Tuesday, October 28, 2008

By DANIEL GREENFIELD

Exclusive: Rabbis for Obama Exposed as

front group for radical Hamas
appeasement supporters
When Rabbis for Obama was announced with
great fanfare it was meant to reassure worried
Jewish voters. The 300 Rabbis who signed on to
the letter which stated that Barack Obama had
"longstanding, stalwart support for Israel" and
claimed that "Senator Obama is in the best
position to restore faith in America as a leader in
the fight against serious threats to Israel."

But when you mix Obama and clergy together, the

one thing you can count on is that they'll be left
wing radicals who are anti-American and anti-
Israel... and the Rabbis for Obama signers don't
disappoint.
In fact a better name for "Rabbis for Obama"
would be "Rabbis for Hamas". Does that sound
like I'm exagerating, not at all. Because there is a
surprising amount of overlap between the Rabbis
who joined up with Rabbis for Obama and the
Rabbis who signed the infamous Brit Tzedek
V'Shalom letter urging Bush to keep an open
mind on Hamas for the purposes of "constructive
engagement" with the new Hamas government.

How much overlap? Five of the Vice Chairs of

Rabbis for Obama were among the Hamas
Rabbis, as well as 133 of the signatories to the
Rabbis for Obama letter. That's nearly half the
membership of Rabbis for Obama who signed on
to a letter calling for Bush to keep an open door
for dealings with Hamas. (see below for a full list)

Since then Brit Tzedek V'Shalom has authored a

second letter to whoever wins the Presidential
election that repeatedly condemns Israel for
fighting terrorism, e.g. ("In 2001, then-Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon flatly rejected President
Bush's demands that a massive Israeli military
operation on the West Bank be suspended "as
quickly as possible"), takes the Palestinian Arab
side on the negotiations ("The Palestinians rejected
Olmert’s offer as soon as it was made public as it
did not adequately address most of the issues that
are most important to the Palestinians") and once
again calls for recognizing and dealing with
Hamas;

The fact that Hamas rules the Gaza Strip is

undeniably problematic, however; any agreement
Abbas achieves with Israel will only be successful
if the majority of the Palestinian people stand
behind it. If the nation is, in fact, split into two
geographical and ideological camps, this won’t be
possible... However, some members of the Hamas
leadership have indicated a certain openness to a
peace deal with Israel; they would accept an
agreement, if approved in a national referendum...
Bottom line, for peace talks to succeed, the U.S.
will also have to work to close the gap between
Fatah, the movement headed by Abbas, and
Hamas.

This time around three more of the Vice Chairs of

Rabbis for Obama as well as many other Rabbis
for Obama members signed on to the second Brit
Tzedek V'Shalom pro-Hamas letter.

The original letter by the Hamas Rabbis was a

project of Brit Tzedek V'Shalom aka Jewish
Alliance for Justice and Peace, an extremist left
wing group, which has condemned Israeli action
against Hamas, defended the ISM terrorist
solidarity group and coordinated pro-terrorist
propaganda with figures involved in terrorism.
And Brit Tzedek V'Shalom is funded by the same
far left daddies too. Here's a sample.
The group gets financial support from other anti-
American and anti-Zionist organizations, too,
including Noam Chomsky's Resist, Inc. and the
Ford Foundation. The board of Noam Chomsky's
group is littered with admitted socialists, anti-
Zionist activists, and even includes Yasir Arafat's
former economic adviser Leila Farsakh. The New
York-based Ford Foundation supports far-
ranging efforts in globalization, internationalism
and other internationalist leftist programs.
Founded by industrialist Henry Ford, an admirer
and supporter of Adolf Hitler, the Ford
Foundation today continues to display anti-Jewish
bias. Ford funded anti-Jewish agitprop at the UN
conference in Durban and supports Al Mezan,
ISM, New Israel Fund, and other anti-Zionist
groups.

Rabbi John Friedman who chairs the Rabbinic

Cabinet of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom and who was one
of the Hamas Rabbis, is also one of the Obama
Rabbis. And when you begin to examine the
signatories to Brit V'Tzedek's letters and the list
of Rabbinic board members for Brit Tzedek
V'Shalom and Rabbis for Obama you come away
with the impression that Rabbis for Obama is
nothing more than a front for Brit V'Tzedek.

And a left wing group that calls for dealing with

Hamas and which is funded by extremist groups
that include figures such as Noam Chomsky, is in
the worst possible position to reassure Jews that
Obama meets their standard for protecting Israel
and America's security. Not when that group itself
is far too friendly with terrorists and blatantly
hostile to Israel and America.

