Obama and other matters

Friends,
Sorry over long silence after writing such an inflamatory piece last time. After that, I left for a fascinating interfaith conference in Amman, Jordan which I will write about tomorrow. But as to my last piece, I wrote it and felt it was an important and timely message for the Russian Jewish community to ponder, but am sorry in retrospect that I started with the anecdote about my friend, because she was deeply hurt by what I wrote. Making a political point doesn't feel worth screwing up a friendship of several years. I feel very sad about that.


But now that Obama has won the nomination and millions of Americans are feeling inspired by the possibility of transformative politics in America for the first time since 1968 (Talk about 40 years in the wilderness!), it really makes me sad to think of so many Russian Jews being fearful that Obama represents a grave threat to their security or to Israel's security. Nothing can be further from the truth, as should have been made clear by Obama's AIPAC speech, which to my mind went too far into pandering, as all candidates do every four years when trying to cater to the Jewish community and other powerful constituencies. The bottom line is that Obama is committed to Israel's security, but yes, he would likely pick up where Bill Clinton left off eight years ago and push and prod Israel and the Palestinians to reach a peace agreement(something Mc Cain would undoubtedly do as well). Why? Because the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict is bad for America, a spur to Islamic fundamentalism and therefore bad for Israel as well).


In the end, there is going to be a peace settlement in which Israel gives up most of the West Bank and allows some Palestinian sovereignity in East Jerusalem in exchange for a Palestinian committment to demilitarization and an ongoing international security presence in its territory. Israel will keep the larger settlements blocs like Ma'ale Adumim, Gush Etzion and perhaps Ariel and give up land adjoining the West Bank in return. The rest of the settlments will have to be evacuated. Everyone knows that will be the final settlement; the question is whether we move in that direction expeditiously or drag it out over another decade or two of violence, as Bush allowed to happen. Which is better for Israel and the Jews? The hard line perscription favored by many in the Russian Jewish community will only result in several generations more of violence and killing. It is easy to sit in NY and insist that Israelis should be uncompromising, because it is they and not us who will have to pay the price.

As to the domestic front, Obama will embark on an effort to return our politics to the work of tikkun olam (healing the world), by providing increased funding for the weakest in society (including elderly Russian Jews now barely surviving on small monthly SSI payments that dont even cover the cost of rent, let along incidentials like electrity, airconditioning and food). He will try to bring us something approaching universal health care and do something about the soaring cost of college, home foreclosures and rising interest rates. Mc Cain's perscription is the same as Republicans always give us--leave it to the magic of the market, the wonders of private enterprise--and everything will be fine and dandy. Right! That perfect perspcription must be why the economy is doing so well at the moment after 8 years of unregulated capitalism, with all protections for consumers and the environment stripped away. With all of his militaristic bravado and throwing alway hundreds of billions of dollars in the sands of Iraq, all Bush has accomplished is to spur Islamic fundamentalism, turn the U.S. into a debtor nation with a devalued currency that now has to kiss up to China, Saudi Arabia, Putin's Russia and other assorted petrorich thuggish states. But, hey, If you are happy with the state of America after eight years of Bush, if you think those policies really protect yourself and your loved ones, including aging parenets, then vote for another four years of the same. I doubt too many Russian Jews really feel that way.

So why are so many Russian Jews allergic to Obama? Because he feels to them as 'the Other'; a biracial guy with African roots, raised in Indonesia and Hawaii, exposed to Islam along the way...in other words, not a representative of the white-bread Reaganesque America they thought they were emigrating to (actually, that white bread America hasnt really existed since the 1950's, Reagan was an actor evoking mass nostalgia for an illusion). Obama is a 'world' candiate, evoking a 21st century reality of 'We are all in this together' and only the kind of compassionate inclusive politics he represents has a chance of salvaging America and the world, to take on the enormous challenge of global warming which is imperilling the very survival of our planet.

Do Russian Jews really want to go into the bunker with the likes of Rush Limbaugh and crazy, evolution-denying right wing evangelicals like Rev. Hagee who believe God commissioned Hitler to kill six million so that Jews would move to Israel? Mc Cain is not as bad as many Republicans, but the reality is that he is the captive of the right-wingers who dominate his party,and, if elected, would not be able to break with the main contours of their politics even if he wanted to. So his election would mean a locking in of Bush's tax cuts for the rich, which pushed this coubtry into debt and destroyed the ability of the government to raise the funds needed to help the struggling poor and middle class. That means more ultra-right Supreme Court justices, who will outlaw abortion, take away all consumer protections and protections for the rights of minorities, including immigrants.

Are there risks for the Jews in Obama's call to transform our society in a direction of social justice and more equal distribution of resources. Sure, change is always risky. Mistakes will be made along the way. But the alternative, four more years of catastrophic policies that have run this country into a ditch, is much, much riskier and much more dangerous for the Jews and for all of us. It is time for us as Jews to again join hands with our fellow Americans who are black, Hispanic, Asian and white to create an America and a world based on the values of cooperation and kindness rather than unbridled competition and definitely crouching in separate ethnic enclaves. And lets stop being so fearful of the idea of change. As Franklin Roosevelt said so many years ago, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Nu, davai, lets join forces with Americans of all backgrounds and contribute to building a healthier society, where people may have less material goods, but are compensated by a sense of common purpose.