Supporter of Jewish American Youth Endorses Obama

A true friend of Jerusalem and Israel wrote this letter--Rob has supported Jewish American youth for years in non-denominational ways such as grants to Jewish Summer Camps and Israel travel grants to University students. I put some highlights.

Dear Friends,

I am writing this letter to you at a time of great urgency for our country and the Jewish people. I have not been so alarmed about the future of America and Israel since I was in college during the Vietnam War and Israel's wars of survival in 1967 and 1973. I believe the choice of our country's next president will determine the future of our country's most fundamental values, including the protection of civil liberties and individual freedoms like a woman's right to choose and the separation of church and state. Equally important, Israel's survival may depend on the decisions of the next president. I believe that John McCain and Sarah Palin are the wrong choice to be our new national leaders at this crucial time. I would like to share with you how I reached this conclusion and why I wholeheartedly support Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

I spend a great amount of my time thinking about the future of the Jewish community and Israel. I initially supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and was a member of her Jewish Outreach Committee, but after Barack Obama won the Democratic primary, I took the time to study his views on Israel and on domestic issues important to our community. I met with many of his Jewish advisors and campaign leaders to determine whether I would support him in the general election.

I was impressed from the outset with the extent and credentials of Obama's friends in the Jewish community. They range from prominent members of the Chicago Jewish community, such as Penny Pritzker, who know him well and have supported him over the years, to respected national politicians who are strong supporters of Israel, such as Congressmen Steve Rothman, Steve Israel and Robert Wexler. Congressman Rothman is a major Obama supporter. He serves on the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for military appropriations to Israel, and shared in a recent gathering that he has spent his public life advocating for and supporting Israel, and would never support anyone who did not share his unwavering commitment to Israel's security.

Besides these endorsements, I also have been influenced by Obama's support from respected, independent, non-partisan experts on the Middle East. A few days ago, I attended a seminar at which former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt and Israel (2001-2005) Daniel Kurtzer spoke. Kurtzer, who supports Obama, explained that this is the first time in his professional career that he is endorsing a politician and is doing so because he believes that Obama's positions on the Middle East are the best strategy for assuring Israel's survival and strengthening the U.S.'s position in the region. McCain, Kurtzer told us, will continue Bush's disastrous policies in the Middle East, including continuing the war in Iraq, which emboldened Iran and weakened the U.S. in the region. Kurtzer said that Obama is absolutely committed to containing Iran and mentioned that Obama was a primary sponsor of the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" in Congress. As Obama stated to AIPAC in June: "We will also use all elements of American power to pressure Iran. I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That starts with aggressive, principled diplomacy without self- defeating preconditions, but with a clear-eyed understanding of our interests."

This summer, in Aspen, Colorado, I heard a sobering assessment from David Makovsky, the director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, of what might occur in the Middle East in the event either Israel or the U.S. launched an attack on Iran, and it was clear to all of us in the room that besides its impact on Iran, the consequences of such an attack could be disastrous for Israel, its neighbors and the U.S. Obama's proposal to consider diplomacy is not appeasement; rather it is another weapon that has been scoffed at by the Bush/McCain group and never given a chance during the disastrous past eight years of this administration. I spent over a year in Iran when I was in college, speak Farsi and know many Iranians. I believe Obama's approach to dealing with Iran has a far better chance of succeeding than the ignorant and ideologically driven Bush/McCain/Palin refusal to negotiate.

There has been a lot of press in the Jewish media making false allegations about Obama's relationship to our community. For example, a recent advertisement in the New Jersey Jewish News alleged that some of Obama's Jewish advisors are not friends of Israel and the Jewish community; but these allegations are false. Brzezinski and Malley, who are cited in the ad as examples, are not Obama advisors. Rather, Obama's Middle East advisors are friends and supporters of Israel, reputable experts such as Daniel Kurtzer; Congressmen Robert Wexler and Steve Rothman; former National Security Advisor Tony Lake (who is Jewish) and former Congressman Mel Levine. They have reiterated that Obama is a strong supporter of Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship, is committed to the two-state solution - Israel and a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security - and is absolutely determined to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Obama's positions on these issues are buttressed by his selection of Joe Biden as his vice presidential choice. No Senator is as strong a friend of Israel. As AIPAC spokesman Josh Block said, "Biden is a strong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship; he has been a staunch supporter of U.S. aid to Israel; he is a leader in the fight against Palestinian terrorism, and is a vocal advocate of the special relationship between the two democracies."

