Steisand Endorses Obama - Jews for Obama Newsletter

The campaign is heating up, and you need to stay informed! The Jews for Obama Newsletter gives you the information you need to stay in the loop and convince your friends and family to support Obama.

One of Hollywood's most prominent and influential Jewish citizens, Barbra Streisand, has endorsed Senator Barack Obama, after previously being a strong supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton.

Ms. Streisand, whose illustrious career has included archetypal roles such as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl and proto-feminist yeshiva student Yentl, says that she would “absolutely consider performing for Sen. Obama and for the Democratic Party.”

Concerning former Clinton supporters who are reluctant to vote for Obama, Ms. Streisand gave this response:

“I would urge those voters to take a step back and realize that our country is at an extremely serious crossroad. We are on the verge of a recession, we are grappling with global climate change and experiencing record high gas prices. Our young men and women are still dying in Iraq and so many Americans are still living without health insurance. There is too much at stake right now to elect another George W. Bush to the White House. And John McCain is just that. He has stated that the issue of economics is not something he's understood as well as he should. He does not support reproductive rights for women, increased veterans' benefits and ending the war in Iraq. There is just no reason for Sen. Clinton's supporters not to back Sen. Obama.”

Ms. Streisand's commitment to an Obama victory is evident from the fact that the top two headlines on her official Web site are about Senator Obama's campaign. Click here to read them…

Jews for Obama volunteers are making a difference in key battleground states! Northern Virginia (NOVA) Jews for Obama recently held a successful, well-attended house meeting in the home of Jane and Marc Shichman of Fairfax. Rabbi Jack Moline, of Alexandria's Agudas Achim Congregation, was the featured speaker at the meeting. The gathering, organized by the Obama campaign with the assistance of NOVA Jews for Obama, was one of the first 2008 election season events focused on Jewish voters in the Washington area.

Melissa Jones, a leader of NOVA Jews for Obama and an active National Jews for Obama volunteer, reported, “This house party was a great opportunity for friends, neighbors, congregants and fellow members of our community to come together and talk politics — and get their hard questions answered in a safe and respectful setting. Rabbi Jack Moline's remarks gave me a lot to think about in regards to the intersection of Jewish values and the importance of this election.”

In our last issue, we wrote about the work being done for Obama by Organizing Fellow Liz Braunstein in Bergen County, New Jersey.

Normally, we wouldn't feature the same volunteer two issues in a row, but this article about Liz and her fellow volunteers, hot off the presses from the New Jersey Jewish Standard, is too good to pass up!

“When the New Yorker magazine depicted Sen. Barack Hussein Obama and his wife, Michelle, on its July cover as radical Muslims, its editors said they were poking fun at people who buy into those rumors.

“Liz Braunstein and Rachal Zaentz, however, see those rumors as stumbling blocks to the Obama campaign within the Jewish community. Braunstein, who grew up in Oradell, and Zaentz, of Fair Lawn, are members of Jews For Obama, a national grassroots organization of volunteers that is trying to educate Jews about the Illinois senator, what he stands for, and what his views mean for American Jews.”

Prominent constitutional lawyer, Harvard Law School professor, civil rights advocate, and Israel supporter Alan Dershowitz declared his support for Obama following Obama's speech at AIPAC.

Previously a supporter of Hillary Clinton, Dershowitz called the AIPAC speech “a home run” and said that Obama is “good for America, good for the world, and good for Israel.” After adding, “I'm going to back Obama,” Dershowitz went on to discuss other issues where he agrees with Obama, including economic policy, civil liberties, and human rights.

“[Those issues are] very important to the Jewish community,” he declared, “because the Jewish community feels very strongly about a wide range of issues that are important to America.”

Dershowitz also pointed out that Hillary Clinton has declared her own support for Obama as “a good friend of Israel.”

Click here to read or view our abridged transcript or video of Dershowitz's interview.

John McCain should know better, and so should pro-Israel voters. The GOP nominee-to-be must think we're a pretty gullible bunch of nudniks if he expects us to believe that he will move the US embassy to Jerusalem “right away” if he is elected president.

