We are witnessing one of the bitterest campaigns in our nation’s history. The invective, the rhetoric, the decibel level from both sides are almost beyond measure.
The course of America’s future is at stake – the divisions run deep whether we are talking foreign policy, the economy or the social fabric of this country.
The two of us take a contrary, opposing position on almost every issue (and there are a few exceptions) confronting voters this election year.
We argue on how to resolve the deficit, the meaning of civil rights legislation, family and medical leave, health care, school choice – and when we say the gulf is deep, we mean it.
Yet, there is one bridge – one spot on the landscape – where we join together in unambiguous harmony.
We are united in the belief that each and every member of our community needs to enter the fray of politics, choose a candidate or a party and work to see that his or her choice succeeds.
Can grassroots politics really make a difference? For an answer, we need look no further than Ross Perot’s army of volunteers, many of whom put their careers on hold and plunged into politics for the first time when their candidate originally considered running for president.
Or there’s the Christian Coalition, which has successfully mobilized conservative evangelicals to advance their political agenda. And then there are the thousands of people who responded to Jerry Brown’s 800 number earlier this year.
Whether you agree with them or not, there are people who have rolled up their sleeves for what they believe in so that they can make their voices heard.
We need a corresponding Jewish grassroots movement in the Democratic and Republican parties if our community is to make a difference in mainstream political organizations.
But American Jews are perceived, rightly or wrongly, as a single-issue constituency – Israel being their only concern. And yet many of us are concerned about other issues that have nothing to do with the Middle East. But how often do we identify ourselves as Jewish when working on matters other than Israel?
In addition, Jewish political fund-raising is perceived as bipartisan because it is so narrowly focused on Israel that Jewish PACs give to pro-Israel candidates from either party.
American Jews are also perceived as a community that only writes checks. And yet American Jews historically have been very active in grassroots politics. We know how it’s done, we’ve just gotten out of practice.
If we continue in this vein, the Jewish community will cease to be seen as a serious player in American politics.
We are whole Americans – we have deep commitments on a range of issues, including education, health care, religion in public schools and, of course, our country’s relationship with Israel.
But if we are seen as only concerned about Israel, we will not make allies outside our community to help us on that issue.
After all, if someone else is deeply concerned about banking or agriculture or industrial policy – and we pay no heed, give them no support when their issue is debated, even though we agree with them – why should they come to our defense when an issue of particular importance to us needs support?
The sound of the shofar that recently filled synagogues across the United States should have done more than usher in Rosh Hashanah. It should have also served as a wake-up call to our community to get involved in this nation’s political process.
In this new year, leaders will be elected to help determine the direction this country takes when it comes to issues that matter a great deal to us. We need to be involved in ensuring that these decision-makers – Democrats and Republicans alike – have our concerns in mind when analyzing problems and opportunities before them.
It is fallacy to believe that someone else will take care of getting our favorite candidates elected for us. Nothing could be further from the truth.
It’s quite simple. This community must make choices.
Decide where you sit on the political spectrum: Democrat or Republican; liberal, moderate, conservative; Bush, Clinton, Perot.
Then make the choice.
From now till Nov. 3, give your candidate and your party your all: your vote, your money, your time.
Become an essential component of the campaign of your choice. Your party and candidate, our people, Israel, our country will benefit, and this community of ours will be much, much stronger.
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.