John McCain's positions on Israel and the Middle East promise a continuation of George Bush. To my friends in our community who continue to argue that George Bush has been a good friend to Israel, my answer is to ask whether Israel is stronger or weaker today. How can anyone deny that the impact of eight years of George Bush's policies in the Middle East has been a horrendous loss of life among our soldiers and civilians, Iran's growth in power, the loss of America's credibility in the world, a strengthened Hamas and Hezbollah, and virtually nothing done, except at the very end of his administration, to engage Israelis and the Palestinians in the peace process. Israel cannot afford any more years of such "friendship."

If John McCain is elected, as Jewish Americans we stand to lose on the domestic issues that have always been a priority for our community. McCain chose the extremist governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his vice presidential candidate, a person who espouses views that could not be further from our community's beliefs. She tried to ban books from a public library, is adamantly opposed to a woman's right to choose, and promotes an evangelical agenda that does not separate church and state. Palin is vastly inexperienced to assume the leadership of our nation, but if McCain were elected, the prospect of Palin succeeding him in office is not far-fetched and is absolutely frightening. Their election would enable them to realize their goals by giving them the power to select extreme, conservative justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, who would eliminate a woman's right to choose and curtail our civil rights and freedoms. Their administration's priority will be the agenda of the evangelical extremists who are now pouring money into this campaign, the "pro-life" agenda, not the agenda of social and economic issues that must be addressed, including fixing our sliding economy, making health care affordable for all Americans, and shoring up Social Security.

Friends, as intelligent and reasonable people, we can disagree over all of these issues, but never in recent memory have two presidential candidates offered a more contrasting vision for our country and our community. As Jews, we need to look at the complete picture, to compare the four candidates McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden, their characters and their views on all of the issues, not just one or two. We know what the future will be like if our country chooses McCain/Palin: They promise us more years of the same failed Bush foreign policies, more years of being bogged down in Iraq. They promise us an evangelical administration that will attempt to impose right-wing evangelical Christian beliefs on our laws and institutions. If they are elected, I fear for the country and world in which my four children are growing up.

I was in Europe this summer and almost every European I spoke to expressed a hope that America will choose a different path in this election. They were excited about the prospect of a President Obama, hoping that America would once again resume its world leadership role. It was wonderful, for a change, to hear Europeans speak in admiration of an American politician and his policies after so many years of despair about the policies of George Bush which have severely diminished America's stature in the world.

Obama offers a brighter vision for us as Americans and as Jews. He promises support for Israel that would be more than words, focused on bringing peace to the Middle East, ending the war in Iraq, and dealing with our real adversaries, Iran and Islamic terrorists. Domestically, he will safeguard beliefs held by the majority of the Jewish community, such as the separation of church and state, a woman's right to choose, and protection of civil liberties, and he will address our pressing social and economic issues, such as making health care affordable for all Americans and dealing with our flagging economy.

Friends, we cannot refuse to choose a candidate in this presidential election, and choosing a candidate on just one issue is also dangerous. I hope that you will join me in my choice, Barack Obama for President and Joe Biden for Vice President, as the best choice for our future as Jews and as Americans. Please share this letter with other friends. I welcome your comments. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Rob Bildner

About the author: Robert Bildner is a philanthropist devoted to engendering Jewish and Israeli identification in Jewish American youth. He recently established the non-denominational Foundation for Jewish Camping (www.jewishcamping.org) for which Hebrew Union College awarded him the 2004 American Jewish Distinguished Service Award. Robert Bildner is former CEO of RLB Foods, NJ; he has a JD Law from University of Pennsylvania Law School (1978), a BA from Yale University (1972), and is a member of a New Jersey Conservative Synagogue. He also funded an Israel and Jewish Studies Travel Grant to enable Yale University students to visit and study here, in Jerusalem, Israel, consistent with his focus on Judaism, Israel and our collective future.