This Week

The Rebirth Of Ralph Reed

r _

Ralph Reed
remakes himself
away from
the Christian
Coalition.

Photo by Susan Grigalunas

8/27
1999

30 DetrOit Jew News

TODD LEOPOLD

Special to the Jewish News

ou don't like him. Or, more
accurately, you don't want to
like him. Ralph Reed repre-
sents all you're against: prayer
in public schools, narrow limits on abor-
tion, "Christian nation" talk, "family val- c-= \ /
ues," Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson —
all those code words and causes you
believe would be the death of America's
most fundamental liberties. He's wrong,
you want to say, he not good for the Jews
— except for his support of Israel, and
we all know what's behind that.
Or are you simply afraid of him? This
is a man who, with Pat Robertson, essen-
tially created the Christian Coalition.
Now as a political consultant with his
own firm, Century Strategies, he's saying
he has the ear of George W. Bush and a
host of right-of-center political corners.
In person, Reed is a study in con-
trasts. His face is boyish, with a shock of
neatly groomed hair slicked back over his
forehead, but his voice is commanding,
almost brusque. He is sharp, there is no
doubt about that, and, as he makes clear
to an interviewer, his time is valuable.
He's also charming. People do like
him. But, for many, Reed the man
becomes mixed up with Reed's unset-
ding persona: a fundamentalist fire-
brand in a pinstriped suit. Rightly or
wrongly, opinions of him, particularly
in the Jewish community, are driven
by this zealot image.
"He is one of the most misunder-
stood and misjudged figures in the
Jewish community," says Rabbi Yechiel
Eckstein, president and founder of the
Chicago-based International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Even Abraham Foxman, national
director of the Anti-Defamation
League, insists Reed is no bogeyman. "I
find Ralph, in addition to being smart
and perceptive, a decent human being,"
says Foxman. "I consider him a friend."
In an interview, Reed comes across as
moderate. The dialogue is open; there's
room for discussion, compromise. Yet,
one wonders what beats underneath the