[DMCForum] Even if your not Jewish

[Marc Levy <malevy_nj@xxxxxxxxx>]

by Prof. Alan Dershowitz

There are American Jews who have said recently that
although they
support John Kerry's positions on every major domestic
issue - - from
the Supreme Court to women's rights to gay rights - -
they plan to vote
for President Bush because they believe Bush would be
better for
Israel. 

Respectfully, I believe they are wrong for two
reasons. 

First, I know personally how strongly John Kerry feels
about a safe and
secure Israel. I remember vividly when John went to
Israel with our
dear mutual friend, the late Lenny Zakim, the New
England director of
the ADL. On his return, that's all John could talk
about - - his
admiration for Israel's combination of strength and
determination to
make peace. He has a perfect pro-Israel voting record
in the Senate
and I have no doubt that, as president, John Kerry's
unwavering
commitment to Israel will continue. 

President Bush, though well intentioned on Israel, has
hurt the Jewish
nation's position in the world. The actions of the
United States in
Iraq, especially since President Bush prematurely
declared "mission
accomplished", have been disastrous for Israel. The
failures in Iraq
have weakened the influence of the United States in
the Middle East and
have made it much more difficult for us to thwart
Iran's determination
to develop nuclear weapons aimed at Israeli population
centers. The
Iranian mullahs know that Americans could not stomach
another military
action in Iran while the occupation of Iraq continues.
This reality,
confirmed by President Bush during the first debate,
has emboldened them
to speed up their nuclear program - - a program that
poses the greatest
existential threat to Israel, the Jewish people and
ultimately America,
since an Iranian nuclear program could result in
terrorists with dirty
bombs. The current Bush policy with regard to Iraq has
weakened
America's war against terror by diverting military and
other resources
to a quagmire that is only getting worse.

The second reason is that pro-Israel votes should not
turn an American
presidential election into a referendum on Israel. Our
goal must be
to keep support for Israel a bipartisan issue - - and
in this we have
succeeded. Pro-Israel voters are free in this election
to vote based
on other important issues, such as women's rights,
separation of church
and state and the Supreme Court.

These issues actually coalesce in practice. If
President Bush is
reelected, he will have as many as four Supreme Court
vacancies in his
first year: and he has told us exactly who he intends
to fill them with:
clones of his two favorite justices - - Scalia and
Thomas. A Bush
Supreme Court will put at risk a woman's right to
choose abortion. 
Equally important it will lower the wall of separation
between church
and state and increase the power of the religious
right. Although the
religious right has been very supportive of Israel - -
especially in
comparison with the Presbyterian and Episcopal
branches of Protestantism
- - their agenda for the American future poses
considerable danger to
the Jewish future in America. 

They envision a Christian state with Christian schools
and a Christian
Supreme court. 

Listen to the Texas Republican Party platform which
"affirms that the
United States is a Christian naton" and refers to the
"myth of the
separation of church and state."

Listen to Lou Sheldon, the founder of the "Traditional
Values
Coalition": 

"We were here first..We are the keepers of what is
right and what is
wrong." 

And listen to Ralph Reed, the director of the
Christian Coalition:

"What Christians have to do is to take back the
country..I honestly
believe that in my lifetime we will see a country once
again governed by
Christians.and Christian values."

And to Jerry Falwell: 

"I hope to see the day when as in the early days of
our country, we
won't have any public schools. The churches will have
taken them over
again and Christians will be running them..We must
never allow our
children to forget that this is a Christian nation. We
must take back
what is rightfully ours." 

And to Pat Robertson:

"The Constitution of the United States.is a marvelous
document for
self-government by Christian people. But the minute
you turn the
document into the hands of non-Christian people and
atheist people, they
can use it to destroy the very foundation of our
society. And that's
what's been happening ..If Christian people work
together, they can
succeed.in winning back control of the institutions
that have been
taken from them over the past 70 years."

The Bush Administration supports the lowering of the
wall of
separation. Its prayer breakfasts, its faith-based
programs, its
Ashcroft Justice Department, and its evangelical
rhetoric are all music
to the ears of the proselytizing Religious Right.
Remember President
Bush's inauguration, which was dedicated to "our
savior Jesus Christ"
and seemed more like a Christian prayer service than a
national civic
event? 

A Kerry-Edwards Administration would keep the wall
high. Senator
Edwards has warned that "faith should not be used to
divide us." Jews
especially have an important stake in the separation
of church and
state. We are first class citizens of this great
nation precisely
because no religious tests may be required for holding
office and
because the state may not favor one religion over
another or religion
over non-religion. We must preserve that neutrality
for the good of
America, the good of Jews and the good of the world.


Professor Alan M. Dershowitz is Felix Frankfurter
Professor of Law at
Harvard Law School.



            
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