Two of the Hamas Rabbis even appear front and

center on the Rabbis for Obama testimonials
section, a limited list of a handful of Rabbis
influential in the group. Both of their
endorsements for Obama carry coded statements
calling for pressure on Israel and appeasement for
terrorism.

Rabbi Richard Levy (Los Angeles, CA) "I believe

this country needs to return to a policy of respect
for other nations, to pursue energetically all
opportunities for peace in the Middle East and
around the world."

Rabbi Elliot Dorff (Los Angeles, CA) "He has

pursued the wrong war that is responsible for
thousands of American deaths and hundreds of
thousands of Americans maimed physically or
psychologically -- and now the Taliban inhabit
Iraq, where they never used to be... Obama, by
contrast, offers us intelligence, caring, individual
rights, well-thought-out programs for improvement
in education and health care -- and, yes, wise and
firm support for Israel and for peace in the Middle
East."

Besides being a terrorist dupe, Rabbi Elliot Dorff

is additionally an idiot who's under the impression
that the Taliban are now in Iraq. And over several
months none of the wise men of Rabbis for Obama
have noticed anything wrong either.

Additionally prominent names among Rabbis for

Obama include Rabbi Rolando Matalon who is on
the Rabbinic board of Brit Tzedek V'Shalom, is
also on the board of the radical left wing New
Israel Fund and Americans for Peace Now.

There is Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf, a Vice Chair

of Rabbis for Obama and an Honorary Board
member of Brit Tzedek V'Shalom, who is
personally acquainted with Obama and wrote a
widely reproduced article "My Neighbor,
Barack".

Somewhat less famously Rabbi Arnold Jacob

Wolf is a left wing Anti-Israel radical who during
the 2006 Second Lebanon War who served as the
"Rabbinic Ally" for a letter condemning Israel's
self-defense
"We urge the Union to likewise condemn the Israeli
Defense Force’s killing of unarmed Lebanese and
Palestinian civilians, as well as its premeditated
targeting of civilian infrastructure, which has put
additional lives at risk and hampered relief efforts."

There's Rabbi Elliot Dorff who is a Vice Chair of

Rabbis for Obama, a signatory to both the Hamas
letters and on the board of J Street, which
successfully sabotaged the Anti-Ahmadinejad
rally, and has made it its mission to insure that no
military action will be taken against Iran.

There are hundreds of signatures of left wing

Anti-Israel figures just like these there and they
form the tapestry of both the Hamas letters and
Rabbis for Obama. Rabbis for Obama claims to
reassure Jewish voters about Obama's
commitment to Israel, but that reassurance is
coming from extremists who champion
legitimizing Hamas and condemn and abuse Israel
at every turn. Their voices make it clear once
again what Obama and his supporters really stand
for when it comes to Israel.

(A final note, these people may call themselves

Rabbis but they're liberal clergy who rarely hold
any actual belief in G-d or the Bible. Some like
Rabbi Rachel Cowan are not actually Jews. Many
are simply left wing figures who find a Rabbinical
title convenient.)

[Below is the list of names overlapping between

the Hamas letter and Rabbis for Obama. Draw
your own conclusions as to whether there's any
real difference between Brit Tzedek V'Shalom
and Rabbis for Obama.]

Vice Chairs

Rabbi Laura Geller, Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Richard N. Levy, Encino, CA
Rabbi Burt Visotzky, New York, NY
Rabbi Dayle Friedman, Philadelphia, PA

133 Members

Rabbi Ron Segal (Atlanta, GA)