But that's what he said when CNN's Wolf Blitzer last week asked if as president he would move the embassy. “Yes,” he answered. “Right Away. I've been committed to that proposition for years.”

Moving the embassy has never been a high priority for any Israeli leader in meetings with American presidents. They see it as a political football in an American game they prefer staying out of.

All recent prime ministers have understood that an agreement on Jerusalem is critical to any peace settlement with the Palestinians — and that symbolic action like American politicians trying to force the embassy move can only make an agreement more elusive.

Some things will change for Israel and its chief ally, the United States, when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigns. But most things won't — especially the big things. Israel still faces at least four major strategic choices: how to resolve the faltering peace talks with the Palestinians, how to deal with the growing power of Hezbollah in Lebanon, whether to maintain the fragmentary ceasefire with Hamas, and above all whether to take military action against Iran. And it doesn't much matter who the next prime minister is — or even the next U.S. president: the choices that Israel makes will likely be the same.

John McCain has repeatedly promised that if elected president, he will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. What he has not done is offer even a remotely credible explanation for how he would accomplish that. In a scathing editorial, the New York Times took the senator to task for the absurdity of his empty promise:

“No one — not presidents, not members of Congress, not the voters — has ever been willing, and rightly so, to starve government to the point that would make never-ending tax cuts affordable. But feeding the fantasy is easier than presenting tough choices, and it worked for Mr. McCain's Republican predecessors. Following in those footsteps does not, however, make a good case for his candidacy.”

In this week's d'var Torah (words of Torah), we bring you inspirational words from Rabbi Tzvi Freeman on the subject of ahavat yisrael, or “love of Israel”.

The subject of ahavat yisrael is especially relevant now, just after our observance of Tish'a B'Av, the Ninth of Av, when we commemorate the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Our Sages teach us that the Temple was destroyed because of sinat chinam, or “senseless hatred,” among Jews. The concept of ahavat yisrael is the polar opposite of sinat chinam.

The subject of ahavat yisrael is also especially relevant during this presidential campaign. There are, obviously, strong disagreements among Jews on which candidate will be better for America, for Israel and for the Jewish people. All of us should remember that, no matter how strongly we disagree with our fellow Jews, they are still our brothers and sisters, and we should strive at all times to treat them with respect, and yes, even with love.

(Jews for Obama has selected this material for our newsletter in the spirit of including a bit of Torah in everything we do. This material is not intended to be political in nature. The referenced individuals and institutions do not necessarily agree or disagree with the statements and positions of Jews for Obama.)

Due to various legal and technical concerns surrounding campaign laws and activities, Jews4Obama.com, a volunteer-run grassroots organization, and the Jewish Alliance for Change (JAFC), a 501(c)4 corporation originally founded as Kahal America, have agreed to separate.

Gidon D. Remba, who continues to serve as President of the Jewish Alliance for Change, has stepped down from his voluntary post as Chief Editor of the Jews4Obama Newsletter. He will focus on developing new media and other innovative advocacy campaigns in support of JAFC's Jewish agenda for change and Senator Obama's candidacy for President, and on fundraising for these projects.

Jordan Pollack, who manages much of the JewsForObama technology, has resigned as Treasurer of the 501c corporation, to more vigorously pursue the grassroots development of Jews4Obama.com community through November. The Jews4Obama Newsletter is now being edited by a group of volunteers.

“I'm glad I was able to help Doni Remba achieve initial mindshare and seed funding,” said Dr. Pollack, who is a Computer Science Professor in Boston during the day. “However, I found that working for a formal organization took away all the fun I was having doing a Tikkun Olam project to block the Schvitz Boat attacks!”

“We appreciate everything Dr. Pollack has done for us and for our cause and trust that we will continue to work together as allies and friends,” said Mr. Remba, a veteran American Jewish pro-Israel activist who formerly served as executive director of Ameinu, the U.S. affiliate of the World Labor Zionist Movement.