Into the
Mainstream
How Orthodoxy is winning friends and gaining
clout on Capitol Hill:
JAMES D. BESSER
Special to the Jewish News
Washington
N
0 ,0
12/ 5
2003
72
athan Diament, centrist
Orthodoxy's man in
Washington, was late for a lunch
appointment, but at least he was
in the vicinity — pacing back and forth in
front of the capital's only kosher restaurant,
talking intently into a cell phone, trying to
cut a deal.
"You can't write about this," said
Diament, director of the Orthodox Union
(OU) Institute for Public Affairs.
He then spills the whole story about his
effort to get lawmakers to sponsor a reli-
gious liberty measure that Jewish groups
have been working to enact for years.
A few blocks away, Abba Cohen,
Washington representative for the haredi
(ultra-Orthodox) umbrella group Agudath
Israel of America, focuses on many of the
same issues but with a dramatically different
style.
While Diament, 36, is the highly public
political operator, Cohen, 47, a lawyer as
well as a rabbi, is more reserved and self-
effacing. Diament is the public face of
Orthodoxy in Washington; Cohen is the
detail man, seemingly most at ease working
behind the scenes on complex legislative
language or regulations.
The two are on the leading edge of a
Jewish political revolution, merging
parochial and ideological interests — and,
according to some, riding the crest of a slow
but discernible Jewish shift away from secu-
lar liberalism.
But their involvement is not an anomaly
anymore, according to Rabbi E.B. "Bunny"
Freedman, director of Jewish Hospice and
Chaplaincy Network in Southfield.
"Certainly, 25 years ago the idea that
Orthodox people would become involved
in politics brought raised eyebrows," he
said. "Today, they are accepted in all kinds
of political action. Their voices are heard
in national and international politics with
organizations like AIPAC and in holding
public office.
"While the instinct used to be to see the
Orthodox as very provincial, it's not usu-
ally true. Some of us are pretty sophisti-
cated and can be just as knowledgeable,
informed and active as anyone else."
Rabbi Freedman cites the significance
of the strong connection between mem-
bers of the Detroit Orthodox community
"One of the most powerful forces of the
Orthodox community is that we are very, .
very networked," he said. "When there is
an issue of interest, it is easy to make con-
nections and get action."
.
Educational Support
Diament's and Cohen's support for school
vouchers, education tax credits and new
rules making it easier for religious groups
to get government social service money
has provided an important boost for the
domestic agenda of conservative Christian
groups — groups regarded as bitter adver-
saries by a number of mainstream Jewish
organizations.
"One of the issues we wrestle with is the
charge that this is just a narrow, Christian-
right agenda," said Gary Bauer, the former
Republican presidential candidate who
now heads the group American Values.
"We've always felt that charitable choice or
school choice have a broader appeal.
"To have respected Jewish organizations
in the debate on our side is encouraging
Abba Cohen, Washington representative
for Agudath Israel of America, works •
behind the scenes on legislative details.
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