Rabbi Paula Marcus (Aptos, CA)
Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man, Berkeley, CA
Rabbi Michael Lotker, Northridge, CA
Rabbi Pamela Frydman Baugh, San Francisco,
CA
Rabbi Linda Bertenthal, Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Dan Goldblatt, Danville, CA
Rabbi Stephen J. Einstein, Fountain Valley, CA
Rabbi Roberto Graetz, Walnut Creek, CA
Rabbi Lewis Barth, Encino, CA
Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman, Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Susan Laemmle, Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Jason van Leeuwen, Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Allen Krause, Mission Viejo, CA
Rabbi Suzanne Singer, Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Berkeley, CA
Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, Pasadena, CA
Rabbi David J. Cooper, Piedmont, CA
Rabbi Burt Jacobson, Piedmont, CA
Rabbi Judith Seid, Pleasanton, CA
Rabbi Mark Hurvitz, New York, NY
Rabbi Hillel Cohn, San Bernardino, CA
Rabbi Laurie Coskey, Poway, CA
Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller, San Francisco, CA
Rabbi Lori Klein, CA
Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels, West Los Angeles,
CA
Rabbi Beth Janus, Santa Cruz, CA
Rabbi Daniel Moskovitz (Tarzana, CA)
Rabbi Steven Jacobs (Woodland Hills, CA)
Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Boulder, CA
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Boulder, CO
Rabbi Elliot Baskin, Greenwood Village, CO
Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav, Denver, CO
Rabbi Brian Field, Denver CO
Rabbi David Leipziger Teva, Middletown, CT
Rabbi Norman Koch, New Milford, CT
Rabbi Debra S. Cantor Newington, CT
Rabbi Binyamin Biber, Silver Spring MD
Rabbi Lynne Landsberg, Washington, DC
Rabbi Shaya Isenberg, Gainesville, FL
Rabbi Rebecca Lillian
Rabbi David Kay, Orlando, Florida
Rabbi Susan Marks, Sarasota, FL
Rabbi David Sandmel, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Andrea London, IL
Rabbi Brant Rosen, Evanston, Il
Rabbi Herbert Bronstein, Glencoe, IL
Rabbi Bruce Elder, Highland Park, IL
Rabbi C. Michelle Greenberg (Northfield, IL)
Rabbi Mira Wasserman (Bloomington, IN)
Rabbi David Dunn Bauer, Amherst, MA
Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg, Amherst, MA
Rabbi Norman Janis, Brookline, MA
Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, MA
Rabbi Gary Mazo, Marstons Mills, MA
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser, MA
Rabbi David Greenspoon
Rabbi Stephen A. Arnold, MA
Rabbi Caryn Broitman, MA
Rabbi Barbara Penzner, West Roxbury, MA
Rabbi Brian Walt, West Tisbury, MA
Rabbi Gerold Serotta, Chevy Chase, MD
Rabbi Elliot Ginsburg, Ann Arbor, MI
Rabbi Chava Bahle, Suttons Bay, MI
Rabbi Norman Roman, West Bloomfield, MI
Rabbi Amy Eilberg, MN
Rabbi Renee Bauer
Rabbi Randy Fleisher, St. Louis, MO
Rabbi Susan Talve, St. Louis, MO
Rabbi Joshua Taub, St. Louis, MO
Rabbi John Friedman, Durham, NC
Rabbi Eric Solomon, Raleigh, NC
Rabbi Jennifer Solomon, Raleigh, NC
Rabbi Amy Small, NJ
Rabbi Barry Schwartz, Cherry Hill, NJ
Rabbi Donald Weber, Marlboro, NJ
Rabbi Bennett Miller, NJ
Rabbi William Plevan
Rabbi Neal Borovitz, River Edge, NJ
Rabbi Daniel Cohen, NJ
Rabbi Lawrence Troster, Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Malka Drucker, Santa Fe, NM
Rabbi Jerry Seidler
Rabbi Shoshana Leis, Bronx, NY
Rabbi Barat Ellman, Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman
Rabbi Joshua Gutoff, Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Jeffrey Marker, Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Jennifer Jaech, NY
Rabbi Jan Uhrbach, NY
Rabbi Renni Altman, Great Neck, NY
Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, New York, NY
Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon, New York, NY
Rabbi David Rosenn, New York, NY
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, New York, NY
Rabbi Felicia Sol, New York, NY
Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman, Rochester, NY
Rabbi Daniel Gropper, Rye, NY
Rabbi Lester Bronstein, White Plains, NY
Rabbi William Dreskin, NY
Rabbi Steve Segar, University Heights, OH
Rabbi Maurice Harris, Eugene, OR
Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin, Eugene, OR
Rabbi Art Donsky, PA
Rabbi Myriam Klotz, Bala Cynwyd, PA
Rabbi Fredi Cooper, PA
Rabbi Meryl Crean, PA
Rabbi Simeon Maslin, PA
Rabbi Serena Fujita, PA
Rabbi Alan LaPayover, PA
Rabbi Marjorie Berman, Philadelphia PA
Rabbi Phyllis Berman Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Shai Gluskin, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Linda Holtzman, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Yael Levy, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Amber Powers, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, PA
Rabbi Henry Cohen, Wynnewood, PA
Rabbi James Rosenberg, RI
Rabbi Alan Flam, RI
Rabbi Samuel M. Stahl, San Antonio, TX
Rabbi Rosalind Gold, Reston, VA
Rabbi Seth Goldstein, Olympia, WA
Rabbi Jill Borodin, Seattle, WA
Rabbi Hillel Gamoran, Seattle, WA
Rabbi Michael Latz, Seattle, WA
Rabbi Bruce Kadden, Tacoma, WA
Rabbi Jonathan Biatch, Madison, WI
21 comments

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obama-exposed-as.html

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