Jewish Peaceniks Convene
Originally published in the Jewish Times. Gives the views of various candidates on the Middle East.
A far smaller crowd returned for the final sessions on Sunday morning which featured a Palestinian perspective and a presidential candidates' forum. A soft-spoken James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who said he "grew up on Anne Frank," acknowledged that while dialogue between American Jews and Palestinians is everywhere, they often fail to recognize the real fears. "You were the cowboys and we were the Indians," he said. Calling the "cult of suicide" frightening and troubling, Zogby said, "the daily lives of people must be transformed."
The gloves came off a bit when the representatives of three presidential candidates spoke on behalf of their candidates. Representing the campaigns for Dr. Howard Dean and U.S. Senator John Kerry were two Massachusetts veterans of politics as well as leaders in the Jewish community. Steve Grossman, the national co-chair of the Gov. Howard Dean campaign, is the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, a former candidate for governor and former head of AIPAC. Alan Solomont, advisor to U.S. Sen. John Kerry, is chairman of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Many years their junior, but equally impassioned and articulate, Charles Lenchner, represented the campaign of Dennis Kucinich; Lenchner is also a Brit Tzedek board member.
Solomont said the Bush administration was late in its efforts to try to help resolve the Middle East conflict and that President Bush was "essentially walking away."
"Inaction is no act of friendship," Solomont said, and he affirmed Kerry's position supporting the two-state solution. As president, Kerry would appoint a special envoy to the Middle East, Solomont said, graciously suggesting that Grossman would make a very good candidate for the post. Grossman described Gov. Dean as a "risk-taker for change to serve the cause of peace in the Middle East," noting that Gov. Dean has taken positions not always politically safe. As president, Grossman said, Howard Dean would appoint former president Bill Clinton as a special envoy to the Middle East, as someone who had gained the respect of all parties involved.
Lenchner, who grew up in Israel and served two months in Israeli prison for refusing to serve in what he called the "occupied territories" following his enlistment in the Israeli Defense Forces, said that Kucinich supports the Geneva Initiative and the removal of the settlements.
Note: An earlier report on this conference remarked: ...a gathering of the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace (a.k.a. Brit Tzedek v’Shalom). Founded in 2002, its members are decidedly far left of center. Dennis Kucinich buttons were as commonplace as yarmulkes.
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