Word: jewish
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...writing in response to Ilana Sichel’s recent column, “Who is the Jewish Vote?” (Nov. 5) The column posits a correlation between sabbath-observance and “being anti-choice, discriminating against gay people and supporting tax cuts for the rich.” Such a claim is simply false. Furthermore, it is harmful to all sabbath-observant Jews, who will now be presumed to be bigots by all of Sichel’s liberal readers...
...example, one of us is a committed Republican with generally conservative views on social policy, while the other is equally committed to a liberal social agenda. Both of us, however, ground our political views not in our shared commitment to Sabbath-observance, but in the vast corpus of Jewish law and tradition, the existence of which Sichel completely ignores...
...their 20s and 30s, these men are representative of a generation of Jewish extremists who have taken up residence in the occupied territories and have come to see the government of Ariel Sharon as a threat to their way of life. Angrily dismissive of Sharon's plan to withdraw them from their homes in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, they say they will resist with force. Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service believes that several dozen young settlers consider themselves bound by religious duty to protect the land of Israel, even if it means fighting against the state...
...third point, regarding gratitude for Christian Zionism, I have this to say: Jews should be extremely wary of interpreting evangelical Christianity as selfless sensitivity to Jewish history. The past couple decades have seen a surge of influential Christian support for Jewish control of so-called “Greater Israel,” i.e. Israel’s internationally recognized borders in addition to territories seized in 1967. Even though the majority of Israelis are willing to give up the occupied territories for a negotiated peace plan and a Palestinian state, most Christian fundamentalists oppose such a deal...
...short, Jewish support for Bush based on alleged commitment to Israel is dangerously self-defeating. Since he’s back in office I’m hoping for the best, but he certainly hasn’t earned my trust—and my objections far transcend the Israel issue. As an Orthodox Jewish friend inquired about our Republican-friendly community members: What is it about observing the Sabbath that warrants being anti-choice, discriminating against gay people and supporting tax cuts for the rich? I, too, am at a loss for an answer...