January 31, 2008

Following are excerpts from op-ed articles distributed by JTA supporting the major presidential candidates (appearing in alphabetical order). For the full articles, including those supporting candidates that did not arrive before this issue went to press, visit the JTA web site.

Hillary Clinton
Hillary has not been content to settle for routine affirmation of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and its right to self-defense. She repeatedly has defended Israel’s security fence as an effective deterrent to the very kind of terrorist bombings she saw in 2002. She also stands with Elie Wiesel in exposing anti-Israel bias and anti-Semitic language in Palestinian schools and textbooks.

She has not simply called on the international community to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Hillary Clinton voted in the Senate to declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization — notwithstanding the fact that every single one of her Democratic opponents in the presidential campaign subsequently would try to use the vote against her....

Her values embody the Jewish commitment to social and economic justice best articulated in Deuteronomy 16:20, which says tzedek tzedek tirdo — “justice, justice shall thou pursue.”

That’s why she was the first presidential candidate to propose an economic stimulus plan to fight the looming recession. That’s why she has fought long and hard for healthcare reform ensuring that all Americans have the care they need and deserve. That’s why she has fought for equal pay for women and for a woman’s right to choose. That’s why she believes America’s future demands greater educational opportunities for all children and for making a college education more affordable and more accessible.

— Susie Stern, the immediate past chair of the board of UJA-Federation of New York and immediate past president of the National Women’s Philanthropy of United Jewish Communities, and Steve Grossman, the past president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and former chair of the Democratic National Committee

John Edwards
American Jews have always been at the forefront of the fight for social justice, whether in the labor movement or the civil rights movement. We understand the enormous challenges facing this country and our world. We know that what America needs, and what the world needs, is a leader with the courage and strength to lead our great nation forward.

All three Democratic candidates are on the record as strong supporters of Israel. While continued support of Israel is of paramount concern to the American Jewish community, it is not the only issue we consider when choosing which candidate to support for president. Please allow me to offer the other reasons for my unqualified support for my friend, John Edwards.

Sen. John Edwards’ deepest values reflect tikun olam — the ancient doctrine that we must “repair the world.” He knows that we in the United States, the most powerful nation on the planet, have two responsibilities. We have a responsibility to America — to stay strong and secure. But we also have another responsibility — to humanity.

Sen. Edwards understands that when we fail to meet the second responsibility, the entire world suffers. We used to be the light the rest of the world looked up to. We were the country of the Marshall Plan and the Peace Corps — not Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. We need to return to our proud past and to become, once again, a beacon for the world.

— Marc Stanley is a partner at Stanley, Mandel & Iola, a law firm located in Dallas

Rudy Giuliani
Rudy has committed to leading America toward energy independence, expressing a desire to mobilize the nation behind a full-scale initiative similar to the Apollo Project that culminated in millions of people worldwide witnessing an American astronaut walk on the moon.

Our national dependence on oil is not simply an environmental concern but also an issue of national security. The reality is as long as our nation continues to rely on oil — much of which we must obtain from foreign sources — to fuel so much of what we do, we are in the dangerous and costly position of financing our enemies.

That has to change, and with Rudy in the White House, America will immediately begin down the path to energy independence.

Rudy is focused also on decreasing the cost and increasing the quality of American health care through the only vehicle that can successfully do both — the free market. The millions of Americans who are uninsured deserve access to affordable, high-quality health care. By creating a tax-free-income exclusion for those without employer-based health care, expanding Health Savings Accounts and providing health-care tax credits to lower-income Americans, Rudy will help them get it — and he’ll do so via distinctly American solutions.

— Norm Coleman is a U.S. senator from Minnesota and serves as Minnesota state chair and Midwest regional chair for the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee

Mike Huckabee
As a prerequisite to discussing the merits of a Huckabee presidency, it is necessary to examine the Jewish attitude toward Christian religious expression in politics.…

Jews might not agree with the political philosophy of Evangelicals, but there’s no denying they are Israel’s greatest friends.…

Many of our old alliances have broken down, and expressions of hostility to Israel, Zionism, and even Judaism are becoming increasingly frequent in some quarters on the Left....

Our shared agenda doesn’t end at Israel. For decades it has been Evangelicals like Mike Huckabee who have led the fight against poverty and who are now pushing for good stewardship of the environment, a solution to the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and an end to human rights violations around the world....

The great rabbi and social activist Abraham Joshua Heschel marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — a Christian leader — to promote civil rights. Perhaps it is time for Jews to join forces with another Baptist minister to confront the challenges of the 21st century.

— Jason Bedrick is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives

John McCain
I know that it is unusual for someone who is not a Republican to support a GOP candidate for president. But the dangers we face as a nation are too profound, and the challenges we face too real, for us to play partisan politics with the presidency.…

I have worked with Sen. McCain on just about every major national security issue over the past 20 years — from stopping the genocide in the Balkans, to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, to creating the 9/11 Commission and enacting its recommendations into law. I have seen Sen. McCain, time and again, rise above the negativism and pettiness of our politics to get things done for the country he loves so much.

Sen. McCain has quite literally dedicated his life in service to America. He has fought in uniform on the front lines against America’s enemies, and has been tested under fire like no other candidate in this race.

It is more than his unrivaled experience that makes Sen. McCain so qualified to become president, however. It is character and leadership.

Throughout his career, John McCain has proven that we can trust him to do what is right for our country, not only when it is easy, but when it is hard — and to do what is necessary, not only when it is popular, but when it means standing against the tide.

— Joe Lieberman is a U.S. senator from Connecticut

Barack Obama
As a legislator in Illinois and now as a United States senator, Barack Obama has been an ironclad supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship and repeatedly has been at the forefront ensuring Israel’s security in the face of Palestinian terrorism, Hizbullah rocket attacks, threats from Syria, and a burgeoning Iranian nuclear threat.…

Senator Obama has been vocal in condemning Hamas and Islamic Jihad rocket attacks into the southern Israeli city of Sderot, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Israelis in 2006 during Israel’s war with Hizbullah.

“When Israel is attacked,” he said, “we must stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself.”

But like the vast majority of the American Jewish community, Barack Obama believes that a comprehensive settlement — including Israel and a peaceful Palestinian state living side by side — is the best way to ensure Israel’s security and guarantee that Israel will always be a Jewish state. He commended Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for coming to Annapolis to launch a renewed effort to negotiate peace. As president, Barack Obama will make a personal commitment and a sustained effort to help the parties succeed in their negotiations.

— Robert Wexler, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida, is the chair of Barack Obama’s Florida campaign

Mitt Romney
At the peak of his business career, Mitt was asked to take over the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. At that time, the Olympics were beset by scandal and had fallen deeply into debt. Mitt took over and, as he had done with so many companies, he went to work turning things around.

The result was one of the most successful and profitable Olympics in history, even in the face of security concerns following 9/11.

Following the Olympics, Mitt brought needed leadership to Massachusetts. I have long been impressed by what he accomplished during his term as governor — strengthening education, laying the foundation for private, market-based health insurance for all, and cutting the size and cost of government. Without raising taxes or increasing debt, Governor Romney closed a nearly $3 billion deficit. Each year he filed a balanced budget without raising taxes....

As president, Mitt will govern by emphasizing his core principles: faith in free enterprise and free trade, accountability in education, personal responsibility, tolerance, strong families, and a strong national defense. Our country faces what could be a defining moment in shaping its history, and I believe Mitt Romney can provide the kind of leadership that is sorely needed.

— Mel Sembler, the national finance cochair of Romney for President, is a former U.S. ambassador to Italy and former honorary chair of the Republican Jewish Coalition