years from 1909 to 1945, one of the most turbulent periods in American history. Six US presidents, from William Howard Taft to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected during the Great Depression and served for 13 of those years, successively held office with no military background.

What about vice presidents? Biden was not a soldier, either, just like the vice presidents that served under Wilson and Roosevelt during the World Wars (Thomas R. Marshall, John Nance Garner, Henry A. Wallace)--only Harry S. Truman, Roosevelt's last vice president, was a soldier.

Clearly, the US can be led, in war and peace, by a non-soldier. But what about Jerusalem? There is a strong Jewish tradition about David, the great warrior king that founded Jewish Jerusalem. God denied him the right to build the Jewish Temple. David says to his son,

My son, I had planned to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood in my sight on the earth. See, a son shall be born to you; he shall be a man of peace. I will give him peace from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. [Chron. 22:7-10]

Jerusalem has a strong tradition of leadership by non-soldiers. Such a man has "shed less blood." A man like Obama.


Read more: American Presidents' Military Service And The 2008 Election by Ed Ross. Ed W. Ross is a Vietnam veteran that worked in the Bush/Cheney administration. I find his website mostly objective and nonpolemical, with a consistent pro-Republican, pro-McCain bias.

Rabbis

Many Rabbis are endorsing Barack Obama: I found these on Rabbis4Obama and Jews4Barack. The first one is a fun one, as he is related to Joe Lieberman.

Conservidox

• Rabbi Ethan Tucker: Stepson of Senator Joseph Lieberman; Co-founder of Mechon Hadar; faculty member at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education; ordained by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel after years of study at Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa; PhD from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Read more.
  

Conservative

• Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky: Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was ordained in 1977. Read more.
  
• Rabbi Elliot Dorff: Professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) in California (where he is also Rector). Read more.
• Rabbi Charles Simon: Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America graduate 1977; was a congregational rabbi; now working for the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs. Read more.
• Rabbi Menachem Creditor: Spiritual leader of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA. Founder of ShefaNetwork and KeshetRabbis. MA in Jewish Education and rabbinic ordination from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Read more.

Reform

• Rabbi Bernard H. Mehlman: Emeritus Rabbi, Temple Israel of Brookline; Professor of Midrash at New York’s Hebrew Union College. Read more.
  
• Rabbi Richard Levy: Executive Director Los Angeles Hillel Council; Lecturer in Rabbinics at HUC-JIR Los Angeles since 1974. Outgoing president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Former Rabbi-in-Residence at the Jerusalem School of HUC-JIR and Scholar-in-Residence at Brandeis Collegiate Institute and Brandeis-Bardin Institute. Was Assistant Rabbi of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, Rabbi Temple Beth Am in Yorktown Heights, New York. Read more.
• Rabbi Steve E. Foster: Senior Rabbi, Congregation Emanuel, oldest Jewish congregation in the state of Colorado, founded in 1874. BS Philosophy from University of Wisconsin, Bachelor of Hebrew Letters, Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters. Ordained 1970 by the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. Read more.
• Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff: Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El Westfield, New Jersey. Currently Vice President for Special Projects of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. B.A. magna cum laude Yale University and rabbinic ordination at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati. Read more.
• Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus: Rabbi of B’nai Yehuda Beth Sholom in Homewood, Illinois. B.A. Fairhaven College in Bellingham, Washington; ordained 1979 by the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. Former Rabbi of Temple B'nai Israel in Kankakee, Illinois; Rabbi of Congregation Beth Sholom in Park Forest, Illinois; Vice-President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Read more.
• Rabbi Sam Gordon: Rabbi of Congretation Sukkat Shalom, Wilmett, Illinois. Ordained 1980 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. MBA degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Doctor of Divinity from HUC-JIR, 2005. Read more.
• Rachel S. Mikva: Member of the Clinical Faculty of the Rabbinical Residencies Program, Hebrew Union College. Read more.
• Rabbi Steven M. Bob: Rabbi since 1981 of Congregation Etz Chaim, DuPage County, Illinois. Ordained in 1977, after earning his BA at the University of Minnesota and his MA at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. 2002 honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College. Read more.

