In case you missed it, firstread on MSNBC this morning had a link to a letter written and signed by seventy Jewish supporters of Barack Obama in Pennsylvania. This was done as push-back effort against the circulation of "Muslim" and "anti-Israel" smears within the Jewish community, which have been pushed independently by Jewish supporters of Hillary Clinton and others who have been taken in.
Pennsylvania Jews for Obama
Here are some selections:
Senator Obama has earned our respect and gratitude because of his support for traditional Jewish values and his commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Israel. His support for Tikkun Olam – "repairing the world" – and social justice is evident through his accomplishments in the Illinois Senate and the U.S. Senate. Without exception, Senator Obama has voted 100% consistently with the position of AIPAC on foreign aid and all other legislation and resolutions affecting Israel. These are the kind of actions for which we are grateful as a community.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a great rabbinic scholar of the 20th century, was known equally for his theological scholarship and as well as for having marched alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement.
Heschel once recalled that when marching in Selma, he was confronted by a host of people who were filled with hate and ignorance. They jeered at the Rabbi who afterwards declared to his fellow Jews: "When I marched in Selma, my feet were praying." Later, Heschel would recount that while he had always found comfort in his Siddur, his prayer book, it was in Selma where he learned to pray with his feet as well.
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 Israel.
Among the signatories are the Deputy Speaker of the PA House of Representatives, six Rabbis, and dozens of other leading Jewish supporters of Barack Obama.
I hope similar efforts are taken during the course of the election in all states with significant Jewish communities. Who better than Jewish-Americans themselves to push back against the slander that has been propagated over mass-emailings and whisper campaigns?