`Only In America'
Documentary on his vice-presidential bid is an inspiring portrait of Lieberman and America.
DAVID SACHS
Senior Copy Editor
B
elieve in America" is what
Sen. Joe Lieberman told an
enthusiastic crowd of more
than 300 people Tuesday
night at the Jewish Community Center
in West Bloomfield.
The 2004 candidate for the
Democratic presidential nomination
appeared at the Midwest premiere of
Only in America, the movie about his
vice-presidential campaign three years
ago. The showing was presented by the
JCC's Lenore Marwil Jewish Film
Festival. The festival presented a second
showing Thursday night at the
Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, spon-
sored by the JCC of Washtenaw
County.
Prior to the movie, Lieberman
appeared at a fund-raiser at a residence
in West Bloomfield.
The movie, called "an important doc-
ument" by festival director David
Magidson, was a stirring tribute to the
success and acceptance of Jews in the
United States and as much a celebra-
tion of America as a biography of
Lieberman.
The film addressed the question of
whether the American people in the
21st century would accept a Jewish can-
didate for high office — and reached a
resounding positive conclusion.
In contrast, it cited examples of an
older-day American anti-Semitism from
seven decades ago, two with Detroit-
area links: Henry Ford's Dearborn
Independent publication of the Protocols
of the Elders of Zion and Father Charles
Coughlin's Royal Oak pulpit and hate-
ful radio broadcasts. Polls at the time
showed 50 percent of Americans were
anti-Semitic.
The film lauded the growth of toler-
ance in America and cited the 1960
election of John F. Kennedy, the first
Roman Catholic president, as opening
political doors for others. Likewise, it
said, the Lieberman candidacy with
presidential nominee Al Gore 40 years
later further increased opportunities for
all minorities.
The film began by showcasing the
senator's Shabbat observance — with
Lieberman walking home from a Senate
session on a late Friday night, at peace
with his thoughts.
It showed how Lieberman's genuine
faith, exhibited by his Shabbat obser-
vance, won him the respect of people of
all faiths during the campaign. The rule
was 24/6 — the campaign shut down
from sundown Fridays to sundown
Saturdays.
A Gore-Lieberman campaign worker
in the film, noting the candidate's
schedule, said, "It's not Saturday any-
more — it's Sabbath."
Philosophized Lieberman, "I know a
rest is coming, Shabbat's coming —
thank God.
"I think about how lucky I am to be
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24
S
here in America."
In contrast to the
tolerance and accept-
ance Jews have
received in America,
the film shows the
hatred with which
Jews were treated in
Europe.
Hadassah
Lieberman, the
daughter of
Holocaust survivors,
reflected in the film
on her role in the
2000 campaign, "I
was sent as a witness
to represent all the
souls who didn't
make it.
"Survivors would pull up their sleeves
and show me their numbers ... I started
crying."
Speaking after the movie, Lieberman
noted that two members of the film
crew were Holocaust survivors.
"The American people are very fair
and the anti-Semites are pushed to the
margins," he said about the campaign.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif, said
in the film, "Only in America do we
see all prejudices evaporate."
But how would Lieberman, as a
Jewish president, respond to terrorist
attacks on America?
'After Sept. 11 was the time I was
angriest that we didn't win," Lieberman
said. 'Al Gore and I would have
responded more constructively."
'America is a better country after the
2000 campaign," Lieberman said in the
film — "you bet it is."
At a high point in the movie,
Lieberman addressed the Democratic
convention that nominated him for
vice president and said, "Only in
America."
At a high point in the question and
answer period after the film, a student
only identified as Aaron told Lieberman
he couldn't finish his government class
homework assignment, because he
attended the movie premiere.
Aaron asked Lieberman to sign off on
the assignment.
Amid rounds of applause and
laughter, a bemused and gracious can-
didate invited the student up to the
podium. ❑