Reconstructionist

• Rabbi David A. Teutsch: Earned his doctorate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, is past president of Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Read more.

Renewal

• Rabbi Arthur Waskow: Founder of The Shalom Center. named by Newsweek as one of the fifty most influential American rabbis 2007; named by the Forward one of the "Forward Fifty" as a leader of the Jewish community, 2005; Abraham Joshua Heschel Award by the Jewish Peace Fellowship, 2001. Read more.
  

Rabbi Blau on Jewish Insecurity

Rabbi Yosef Blau is president of the Religious Zionists of America, an organization that is conventionally right-wing and supports the Israeli settlement movement.

He opens with praise for George W. Bush, then says explicitly that Jews should feel safe with Obama. Excerpts:

Obama’s association with The Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other controversial figures who are part of the South Side of Chicago community has been subject to far greater scrutiny than questionable pastors and extremists of the right or left with connections to Senators Clinton and McCain...

There is an inverse relationship between the acceptance of Jews in American society and the Jewish sense of insecurity. Basically satisfied with the status quo, the Jewish establishment is apprehensive about a person they do not know well and who represents change. However, America does not appear to be content with the present political leaders. Foresight should lead to establishing ties and making new friends. Barack Obama’s personality, record and policy proposals reflect a candidate with whom the Jewish community should be comfortable. The best way to test this hypothesis is to increase direct contact and open dialogue.

His full text: Obama And A Wary Jewish Establishment, by Rabbi Blau, an opinion piece in the New York Jewish Week.
Wikipedia on the Religious Zionists of America

Rabbi Froman of Tekoa

Rabbi Menachem Froman is Chief Rabbi of Tekoa in the Judean Hills, on the West Bank. Froman is politically atypical in that he does not avoid his Arab neighbors: he seeks them out and engages in dialog.

In February 2008 Rabbi Froman and his friend Khaled Amayreh drafted a cease-fire proposal between Israel and Hamas. They submitted the document (which stipulates the release of Gilad Shalit, an abducted Israeli soldier) to the Israel cabinet and to the Gaza Strip-based Hamas leadership.

He recorded the two videos: the first one, below.



View Video Part 2.
Read, "W. Bank rabbi, Hamas supporter draft Hamas-Israel truce deal" by Haaretz staff and Channel 10.

Orthodox Rabbi: Wright is not Obama

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, Orthodox Rabbi, wrote in the New York Jewish Week:

I do not view Rev. Wright’s remarks as a reason not to vote for Barack Obama.

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld is Rabbi of Ohev Sholom, the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, DC. Ordained at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University; MS Jewish History from Yeshiva University.

Read "Don’t Judge Obama By His Longtime Pastor", New York Jewish Week, April 2, 2008.

Video by Israelis for Obama

This video features the following Jerusalem dwellers, and fellow Israelis and Jews:

• Amnon Lipkin Shahak, former Israel Defense Force Chief of Staff
• Amos Schocken, Publisher
• Avraham Yakin, Artist,
• Itai Anghel, FACT Senior Correspondent (Israel's "60 Minutes")
• Lia Van Leer, Jerusalem International Film Festival Founder
• Moshe Ivgy, Actor
• Naomi Chazan, Former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
• Nathan Diamant, Orthodox Union Director of Public Affairs
• Robert Wexler, Florida Congressman

I am going to put it on my home page (when I figure out how).

Video by Jewish Americans for Obama

It opens with Obama's July 2008 visit to Israel.

It features these Jewish Americans by name:

• AB Mikva, Former congressman, federal judge and white house counsel
• Cindy Moelis, Civic leader
• Jeff Schoenberg, Illinois State Senator (D)
• John Levy, Chicago civic leader
• Lee Rosenberg, Jewish community leader
• Lester Crown, Business man and philanthropist
• Penny Pritzker, Civic leader and philanthropist
• Sam Gordon, Rabbis for Obama

Why I started this website

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is the sacred birthplace of three religions with over 3 billion followers. It is the embodiment of history. This is why it is also embroiled in conflict.

