WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the Defense Authorization Bill (S.3001):

“The Senate’s passage of this legislation today will ensure our nation’s service members and veterans have access to the health care and support they need whether in combat or at home. This legislation also makes important investments in our national defense, including providing an across-the-board pay raise for all uniformed service personnel.

“However, I am disappointed that Senate Republicans blocked key bipartisan measures, particularly provisions that I offered last year in the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, which would have allowed state and local governments and private fund managers to divest from companies that support Iran’s energy sector. This would have helped reduce the revenue Iran uses to expand its nuclear program, sponsor terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, and threaten Israel.

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Friends,

With only seven weeks before the ballots are cast, the race for the White House has entered its home stretch. Both Senator Obama and Senator McCain have made the most important decision of the election season by selecting their vice-presidential running mates.

In selecting Senator Joe Biden, Barack Obama has chosen to partner with a 35-year friend and ally of Israel, a champion of women and working families who will help bring the change we need in Washington. Both of Democratic nominees have longstanding relationships with the American Jewish community and warm ties with the Jewish communities in their home states of Illinois and Delaware. Barack Obama and Joe Biden share a commitment to Israel’s security and restoring America’s role as a global leader, stronger and better positioned to confront the common danger posed by Iran.

The choice of a running mate demonstrates a lot about one’s judgment. When Senator McCain announced that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be joining him on the Republican ticket, many in our community were left scratching our heads. For Senator McCain to elevate someone with zero foreign policy experience and no record on Israel to the Vice Presidency is disconcerting at best to those of us who care deeply about the strong U.S.-Israel relationship and America’s standing in the world.

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(From JTA.org.)

Published: 09/12/2008

Dennis Ross launched a public appeal to American Jews to vote for Barack Obama.

A former diplomat and Middle East specialist who held top policy-planning positions in the Clinton and first Bush administrations, Ross told an overflow crowd at a suburban Philadelphia synagogue on Thursday night that he was embracing partisan politics because “the United States can’t afford and Israel can’t afford” a continuation of the Bush policies over the past eight years.

Read more at JTA.org…

Pastor Martin Niemöller wrote the following, famous poem about the Holocaust:

First they came for the Socialists,
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists,
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.

Ever since he wrote it, the poem has been an inspirational reminder of the responsibility we all share to stand up not only for our own civil rights, but for everyone’s.  Only when the rights of all members of our society are protected can we remain confident that ours will also remain secure. With that in mind, please read the following editorial by the publisher of the American Jewish World in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

It is simply incomprehensible that any Jewish American would vote to continue the policies that have not only allowed, but encouraged, this trampling of civil rights.  While we bicker about false, trumped-up worries about Barack Obama’s support for Israel, we are allowing our own country to be turned into a police state.

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Description:

The media have made much ado of Jewish voters who get “shpilkes” — or “jitters” — at the thought of “President Barack Hussein Obama.” But does the Democratic candidate really have a “Jewish problem”?

In this PRX Promise Commentary, producer Rebecca Sheir transports us to Brookline, Massachusetts — also affectionately known as “Baruch-line,” since 40% of its residents are Jewish — to find out what’s got everybody so verklempt. We kibitz with members of Jews For Obama, and meet a woman who’s fallen victim to the latest “schvitz-boating” campaign. Plus, we hear Obama’s promises concerning the world’s only Jewish state, and find out why nabbing the Jewish vote might not be as cut-and-dried as one might think…

Listen here (you’ll need to sign up for a prx.org account if you don’t already have one)

http://www.prx.org/pieces/29039

Dear Friends,

As someone who has spent his entire life working on causes important to us in the Jewish community, both in Florida and nationwide, I am honored that my close friend of the last twenty years, Senator Joe Biden, is joining Senator Obama on the Democratic ticket. He will make an excellent Vice President and a perfect partner to help bring about the change we need in this country. Senator Biden has a strong record of support for Israel in the U.S. Senate for almost 36 years, and he has received much acclaim and many honors for his steadfast support of US-Israel relationship and for his consistent efforts to strengthen the security interests of both nations in the Middle East.

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This amazing article from Chicago Jewish News analyzes the rise of Obama with the backing of Chicago’s Jewish community, and resistance from jewish communities elsewhere. They even stole our copyright Logo, the Mogen-Obama, and placed it on the Kotel!

OBAMA AND THE JEWS: On the eve of his historic nomination, a look at why some Jews love him and some don’t trust him; and at the key role Chicago Jews played in getting him to where he is.

By By Pauline Dubkin Yearwood (08/22/2008)
Abner Mikva, the former Chicago congressman, federal judge and White House counsel to President Bill Clinton, puts a 21st-century twist on the notion that Clinton was “the nation’s first black president.”

“I think when this is all over, people are going to say that Barack Obama is the first Jewish president,” he said.

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Dear Friends,

In late July, Senator Obama traveled to Israel to meet with Israel’s leaders, to express his unequivocal commitment to Israel’s security and to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship. In his meetings with Israeli officials, Senator Obama reaffirmed his longstanding belief that Israel’s security is “sacrosanct,” and reiterated his commitment to the steadfast relationship between the United States and Israel. Senator Obama traveled to Sderot to express his support and deep concern for the innocent victims of terror perpetrated by Hamas. He met with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah and received an update on the progress of their ongoing talks, held a range of discussions with Israeli officials, and he offered support for their shared vision of achieving a secure peace.

As Senator Obama’s Middle East Policy Advisors, we were honored to accompany him on his trip, and we are eager to share with you a recap of his historic visit.

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From ABC News’ Sunlen Miller:

On his last day of vacation, Senator Barack Obama paid tribute to his mother, who passed away in 1995 from ovarian cancer.

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By Jews for Obama volunteer Benita Gayle-Almeleh

The Russia-Georgia conflict, and its recent escalation to military hostilities with the advance of Russian troops into South Ossetia on August 8, has raised international concern for its geopolitical, strategic, economic and human rights implications. Following the White House announcement of humanitarian assistance, Senator Barack Obama released a statement on August 13 which reads in part:

“I welcome President Bush’s decision to send aid to the people of Georgia, and Americans stand united in support of the men and women who will carry out this humanitarian mission. As soon as possible, we must follow this aid with broader reconstruction assistance, including emergency economic loans, to help the people of Georgia rebuild their lives and their economy.

“The situation is still unstable and Russia must back up its commitment to stop its violence and violation of Georgia’s sovereignty with actions - not just words. The United States must now join our European partners in direct, high-level diplomacy with both Georgia and Russia to seek immediate implementation of a cease-fire, and to achieve a lasting resolution to this crisis. There must be independent monitors to verify the implementation of this cease-fire, and Russia must not use this moment to consolidate a position that violates Georgia’s territorial integrity, or to violate the human rights of the people of Georgia.”

But there’s a Jewish element to this crisis as well, and one that should concern us as a community. Georgian Jews represent one of the oldest communities in Georgia, with some evidence indicating their presence since the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE. The Jewish community has declined from a high of approximately 100,000 in the 1970’s to today’s population of approximately 10,000 Jews, most of whom reside in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The remaining Jews are scattered among Kutaisi, Batumi, Oni, Akhaltikhe, Akhalkalaki, Surami, Kareli and Gori. Most have emigrated to Israel or the United States.

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