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The Front Man

From the pages of the Jewish News for
this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.

Ari Ple2scher sees his task as Bush press secretary rooted in Jewish ethics.

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MATTHEW E. BERGER

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Washington
is rare that the spokesman for a presidential cam-
paign defends one of his opponents, but Ari
Fleischer did just that this summer.

I

Days after being named vice presidential nominee for the
Democratic Party, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D- Conn.) was
maligned with an anti-Semitic comment by a local leader of
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People. Republican candidate George W. Bush's camp could
have said nothing or sufficed with a brief statement.
But Fleischer, as a fellow Jew, felt he needed to
speak out.
And he did, condemning the words of the presi-
dent of the Dallas chapter of the NAACP, Lee
Alcorn, as "foolish utterances."
But don't misunderstand Fleischer. He is a very
political person, and his religion rarely gets the best
of his partisanship.
"I believe deeply in my religion and I believe in
the principles of my parry," said Fleischer, 40. "I
don't commingle the two."-

Al Gore. "My mother called me to concede only after Al
Gore called George W. Bush to concede," Fleischer said.
Although they were in opposing camps, Fleischer was
happy when Lieberman became the first Jew picked for a
national ticket.
"It really gave me great joy when Lieberman was
announced," he said. "As a Jew, it gave me a sense of great
pride. It reflected on the strength of the country."
Fleischer's rebellion against his political upbringing
began at Middlebury College in Vermont in the late
1970s, when he realized that he agreed more with the poli-
cies of Ronald Reagan than of Jimmy Carter. After gradu-
ating, he took a job as spokesman for a New York
Republican running for Congress,
and then moved to Washington
with a new party identity.

Two Masters

Fleischer claims to respect the
White House press corps, the
aggressive pack of reporters he'll face
each day.
He already knows their business
from his time as a spokesman for
former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-
N.M.) and the House Ways and
A GOP Veteran
Means Committee.
He says he relishes his job because
:,e son of NL w York Democrats, Fleischer has
he plays a role, albeit minor, in
spent two decades on Capitol Hill as a Republican
Ari Fleischer
implementing policy, he said,
party spokesman, and will reach the pinnacle of his
adding that he clearly understands
profession later this month when he stands in front
that he has to serve two masters — the president and the
of the lectern as White Howe press secretary.
media. "You can't do this job if you don't believe in the
A "relatively observant, basically Reform" Jew, Fleischer's
conception of his role in government is shaped by the ethics mission of the press," he said.
Fleischer's current schedule includes a morning news con-
of Judaism.
ference call, an early afternoon news conference and a late
"The Jewish religion teaches people to be responsible, to
afternoon "pen-and-pad" session. Then there are the dozens
be open-minded and to care about others," he said in a
of individual requests he responds to each day, from
phone interview. "And I hope that people see that in me as
reporters at small newspapers to Mike Wallace of 60
I do my job."
Minutes.
Jews were heavily represented in the Clinton Cabinet and
Even in his serious conversations with the media,
White House, but Fleischer will be one of the few Jewish
Fleischer manages to keep things jovial. At a news confer-
faces in a Bush administration that received little support
ence last week, he offered one female reporter the chance to
from Jews at the polls. Less than 20 percent of the Jewish
vote went to Bush.
go head to head with Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, a for-
mer Navy Seal and professional wrestler.
Many in the Jewish community also have been critical of
In a conference call, he allows a reporter who graduated
some of Bush's policies, especially on school vouchers and
from his alma mater to get two questions.
charitable choice. Some are opposing Cabinet appoint-
And then there is his trademark, ear-to-ear smile.
ments, especially the attorney general-designate, former
"I would like to thank whoever sent me The Idiot's Guide
Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft.
to Verbal Self-Defense," Fleischer, smiling broadly, said in
But Fleischer isn't ruffled by his minority status, having
front of reporters.
grown accustomed to fending off the Jewish Democratic
Fleischer already has picked the chapter that will give him
majority in his own home.
the edge with the press: "Using Your Facial Muscles to Gain
Though their son was in the upper echelons of the Bush
the Advantage." C
campaign, Fleischer's parents still voted for Vice President

Figure skater Dan Hollander of
Huntington Woods competed in
the Midwestern Championships in
Omaha, Neb.
Agudath Israel of America created
a Halachic Living Will/He a lth Care
Proxy.
Zayde's Place, a kosher restaurant,
opened in Toledo, just off U.S. 23.

A new wing of the Israel Diamond
Exchange opened in Ramat Gan,
Israel.
Rabbi Raphael Groner, spiritual
leader of Beth David Synagogue in
Binghampton, N.Y. and nephew of
Southfield Rabbi Irwin Groner, was
named chairman of the Torah con-
vocation of the Rabbinical Council
of America.
The Bank of Israel made plans to
replace the one-shekel bills with coins.

Twenty young Israelis were killed
when a rockslide crushed a dining
hall in a paramilitary settlement in
the Jordan River valley.
Three new appointees at the Wayne
State University radio station are
Robert Wunderlich, Steve Lawrence
and David Robinson, all of Southfield.

For the first time in eight years, not
one Arab-Israel dispute came before
the United Nations Security
Council in 1960. "-
Billy Davis of Detroit led the
Jewish Center Teen Varsity to its
11th straight basketball win, beat-
ing Franklin Settlement 42-31.

Sixteen members of the Israel AZA
chapter walked off with trophies in
basketball in individual and team
bowling at the Michigan region
convention.
Al Ring of Detroit was a member
of the Wayne University Ping-Pong
team, which won the Intercollegiate
Table Tennis Championship.

—Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant

JN

1 /1 2
2001

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