Unwelcorned Contact
Some local Jews incensed at Republican outreach attempts.
HARRY KIRS BAUM
StaffWriter
B
arbara Kratchman of Bloomfield Township had
just returned home from the movies on Oct.
30 when she saw the blinking message light on
her phone.
Although the first part of the message had been
lopped off, she recognized the voice behind the taped
message touting President Bush's strong support for
Israel and urging her to show equal support.
The voice was that of Lawrence Jackier, and he was
speaking as immediate past president of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
"My first impression was that I was greatly disturbed
that Federation would allow any individual leader to
utilize its name to support any candidate," she said.
"When I thought about it carefully, I concluded that it
was a case of poor judgment by an individual, and I
was concerned that others in the community, no mat-
ter which candidate they supported, would hold it
against Federation."
Federation officials did not say how many phone
calls they received complaining about the calls, but an
e-mail signed by current Federation President Peter
Alter, and Allan Nachman, Foundation president, was
sent out to the addressees on Federation's global e-mail
list on Nov 1.
"This morning, we became aware that some individ-
uals in the community have received partisan political
phone messages on behalf of candidates, and that these
messages may have been assumed to be associated with
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit," the
message said, in part. "We would like to be very clear
that the Federation was not involved in the creation or
Mixed Minyan
Jewish gains and losses in Congress.
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Washington
he faces may change, but the number of Jews
in the U.S. Congress will stay the same for the
next two years. And Jewish organizational offi-
cials are looking at several new lawmakers with excite-
ment, and a few with concern.
Two Jewish Democratic women will join the House
of Representatives in January, after winning open seats
Nov. 2. And Congress will say goodbye to one of its
most prominent Jewish members, as Rep. Martin
Frost, D-Texas, lost his battle in a new district against
another incumbent.
Several other Democratic Jews who tried to join
T
in the dissemination of these messages and
did not in any way authorize them."
3-adder said that some of those who
received the calls were confused by the mes-
sage. "People didn't really listen to the mes-
sage. The message very clearly said this was
a personal appeal," he said. "The Federation
was totally not involved in this, and no lists
were given out."
The list, he said, was assembled by one or
more Republican-based organizations and
shared, although he was unwilling to name
those organizations.
Jackier wrote a letter of apology to the community
(see page 6) that said in part: "I sincerely apologize to
Federation or to anyone who construed my call as
being endorsed, sponsored or facilitated by Federa-
tion."
Jackier said he has privately been part of the effort to
support the president for a while, and now that the
election is over, he wants to look forward. "I want to
make sure that we in the community do whatever we
can to heal what's going on. I'm very concerned of the
impact that this had had on our community, and that
it not leave a lasting negative imprint."
Mark Davidoff, Federation executive director, said
Federation is an apolitical organization, does not sup-
port political candidates, and it protects its mailing list.
"No donor or contact information within our organ-
ization can be used for any purpose other than that
directly related to supporting the Federation mission
and its related activities," he said. "We have all the
state-of-the-art computer and Internet firewalls to pro-
tect against any access from the outside world into our
database."
Janet Birnkrant Levine of Huntington
Woods, whose daughter and mother received
the call, said she was sure Federation must have
been horrified. For Federation to say it protects
its database "is all well and good, but the point
is this information was abused," she said.
Levine said she was more offended at the
mailings she received from the Washington
D.C.-based Republican Jewish Coalition, tout-
ing President Bush's support for Israel, especial-
ly a seven-page glossy mailing showing pictures
of the president lighting menorah candles, pos-
ing with various rabbis and Jewish leaders and
posing at Holocaust memorial museums.
The mailings were not supporting the president, said
Matt Brooks, RJC executive director.
"We were basically engaging in a discussion of
-issues with the Jewish community, and we were
using that as an opportunity to build our member-
ship. There was no expressed advocacy or any
endorsement or support of the President's re-elec-
tion," he said. "There's no 'Vote for President Bush,'
there's no, 'Don't vote for John Kerry.' There's no
political communication as defined by the IRS or
the FEC."
The mailing list was gleaned from copies of regis-
tered voters, he said.
"There's some sophisticated computer models that
are able, based on people's geographical location and
their surname, to call out what are likely Jewish
households and voters."
Levine called the technique appalling.
"I'm offended that Jewish homes were being target-
ed in this way," she said. "I was frightened by it."
Congress lost their long-shot bids. Barring any unfore-
seen changes, there will be 11 Jews in the Senate and
26 in the House next year, the same numbers as the
last two years.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives will
stay in Republican hands next year, which could hurt
the chances of some Jewish domestic policy priorities.
But Jewish representation in each chamber is impor-
tant to Jewish organizational officials, who feel some
Jewish lawmakers are more interested in their issues
and more willing to trumpet their agenda.
Jewish leaders will also say goodbye to several law-
makers who worked with them, including Sen. Tom
Daschle, D-S.D., the Senate minority leader, and a few
Democratic House members from Texas, who also lost
as a result of Republican redistricting.
Florida state Sen. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a ris-
ing star in the Democratic Party, won the seat vacated
by another Jewish congressman, Rep. Peter Deutsch,
her mentor. Wasserman Schultz said she would focus
on homeland security as well as other domestic issues.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Allyson Schwartz also won in
the Philadelphia area, defeating Melissa Brown.
Schwartz will replace Rep. Joseph Hoeffel, D-Pa., who
ran against Sen. Arlen Specter for the Senate.
In the Senate, Republican Specter won his fifth term,
defeating Hoeffel, one of his strongest challengers since
first winning his seat in 1980. Specter is one of few
Jewish Republicans in Congress. He is expected to
chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year, which
could play a pivotal role in approving federal and U.S.
Supreme Court judges.
Four other Jewish senators won re-election handily
— Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Barbara Boxer, D-
Calif., Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and Ron Wyden, D-
Ore.
Other than Frost, all other Jewish incumbents won
election, many against only token challengers. Sen.
George Voinovich, R-Ohio, defeated a Jewish candi-
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11/ 5
2004
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