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Moral Authority

'My parents raised me to believe that I did not have
to mute my religious faith or ethnic identity to be a
good American; that, on the contrary, America
invites all its people to be what they are and believe
what they wish."
— Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.)

by should it matter? We've had a
lot of "firsts" in recent years, and,
with 34 Jews in Congress alone, it
lipir isn't as if Jews were excluded from
public life. And we don't really think Joe Lieber-
man was chosen as Vice President Al Gore's run-
ning mate because he is Jewish.
But somehow it seems to matter a lot — in
the very best ways — because of what it says
about the freedom to be a Jew in America in the
21st century.
The most obvious fact is that the junior senator
from Connecticut is a highly qualified individual
who wasn't excluded because he is Jewish, as he
might have been a few decades ago. Some of the
country's best political strategists have concluded
that the polls mean what they say when they report
that 92 percent of Americans would vote for a Jew
— or a Catholic or a woman — for president.
The next obvious fact is that a Jew, a Modern
Orthodox Jew to be specific, can talk openly about
how his faith informs his political decision-making
without raising fears he is out to convert everyone
else or to disparage their beliefs. Modern Ortho-
doxy stresses Torah Umadda, literally, "Torah and
world knoWledge," but more generally understood
to be "active engagement with society" That belief

Related stories begin on page 6
Related commentary: page 37

IN FOCUS

helped Lieberman become the moral authority who
stood up when it was necessary to denounce the
scandalous conduct of his friend, President Bill
Clinton.
The next obvious fact is what his selection says
about the tensions between assimilation and obser-
vance. It says you don't have to be one or the other
to rise to the top in this country. Isn't it grand that
we can learn that lesson from someone who chose
Orthodoxy but doesn't exclude the other move-
ments of Judaism?
Are there going to be some downsides to his
candidacy? Of course. For a while, the anti-
semites will spill their anonymous "heartbeat
from the presidency" bile onto the Web. And, if
Gore/Lieberman loses, we can expect some peo-
ple to say that it proves the country really isn't
ready to accept a Jew that high up. But that is
ephemeral, a last gasp of a dying idea.
We're exhilarated that a Jew has finally made it
on to a major presidential ticket, and are excited by
the potential this move has for opening up doors
for other minorities to run for executive office.
Standing beside Gore in Nashville Tuesday,
Lieberman said he had had a memorable conversa-
tion the day before with the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Jackson told him, "You know, Joe, each time a
barrier falls for one person, the doors of opportu-
nity open wider for every other American."
Are we going to pay special attention to vice
presidential candidate Joe Lieberman because he
is a Jew? Of course, because it does matter. But
mostly we'll be watching to see if he continues to
stand on his own feet as an accomplished politi-
cian, a principled human being and a morally
courageous voice in a country that needs all
three. ❑

Aiming
For Par

' MN

Amid the laughter, splashing
and singing at the JCC Day
Camp in West Bloomfield is
the familiar golfer's cry,
"Fore!" The camp's new
nine-hole, miniature-golf
course caters to kindergart-
ners through fifth graders.
West of the Jewish Commu-
nity Center's Kahn Building
and behind Camp Ruth, the
course was built and devel-
oped by Mini Golf Inc.,
under the supervision of Joe
LeMarbe. The course can be
rented for weekend birthday
parties, family picnics and
other special events. ❑

4.Y

tt`

The Tree And The Apple

n

ow we see the world as adults depends a
Below left: A Palestinian police oficer teaches a -
girl how to use the AK-47 assault rifle at a chil-
great deal on what adults teach us when
we are children. If our parents talk about dren's summer camp in the el-Bureij refugee
their desire for peace, for example, we are camp south of Gaza City.
likely to seek it when we have the opportunity. If
Below right: Jewish children discuss the bound-
they talk endlessly of war and revenge, we will
aries
of Jerusalem in front of a map of east
believe that we must choose combat first. Two pho-
Jerusalem
in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem's
tographs last week reinforced the point.
old walled city.

Clockwise from to
Corey Loeb, 5, of Beverly Hills
putts.

The JCC Day Camp miniature
golf course.

Concentration is the key to golf-
ing for Jacob Balamut, 6, of West
Bloomfield.

Marti Silver, 6, of West Bloom-
field takes a break in the shade.

d

8/11

2000

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