He has helped Jewish political
workers — Capitol Hill staffers,
administration functionaries, officials
with various political advocacy
groups — feel more comfortable
about combining observance with
careers in politics and public service.
"I believe the ceiling of opportuni-
ty for a Jew who wishes to remain
observant while working in
Washington has beef.- shattered by
Joe Lieberman," said Rabbi Levi
Shemtov, the Chabad representative
on Capitol Hill who has befriended
countless lawmakers — and who
serves an expanding group of Jewish
congressional staffers. "He has
become a living symbol for the law
students, the interns, the legislative
aides, as well as Jews running for
office around the country."
But he serves another function, as
well — or he may, depending on
what he does in the next few years.
More than anyone else, Joe
Lieberman has the ability to frame
the emerging national debate over
what are broadly defined as "values
issues" in a way that the Jewish com-
munity may be able to identify with.
Polls show that Americans increas-
ingly see a nebulous change they
define as moral decline as the nation's
most urgent problem.
President Clinton's tawdry affair
with Lewinsky only reinforced the
feeling among many that things have
gone seriously awry.
Jews, with their innate suspicion
of the leading promoters of family
values — politicians who, in the
minds of many, have hijacked the
concept and used it to repackage
their own narrow, highly conservative
political agendas — have found
themselves increasingly on the out-
skirts of the debate. Or, worse, Jews
are seen as the perpetual naysayers.
"If you were an innocent
bystander on the American political
scene, you'd have a hard time avoid-
ing the conclusion that we are against
religion, against God," said Rabbi
Shemtov. "That's not true, of course,
but it's the way we are often seen."
With his cool, deliberative style
and his obvious grounding in Jewish
law and tradition, Lieberman increas-
es the Jewish community's comfort
level with this debate.
"He provides a legitimacy for these
issues and a basis for talking about
them that doesn't carry either the
religious baggage of the Christian
Coalition or the extreme, bitter parti-
sanship that they bring," said Alan

can help tip the balance toward a
genuine national dialogue. But it
depends on how he uses that stature.
"Sometimes he does come across
as 'holier than thou,"' said Lichtman,
the political scientist. "I hope that's
not where he's going and where the
nation is going as a whole because it
would then be a destructive debate."
Not surprisingly, liberal Jewish
activists see Lieberman as a threat,
although even they generally give him
high marks for sincerity and integrity.
"He's a Democrat, but he could
easily pass for a mainstream
Republican," said an official with a
Jewish group that has fought
Lieberman on school vouchers and
other issues. "There's always the
sneaking suspicion that he is some-
how providing cover for Jews to turn
more conservative, and that in the
end this will help the Republicans
Last week, the House Judiciary Committee released President Clinton's videotaped
four-hour deposition before the grand jury in which he discussed his relationship
accomplish what they have been
with Monica Lewinsky. Keith Carney and Harry Skeid of the Fed Net Internet
unable to accomplish on their own
— pulling the Jewish community to
Service prepared to distribute the tape Monday morning.
the right."
Both liberals and conservatives
observers say that the senator unique-
ly combines moral genuineness with
a gritty political pragmatism.
"Joe doesn't do the right thing
because it's expedient," said Kahn, the
consultant and Kean College political
scientist. "He does it because it's right.
But he also understands how doing
the right thing can be politically expe-
dient. He says what ought to be said,
but he does it in a decorous way, with
great seriousness and sincerity, and
sometimes with pain and anguish.
That sounds like a platitude, but that's
the sense you get from him. When
Lieberman goes to the floor, people
stop and say 'I think I ought to listen
— Alan Lichtman, political scientist at American University
to what he's saying.'"
Lieberman isn't above politics,
Kahn
said; he is helping to elevate
the subject. He was ahead of his time
Lichtman, a political scientist at
politics.
in talking about the need not to be
American University in Washington.
Lewan, Lieberman's former chief
fearful
about
bringing
religious
val-
Lieberman can say many of the
of
staff,
described it differently.
ues into the public conversation, but
same things Christian right leaders say
"A lot of complicated things go
it's where the country is going —
— but put it into an unmistakable
into making him a very simple man,"
and it's where the Jewish community
Jewish context that makes the message
he said. "He's a great politician — by
should be."
more palatable to Jewish audiences.
far, the best I've ever known; his
What is less clear is whether the
"The nation has come to a time
instincts are terrific. But what's'more
debate will be a genuine one — a
when we can have a religiously
important about him, and why peo-
serious national discussion about the
informed conversation about values,"
ple relate to him in such a positive
relationship between law and public
said Rabbi Sidney Schwarz, president
way, is that he's just a good guy. He'd
policy and the values we share, or
and founder of the Washington
be a good guy if he owned a liquor
just one more noisy contest between
Institute for Jewish Leadership and
store in Connecticut, and he's a good
partisan warriors hurling moralistic
Values, a group that uses a variety of
guy in the Senate. He treats everyone
slogans at voters, clothing partisan-
innovative programs to foster
the same way, from the most junior
ship in religious righteousness.
activism based more directly on
staffer to the most important figure
Joe Lieberman, with his emerging
Jewish religious tradition. "And Joe
in Washington. He is exactly what he
stature as a kind of moral beacon in
Lieberman is the man who can be in
appears to be." ❑
Congress, may be one of few who
the middle of it. He's not scared of

Senator Lieberman "provides a
legitimacy for these [moral] issues
and a basis for talking about them
that doesn't carry either the
religious baggage of the Christian
Coalition or the extreme, bitter
partisanship that they bring."

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Detroit Jewish News 7