Jewish supporters of health care reform are fighting back. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has launched Jewsforhealthcarereform.org, a Web site with all kinds of information about the issue — including links to the RAC’s guide to the debate, a sample letter to Congress and a petition to sign.
"We must raise a Jewish voice for universal, affordable, accessible health care," states the site, which also advocates strongly for a "public option":
Just as both Medicare and the Veterans Administration hospitals deliver quality care at lower cost than the private system – and do not refuse service on account of “pre-existing conditions” – a public option available to all Americans would be a safety valve for the nation, for all Americans. It would help rein in the explosive rise in insurance costs that America’s people and businesses have been forced to bear.
For 3,000 years, the Jewish people have been bearers of a message of justice and fairness for all that has reshaped the world," it continues. "In the great health care reform debate of 2009, that message needs to be sounded powerfully and by joining with Jews throughout the nation, you can assure that voice will be heard.
In the press release announcing Jews for Health Care Reform, RAC director Rabbi David Saperstein says that "for the sake of our democracy, and for the sake of a health care system that is so clearly dysfunctional, we cannot, we dare not, stand on the sidelines. It is time to get in the game, to reclaim the agenda and to demonstrate that concerned Americans will not be cowed.”
