Pennsylvania Jewish Leaders
We are writing as American Jews from all across
Much has been said and many questions have been raised within the Jewish community in recent weeks about Senator Obama’s sensitivity to our community and his record on
Each of us - us members of the Jewish community - takes great pride in our commitment to Judaism. For us, the strategy of assigning guilt by association - as has been to done to Senator Obama - runs counter to our teachings and dishonors Jewish law and ethical traditions. Jewish law neither condemns thoughts nor does it denounce the musing of other’s hearts. By contrast, under Jewish law, we - all of us - are judged by our actions and our actions alone.
Senator Obama has earned our respect and gratitude because of his support for traditional Jewish values and his commitment to a peaceful and prosperous
Earlier this month, responding to withering criticism of the pastor of his church, Senator Obama delivered a courageous and powerful speech that demonstrated his unique ability to talk frankly about the continuing racial tension in our country. His speech itself will not lead to racial reconciliation or a complete understanding of our different religious and cultural traditions, but it has opened a new door for Americans of all backgrounds to begin speaking openly with one another. It is a speech that will serve as a teaching tool for all our citizens and will surely serve the interests of the Jewish community. In trying to place the speech in historical context, The New York Times editorialized that the “Inaugural addresses by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt come to mind, as does John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech on religion…”
While we are profoundly disturbed by the unpatriotic, bigoted and anti-Semitic comments of the retired pastor of Senator Obama’s church, we are moved that Barack stood up at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia earlier this month, and “condemned in unequivocal terms the statements of Reverend Wright” and expressed his own views on issues near and dear to the heart and soul of the Jewish community.
Specifically, in repudiating the remarks of his former pastor, Senator Obama said Reverend Wright “expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country…a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like
Heschel once recalled that when marching in
We have each chosen to pray with our feet and stand with Barack Obama because he is sensitive to the issues of the Jewish community and a stalwart supporter of
We respectfully ask that you stand with Senator Barack Obama and vote for him on April 22.
The Honorable Josh Shapiro
Deputy Speaker,
The Honorable Daylin Leach
Rabbi Robyn Frisch
Rabbi
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer
Rabbi Jonathan H. Gerard
Rabbi David A. Teutsch
Rabbi Joshua Waxman
David Ainsman
Meryl Ainsman
Mark Alderman
Marian Allen
Tom Allen
Irl Barg
Henri J. Barkey
International Relations Dept.,
Dr. Steve Barrer
Daniel Berger, Esq.
Todd W. Bernstein
James D. Bloom
Peter Buttenwieser
Daniel Clearfield
Carl Cohen
Dan Cohen,
Hillary Cohen
Marcia Cooper
Mickie Diamond
David Ehrenwerth
Judy Ehrenwerth
Justin Ehrenwerth
Bradley T. Forman
Sue Friedberg
Aaron J. Friewald, Esq.
Jeffrey Frutkin
Spring House, PA
Serena Fujita
Lewisburg PA
Bernard Gerber,
Susan Golomb
Stephen M. Goodman
Mahnaz Harrison
Ross Harrison
Rick Horowitz
Ruth Horowitz
Eve Klothen, Esq.
Joseph Kohn, Esq.
Dean Kross, M.D.
David Landau
Clifford Levine, Esq.
Rosanne M. Levine
Daniel E. Loeb
Publisher,
Cathy Lewis Long
Andrea M. Lowenstein
Michael E. Lowenstein
Jules Mermelstein
Township Commissioner
Morey Myers, Esq.
Sondra Myers
Jacob Naveh
Todd Reidbord
Stephan Rosenfeld
Jeff Shell
Laura Shell
Stephanie Shell
Carl Shuman,
Alan Siger
Patricia Siger
Prof. Lawrence Silberstein
Director,
Larry Silverman
Roger Simon
Jill Stein
Lem Tarshis
Blue
Jill Zipin