Wednesday, September 09, 2009
The Jewish Press endorses John Heyer
The Jewish Press urges support for John Heyer. A devout Catholic, Mr. Heyer shares our community’s views on a broad range of issues, including family values and parochial education. By any measure his joining the City Council would be a positive development in terms of issues dear to our community.
There is, however, another important dimension to the race in the 39th district. We have long been turned off by politicians running for local office who, seeking our community’s support, express their undying support for Israel – though of course they know full well that foreign policy issues will never come across their desks. To be sure, having a plethora of public officials favorably disposed toward the Jewish state is not a negative. But the sheer pandering is what raises our hackles.
Yet it is a different order of business when a candidate for local office is on the public record as being virulently anti-Israel and derisive of Orthodox religious practice in his private capacity. To support such a candidate would send the message that public identification with anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian sentiment is not all that significant a matter to us. And that is not a good thing.
Sadly, Brad Lander, the current frontrunner in the District 39 race, is someone who has spoken out quite forcefully against Israel. In addition, he has voiced objection to Orthodox control of Israeli religious life and used derisive terms to describe certain Jewish practices – referring, for example, to bris milah as “religious violence” during his son’s circumcision ceremony. Incredibly, he has nonetheless garnered support from prominent members of our community, including at least one elected official. Mr. Heyer deserves our community’s support in terms of the issues facing the district. It is also important that our community sends a message of its own that we will not support anyone who opposes Israel.
There is, however, another important dimension to the race in the 39th district. We have long been turned off by politicians running for local office who, seeking our community’s support, express their undying support for Israel – though of course they know full well that foreign policy issues will never come across their desks. To be sure, having a plethora of public officials favorably disposed toward the Jewish state is not a negative. But the sheer pandering is what raises our hackles.
Yet it is a different order of business when a candidate for local office is on the public record as being virulently anti-Israel and derisive of Orthodox religious practice in his private capacity. To support such a candidate would send the message that public identification with anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian sentiment is not all that significant a matter to us. And that is not a good thing.
Sadly, Brad Lander, the current frontrunner in the District 39 race, is someone who has spoken out quite forcefully against Israel. In addition, he has voiced objection to Orthodox control of Israeli religious life and used derisive terms to describe certain Jewish practices – referring, for example, to bris milah as “religious violence” during his son’s circumcision ceremony. Incredibly, he has nonetheless garnered support from prominent members of our community, including at least one elected official. Mr. Heyer deserves our community’s support in terms of the issues facing the district. It is also important that our community sends a message of its own that we will not support anyone who opposes Israel.
Comments:
I would have liked rather to see the last sentence state: We will not support any Jew who belittles and defames bris milah - the sign of the covenant between us and HKBH. Priorities, please.
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: September 10, 2009 11:09 AM
: September 10, 2009 11:09 AM
