Consider the last three presidents with regard to their stands on Jewish political representation in the White House.
George W. Bush is the first president since Herbert Hoover who has no Jews in his cabinet at all and has appointed no Jews to the Federal Branch.
Bill Clinton appointed more Jews to his cabinet than all of the previous
presidents combined and put Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, both
1st appointed to the federal bench by Jimmy Carter, on the Supreme Court.
George Bush in 1985 as Vice President played a personal role in
Operation Joshua,’ the airlift which brought 10,000 Jews out of Ethiopia directly to resettlement in Israel. Then, again in 1991, when Bush was
President, American help played a critical role in ‘Operation Solomon’,
the escape of 14,000 more Ethiopian Jews. Most dramatically, Bush got to the U.N. to revoke its 1975 ‘Zionism is Racism’ resolution.
Jewish Leadership and Obama
I remember discussing with my students how ‘savlanoot,’ or the values of tolerance begin in our own hearts and home when we have proper role models who can disseminate prejudice and anti-semitism. More and more racial groups are denying the Holocaust.
Does Obama really have what it takes to disseminate antisemitism and can promote good relations with American and Israeli Jewry?
As Israel begins its next round of mideast peace talks with the Palestinians, American Jews look for a new round of leadership not only for Jewish groups but also for full ethnic representation.
Jewish leadership and McCain
When Gulianni stepped out of the presidential election, McCain stepped in. Does this man also have a chance at bridging the gaps in economic and foreign policy regarding Israel?