Rabbi Alexander Schindler, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, today become the first national Jewish leader to endorse a Presidential candidate when he announced his support for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D.Mass.).
Asserting that Kennedy “recognizes Israel as a strategic asset to our country,” Schindler told a news conference the Senator’s “unwavering support for Israel attests to the security and depth of his convictions.”
The rabbi, in a prepared statement said that his support “is personal, not organizational; the Union of American Hebrew Congregations never makes partisan endorsements. Our members hold diverse views, but I am not constrained from expressing my own convictions, and I do so now with pride.”
Schindler said that on the Middle East, Kennedy recognizes Israel as a strategic asset to our country and a strategic ally, bound to us by a mutuality of national interest no less than of ideals, the very cornerstone of our national defense in that critical region.” Schindler also lauded Kennedy’s domestic position as “compassionate and congruent with the ideals of our faith.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
