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Jewish community makes waves
at the conventions
By
Avi Mayer
Mitzpeh Staff Writer
“A Passel of Pomp and a Circus of Circumstance.” To political
aficionados and veteran journalists, this might have been a perfect
title for a documentary following the history of this nation’s political
conventions.
To a less-seasoned participant and a junior reporter, a more appropriate
title might be, “Oh. My. God.”
Having trekked up the Northeast corridor twice during the summer to
participate in these circuses, I saw two respectable cities mutated into
bastions of political bravado and dissent.
From women in pink slips prancing about with “give Bush one of these”
scrawled on their backs to the streams of dignitaries bouncing in and
out of their Lincoln Continentals, the conventions are a sight to
behold.
Sure, you have party bigshots ranging from Bill Clinton to Arnold
Schwarzenegger, and entertainers like Michael Moore and the Black Eyed
Peas. But the really cool and exciting stuff is what’s going on outside.
The Democrats’ Boston bash and the GOP’s New York shindig each drew
about 50,000 visitors. In both cases, this number included many
lobbyists and representatives of virtually every advocacy group under
the sun. Together, they put on parties like you’ve never seen, all in an
effort to woo the elected officials, journalists and party faithful to
their respective sides.
And, of course, Jewish groups do it too. But due to the unique nature of
America’s Jewish population and the causes it holds dear, the Jewish
community tends to take a decidedly different approach.
The Israel Project, for instance, went for the delegates’ hearts and
minds. The Washington-based group held events in both Boston and New
York aimed at demonstrating the urgent need to teach peace in
Palestinian schools while educating participants on the values that bind
the United States and Israel.
A
few days before each convention, the Project invited journalists and
community leaders to meet victims of terror and hear their stories,
partnering with local Jewish communities to hold rallies against terror
and for peace.
Singing duo Evan and Jaron performed a special tribute to the victims
and the people of Israel at the New York event.
During the conventions themselves, Israel Project volunteers fanned out
across both cities, blanketing the areas around the central events with
informational materials about Israel, its democratic character and its
pursuit of peace.
But if The Israel Project aimed their efforts at the delegates’ hearts
and minds, the United Jewish Communities went straight for their
stomachs. The Federation system, in conjunction with the Jewish
Democratic and Republican groups, hosted lavish “Community Celebrations”
in both cities aimed at expressing the Jewish community’s appreciation
for its ties to both parties.
As guests munched on assorted kosher delicacies, they were regaled by
some of the biggest names in the biz, including Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.,
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in
Boston and Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., in the Big Apple, all of whom spoke of their respective
parties’ “special connection” to Israel and to the Jewish community.
Other Jewish groups went about it their own ways. The American Jewish
Committee organized lectures and discussions in both cities featuring
sessions on Hispanic-Jewish, black-Jewish and Indian-Jewish relations,
among other topics. The Anti-Defamation League hosted a foreign policy
address by Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.
In all, among the donkeys and elephants, the American Jewish community
found its voice in this year’s political conventions. And after 350
years of committed involvement and unshakable patriotism, that
community’s voice is certain to be heard come Election Day.
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