Rabbis: Obama Stands for Israel and Tikkun Olam

David Streeter — January 3, 2012 – 2:50 pm | Barack Obama | Domestic Policy | Economy | Election 2012 | Foreign Policy | Health Care | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

Two prominent rabbis recently penned op-eds in which they explained their continuing support for President Barack Obama.

Rabbi Steven Bob wrote in The Jerusalem Post about the many ways in which Obama has exemplified tikkun olam—fixing the world—as President:

As fire scorched Israel’s Carmel mountain range last winter and threatened Haifa, Obama didn’t think twice before sending all but four of America’s firefighting planes to help Israel quench the flames. When families in Sderot lived in bomb shelters, the president made sure Israel got unprecedented security funding to build the Iron Dome system that now intercepts rockets from Gaza. Unlike those jockeying to oppose him in November, President Obama will never, ever suggest zeroing- out the foreign aid budget.

On the contrary, Israel will receive more US aid this year than ever before. 

And when the world turned away from Israel this September, President Obama stood before the United Nations and strongly declared ‘hineini.’ In so many words, he told the world: I am here, the United States is here, and I stand with Israel. Then President Obama backed up those words with what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a ‘badge of honor,’ blocking Palestinian efforts to circumvent direct negotiation with Israel and pursue statehood unilaterally.

That’s nothing new coming from a president whose first UN Security Council veto blocked a resolution condemning Israel and supporting her right of self-defense. What’s more, his leadership toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has Israel’s core interests at heart - peaceful and secure coexistence, rather than war, terror and strife.

President Obama has pursued tikkun olam in countless ways. He’s fighting to restore fairness for families, making sure we all play by the same rules, that hard work pays off and that responsibility is rewarded. He’s taking unprecedented steps toward equality for women, gays and lesbians, and for long-marginalized groups. And he’s isolating Iran and taking terrorists off the field - including more than half of al-Qaida’s top leadership. General Motors is alive and Osama bin Laden isn’t.

The list goes on. Doubling fuel efficiency standards, as the president did, not only saves us money at the pump, but it also to makes sure we live in a world with cleaner air to breathe, and in a country less dependent on oil from foreign countries who aren’t friends of America and certainly not of Israel.

A little while ago, many young Americans couldn’t get health insurance. Maybe their job didn’t provide it or they couldn’t afford it. Insurance companies often dropped young adults after they turned 18 or graduated from college. President Obama reformed health care, letting young Americans stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26. In just one year’s time, more than 2.5 million young Americans no longer have to worry about being bankrupted by medical bills. That’s some serious change for our next generation. That’s tikkun olam in deeds, not just words.

In supporting Israel and making sure our children inherit a better world, President Obama clearly doesn’t just talk about values like fixing the world or standing up for what’s right. He believes in them and he lives them. I know he always will.

Click here to read Rabbi Bob’s full piece.

Rabbi Maurice Harris wrote in the Eugene, OR Register-Guard:

I want the United States to be an enduring ally to Israel, supporting Israel’s security, sharing intelligence and military expertise, and defending Israel against unfair accusations in international forums. I also want the United States to be an honest broker, facilitating negotiations between Israel, the Palestinians and the wider Arab world.

I want the United States to be a friend to Palestine as well as Israel, to support moderate elements within both societies, and to give a push to all of the parties involved when they need one to keep the peace process moving forward.

With little fanfare, Obama has delivered on all fronts. I’m grateful that Obama has stood by Israel in all the ways that matter, and I’m even more grateful that he’s stoically endured a torrent of unfair accusations and lies from his political opponents on Israel….

As a rabbi, if I’ve learned anything about the heart of Judaism it is that it values leadership that seeks justice, peace and reconciliation. The ancient rabbis taught that good people seek to turn enemies into friends and see the divine image in every person, even those with whom they have conflict.

These GOP candidates offer a kind of leadership that seeks to exacerbate the hatreds in the Middle East. They opportunistically hope that striking this hard-line posture will garner Jewish votes in that other Promised Land: Florida.

What I look for in a president, as a Jew and a person with deep concern for Israel, is leadership that seeks to strengthen Israel while also reaching out to the Palestinians - leadership that’s committed to brokering a way out of this nightmarish conflict that poisons the lives of my Israeli and Palestinian friends alike.

Like every president before him, Obama has made mistakes in seeking to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace, but he’s been a great friend to Israel, his eyes are on the right prize, and his leadership offers hope.

Click here to read Rabbi Harris’ full piece. 

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