Rabbi Eliyahu Stern: February 2008 Archives

The attempt to depict Barack Obama as a Muslim and the response of the Jewish community are depressing on a number of levels. First off, even if he was a Muslim, since when does that disqualify someone from office? Have I missed something here? Why on earth has the reaction of the American Jewish community been, “no, no he is not a Muslim?” Instead we should judge people by their words and actions, not on racial and religious biases.

That said, there are a few things about Obama that still concern me. (Let me be clear, there are a number of things that concern me about all the candidates.) When it comes to Israel and foreign policy issues I am just not yet sold on Barack. My biggest problem is not his lack of experience, it's those that he surrounds himself with who have experience. Two of his main foreign policy advisors are Samantha Powers and Zbigniew Brzezinski. Neither of these two figures could be said to be favorable towards Israel’s interests in the Middle East. One could argue that both are actually hostile to Israel. It’s not that I think Obama is not pro-Israel. Whether in his heart of hearts he truly loves Israel is a question that does not move me. Every president in the last thirty years--even the worst of them like Jimmy Carter--acted as friends towards the Jewish state and there is no reason to believe the same would not hold true of an Obama administration. What worries me is that I am just not sure if he--or those who he's surrounded by--really understands the general threat of terrorism and radical elements of Islam that threaten Israel, American and the free world in general.

I recently walked into my bank to deposit some money into a savings account. What a disappointment! Interest rates keep dropping as our government tries to dig itself out of what most economic observers say is a serious recession. The ups and downs of the market in recent years highlights just how precarious wealth and financial success are in this day and age. Fortunes are made and lost in the blink of an eye. Suffice it to say it’s hard to have a sense of security.

So much of the market depends on peoples’ ability to have faith and trust. The way money works is virtually virtual. Like God, it rarely, if ever, is seen and can turn on people quickly. I never thought it was so ironic that on our dollar bills say, "In God We Trust." At its core the strength of our economy is based on faith. OK, maybe not faith in God but in the idea of faith itself. When we put our money in the bank we have faith that people will follow suit. Each time we deposit a dollar we have faith that our money actually does exist somewhere. Most importantly, we are constantly having faith that our government can back up our money and keep it secure.

Contrary to what one might think based on the presidential campaign drama unfolding on our TV sets and newspaper stands, there is still a sitting president and a functioning/disfunctioning Congress that is still drawing up and determining domestic and foreign policy. Just today we learned that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is headed back to Israel for one more last ditch effort to salvage some positive Mid East legacy for President Bush. As reported by Reuters:

Rice told U.S. lawmakers that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were trying to continue their discussions "without much public glare" and the United States was doing everything it could to help. "I will probably return to the region at the beginning of March, senator, to see if we can help them," Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Don’t get me wrong, I admire everyone’s optimism and engagement but don’t you all think this is just too little too late?