Jews for Obama

The picture being painted before our very eyes is harrowingly clear. Barack Hussein Obama, clad in Muslim garb, studying in a Madrassa and corresponding daily with Louis Farrakhan while al-Qaida waits on the other line. Time and time again in this election cycle, Obama and his surrogates have been forced to mount a defense against the anti-Israel, pro-Islamofacist, anti-Jew propaganda being spread about the senator from Illinois. The lack of veracity in these statements has led me to declare what is an unequivocal truth: from issues ranging from Israel to Hamas to Iran to immigration, I am voting for Barack Obama because I’m a Jew.

As Jews, there is one issue that often permeates our electoral decisions: Israel. Obviously, the relationship between the United States and Israel has historically been vital to the success of the Jewish state. Continued positive relations are important. But let’s be honest for a second. The mainstreams of both the Democratic and Republican parties support a strong U.S.-Israeli alliance, and whether it’s Obama, Clinton or McCain, none of them are going to veer that far from the mainstream.

With that being said, it is my belief that the traditional nature of the alliance is no longer as viable in today’s atmosphere. In 1967, when Israel was on the verge of physical destruction, uninhibited military support was what Israel needed from America. The same is not true today – 2008 is not 1967, nor is it 1973 or even 1982. What we learned from the war with Hezbollah in 2006 is that sometimes restraint can be a far more successful tactic than action. Sometimes, being there to hold your friends back can be the best thing in the end.

I am reminded of a personal anecdote. My uncle, Mark Borovitz, spent much of the first 40 years of his life a con man, thief and criminal. My father often used to tell me how, even from an early age, he could see his brother heading down a bad road. But rather than try and intervene in his life, he let my uncle make his own mistakes and cleaned up the mess. My father loved his brother, and thought that was the best thing he could do for him. When my uncle needed money, my father gave it to him. When he was in trouble, my father and other members of my family bailed him out. It was only when the family cut my uncle off and he went to prison that he began to change. Today, my uncle is Rabbi Borovitz, of a rehab center in Los Angeles that helps recovering Jewish addicts. Sometimes, the best thing we can do for those we love is teach them the gift of restraint, and tell them when they are doing something wrong.

In 2004, when American Jews were contemplating their votes for the upcoming election, I often heard the cry that, “Bush is the best President Israel has ever seen.” It took two years for that cry to be proved wrong. Bush’s outright encouragement of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2006 led to over a thousand civilian deaths and some of the worst internal Israeli political turmoil we’ve seen in years. Two years and an investigatory commission later, are there any pundits who truly believe that Israel is better off because of the Bush Doctrine’s free pass?

A Republican president would surely continue the hard line against terrorists that would resonate with a Likud majority. Likud, the right wing party of the Israeli political spectrum, holds a “shoot first, talk later” mentality that puts the chances of peace totally out of reach. A deviation from this sort of thinking is not only preferable but necessary for the long term. Bill Clinton was a great friend to Israel, and Hillary would certainly follow much of the same policies. But part of what made Bill so successful was the sheer force of his personality. Do we really believe that Hillary Clinton or John McCain will be able to bring all the parties to the table?

The first moment in this cycle’s debates that truly separated the two Democratic candidates was when a moderator asked whether or not they would meet with the leaders of hostile nations like Iran and Venezuela without preconditions. Obama said yes and Hillary said no. Hillary will follow the same old rhetoric: We condemn terrorism, there is no equivocation, Israel has a right to defend itself. Do not confuse my words, I believe this rhetoric to be true. But the days of talk are over. The situation in Israel is getting worse, not better. Hamas is gaining power daily, and whether we like it or not, eventually they will have to be brought to the table if there is any chance at lasting peace. We need someone in the Oval Office with the gall to discuss the issues no one wants to discuss. We need someone in the Oval Office who will be able to walk into a room and control the direction of conversation, someone who can bring real results rather than a continuation of the status quo. Change is this election’s mantra, and U.S. policy in the Middle East is no exception. We need someone like Barack Obama if we ever want true peace in Israel.

I believe that Obama would be the best President for Israel. But that is not why I casted my ballot for him on Super Tuesday in the New Jersey primary, nor is it why I will hopefully vote for him in November. Growing up, I was always taught that Jews were about something more than ourselves. Jewish scripture teaches the importance of Tikkun Olam, or fixing the world, not just fixing the Jews. We have been charged to make the world a better place, for Jews and gentiles alike. At what point did we begin to live our lives and place our votes solely on Jewish interests rather than on Jewish values? Why are differences in how a candidate will support Israel more important than differences in how a candidate will help the poor and downtrodden, welcome new immigrants into our society, heal the sick and fundamentally change the downward spiral we seem to be falling through?

Immigration is a particularly pertinent issue. People decry things such as “amnesty,” and insist that we must ship back the 10-12 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in this country. Despite the literal impossibilities of undertaking such a drastic effort and the financial strain it would place on our economy, I also believe that it would be inherently “un-Jewish.” The Bible teaches that you should welcome the strangers in your midst as your neighbors, as your friends. Obama understands the importance of a sound immigration policy that will allow America to continue to be the refuge of safety and place of opportunity it always has been.

Obama represents something we have not seen in a long time in American politics: the hope of a better tomorrow, the chance that America can once again become that land of possibility that pulled my ancestors out of Eastern Europe towards a strange new land. He represents all that is good in us, and, in my opinion, all that is Jewish in us. He represents that burning passion to improve our world.

As I write this, a Biblical reference comes to mind. Sometime around the 7th century B.C.E., the kingdom of Israel had lost its way. The Temple in Jerusalem had turned from a sanctuary of God to a place of idolatry. The teachings of the Torah were ignored, and the children of Israel had gone astray. It was only when King Josiah rose to power that true change began to occur. He rediscovered the Torah, the Jewish Bible, and reinstated the morals and lessons that the great book taught. He realized that in order to move forward, we had to return to our roots and remember why we had become a nation in the first place. He realized that change does not come from experience, change comes from realizing where we have gone wrong.

When you cast your vote in this primary season I hope that you ask yourself the only question that truly matters: How do we get America back on track? May the lessons of our ancestors and of history point us in the direction of this truly transformational figure, and may the hope of an entirely new tomorrow bring Barack Obama to the presidency.