Poetically and spiritually Jerusalem is the embodiment of the future. It isn't just a place on the earth, Its name represents to many the attainment of the highest human ideals - the place of mind to which humans aspire.

Jerusalem's conflict and its potential to be a guiding light depends on our collective ability to appreciate the complexity of its history and meaning for more than half of humanity, and to transform Jerusalem's challenges into opportunities.

For Israel to be truly secure, it needs a partner in America who appreciates the complexities and difficulties that stand in the way of peace, yet a partner that is driven by ideals.

This is why I started this website.

Fake Survey Frightens Jews

A phoney survey calls Jews at home and smears Obama while pretending to ask legitimate questions.


For more details: Jewish voters report calls disparaging Obama, By the Associated Press, Sept. 15, 2008

Slanderous Emails (Commentary Magazine)

Commentary magazine, usually considered a right-wing publication, takes issue with the smears against Obama. Trager in Janaury 2008 wrote,

Throughout his presidential campaign, Barack Obama has faced a series of disturbingly slanderous e-mails...

The implication that Obama—by virtue of his church leader’s connections with Farrakhan—is anti-Semitic is hard to swallow. After all, Obama remains one solid degree removed from Farrakhan—highly significant in a political environment in which Joseph Lieberman declared his “respect” for Farrakhan during his 2000 vice-presidential candidacy. Moreover, it is saddening that Obama continually feels the need to address his non-Islamic faith, particularly when doing so insultingly implies that Islam is undesirable.

Read more: Eric Trager, Commentary Magazine, "Obama and American Jews."

Ari Berman at The Nation, usually considered left-wing, dissected the matter last March and found some of the artists of this smear campaign,

At the fulcrum of this effort is a little-known blogger from Northbrook, Illinois, named Ed Lasky, whose articles on AmericanThinker.com have done more than anything to give the smear campaign an air of respectability. Lasky co-founded AmericanThinker.com in 2003, modeling it after Powerline, a popular conservative blog. Before that, he had frequently written letters to newspapers defending Israel and criticizing the Palestinians. Though his background remains a mystery, Lasky didn't hide his neoconservative leanings. He wrote a blog post in 2004 titled "Why American Jews Must Vote for Bush," made three separate donations to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, contributed $1,000 to Tom DeLay and has given more than $50,000 to GOP candidates and causes since 2000. Lasky sits on the board of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, headed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, whose close affiliations with Christian-right operatives like Ralph Reed has made Eckstein a controversial figure in the Jewish community. At the fulcrum of this effort is a little-known blogger from Northbrook, Illinois, named Ed Lasky, whose articles on AmericanThinker.com have done more than anything to give the smear campaign an air of respectability. Lasky co-founded AmericanThinker.com in 2003, modeling it after Powerline, a popular conservative blog. Before that, he had frequently written letters to newspapers defending Israel and criticizing the Palestinians. Though his background remains a mystery, Lasky didn't hide his neoconservative leanings. He wrote a blog post in 2004 titled "Why American Jews Must Vote for Bush," made three separate donations to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, contributed $1,000 to Tom DeLay and has given more than $50,000 to GOP candidates and causes since 2000. Lasky sits on the board of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, headed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, whose close affiliations with Christian-right operatives like Ralph Reed has made Eckstein a controversial figure in the Jewish community.

...Large American Jewish organizations, like AIPAC and the Orthodox Union, have repeatedly defended Obama. Yet they've had little sway over reactionary elements in both the United States and Israel--including Jewish hate groups--who are eager to keep the smear campaign alive.

Read more: Ari Berman, The Nation, "Smearing Obama" Some more details in Eric Alterman's "(Some) Jews Against Obama".

Israeli Rabbi Silverman's Famous Sister

Rabbi Susan Silverman lives in Israel, on Kibbutz Keturah in the Arava Dessert. She is a Reform Rabbi, ordained by the Reform Hebrew Union College.

That is my flimsy excuse for including on this blog the video her sister, the comedienne Sarah Silverman, recorded for the website, "The Great Schlep." Here is a version with Sarah's trademark foul language edited out:



See the full, uncensored version here, The Great Schlep.
Read Rabbi Silverman's story of growing up with her now-famous sister.