“The 2012 Race Will Be Bitter”

By COLlive reporter
Photos by Maxine Dovere and Ruvi Leider

U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman was warmly welcomed by over 1000 people as the featured speaker at the Sixth Annual Gershon Jacobson Lecture, held on October 3rd in Manhattan’s famed Park East Synagogue.

Sponsored by the Shefa Yamim company, Senator Lieberman’s lecture on “the two subjects banned from most families’ dinner tables” – Religion and Politics – was hosted by the Gershon Jacobson Continuity Foundation (GJCF) and The Algemeiner newspaper.

The annual lecture was established in 2005 after the death of Gershon Jacobson, the long-time editor and publisher of the The Algemeiner. GJCF’s is run by his son and author Simon Jacobson and Dovid Efune.

Lieberman opened his speech with glowing praise for The Algemeiner and the GJCF, pointing out that these entities serve as the “independent truth telling advocates for the Jewish people and Israel” and bridge builders to bring the “wisdom of Jewish tradition to the modern world.”

Lieberman’s talk went on to combine the best of an exhorting sermon, an exciting rally, and an extraordinary commencement speech.

Emphasizing throughout his lecture America’s founding fathers’ cornerstone dream of national religious freedom and acceptance, Lieberman asserted passionately that America defines itself by “its values and its purposes,” and was, from its beginning, an “initiative” based on faith.

“Elected officials are not polling well,” the Senator quipped, “but God continues to do very well in America.”

The Senator attributes God’s “edge in the polls” to the Declaration of Independence, where America’s founders expressed the fundamental right to personal religious freedom – and the national freedom from establishment of an official religion. By guaranteeing this level of freedom, the Senator said, they founded a nation that lives by what President Lincoln termed “a kind of civic religion… (where) people of all religions are welcomed and given their pla ce in the public square.”

And for that, the Senator said, “God Bless America,” going on to note that in 5772 years of Jewish history, Jews have had more freedom, success and opportunity in America than anywhere except Israel. In the Senator’s opinion, the only stumbling block to Jewish success in America is the limitations Jews place on themselves: “Fear of anti-Semitism among Jews is much greater than the reality of anti-Semitism among Christians,” he said.

When a hand lettered sign reading “Viva Chutzpa” appeared at an Hispanic presidential rally, said the Senator, it represented to him the “basic sense of opportunity that America provided… a ticket with a Jewish American got a half million votes more than the other ticket – an objective indicator of the religious tolerance that was the dream of our founders.”

Commenting on the upcoming 2012 Presidential election, Lieberman said he “does not share the anxiety about candidates’ open professions of faith…Jews get nervous, remembering that such discussions are often a precursor to bad times,” he said, but quickly advised, “Keep in mind the extraordinary history of religious freedom, tolerance and acceptance, and the constitutional framework that protects us.”

Further, said the legislator, we are living in a “remarkable time when the relationship between Christians and Jews is at an unprecedented good level.” He gave special recognition to the “great movement of change” among Christian Evangelicals.

Lieberman warned that the 2012 campaign “will be partisan, bitter, and personal.” Clearly stating that he was “not endorsing any candidate,” he noted that, should one of the two Mormon candidates in the Republican be nominated, “it will break a barrier – the first time a Mormon will be running. I hope the Jewish community is in the lead to make sure they are judged in the American way – based on qualities and not based on their faith.”

“It’s a tough time in American life,” Senator Lieberman acknowledged as he wrapped up his speech. “Hundreds of millions of Americans are pessimistic about America’s future. I don’t buy this pessimism. This century will be another great century for America. Don’t ever sell such a nation short!”