A couple more thoughts on the election.
In the
euphoria about what it means that America is inclusive enough to elect
an African-American president, there was one blot on the record. In
three states, ballot initiatives were approved by voters that ban
same-sex marriage. I'm having trouble finding the texts of the
initiatives in California, Florida, and Arizona. So I don't know if or
how they apply to "civil unions." As a rabbi who consecrates same-sex
unions, I see this as a civil rights issue. I have many gay and
lesbian friends who feel shut out at least a bit from the celebration.
There is work to do, and I hope at least that the breaking of one
barrier will help with the other.
People
continue to ask about Obama and Israel. One interesting item: Rahm
Emanuel, who may become Obama's chief of staff, is Jewish. As you can
read
here,
Obama's close friend and chief strategist David Axelrod signed the
ketubah at Emanuel's wedding. The article also mentions a colleague,
Rabbi Jack Moline, who used to study regularly with Emanuel at the
Clinton White House. I'm pretty sure that Rahm's son's bris took place
at the White House as well. More on Emanuel's day school background
and links to Israel
here; and also in the
Jerusalem Post. (The Orthodox rabbi mentioned in the Post article is a friend of mine and a real
mensch.)
None of this proves anything about Obama, other than that he has many
close advisers whose commitment to Israel is well-known.
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