God’s delegates - Local rabbis to have roles at Democratic convention

Richard Greenberg

August 21, 2008

http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=9240

Faith and politics will blend seamlessly at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver, the platform for roughly two dozen clergy members who will participate in a series of events aimed at establishing the Democrats' religious bona fides.

Of the participants, seven are rabbis, including three from the Washington area. Most prominent is David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, located in Washington, D.C. Saperstein is scheduled to deliver the invocation a week from today before an estimated 80,000 spectators at Denver's Invesco Field on the night that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is slated to accept the Democratic nomination for president.

The other local rabbis are from Virginia, expected to be one of the battleground states in the election: Amy Schwartzman of Reform Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church and Jack Moline of Conservative Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria. Both emphasized that they are appearing in Denver as private individuals and not as representatives of their congregations.

Not only does Schwartzman lead one of the largest synagogues in a swing state, but she is prominent in the Reform movement nationally, having served on the executive board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and co-coordinated the Women's Rabbinic Network of Reform Judaism.

Among Moline's activities, he chairs the Interfaith Alliance, a national advocacy organization, and is on the national board of the Faith and Politics Institute.

The confluence of rabbis, reverends and imams will likely constitute the largest and most overtly religious presence in the history of Democratic national conventions, according to Natalie Wyeth, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Convention Committee. The religious outpouring is part of an ongoing effort to demonstrate that Democrats can be as faith-focused as Republicans, she said.

"This recognizes the role that people of faith have in our party," Wyeth added. "Religion has always been a part of the Democratic Party, but people are now more comfortable talking about it in a public way."

Wyeth said participants were chosen based on their standing as "well-respected leaders" in their communities and in some cases their participation in the Democratic National Committee's Faith in Action initiative, established in 2005 to "develop and maintain an integrated, strategic plan for communicating with and for organizing in communities of faith around our shared priorities," according to the DNC Web site.

The participating clergy members also were selected with an eye toward presenting a "diverse representation" at the convention, Wyeth added, noting with a laugh that Schwartzman "bat mitzvahed me [about 15 years ago], but I don't think that gives her an unfair advantage."

Other rabbis participating are Tzvi Weinreb, executive vice president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (who is to deliver a keynote at an interfaith gathering); Marc Schneier, an Orthodox rabbi and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; Steve Gutow, a Reconstructionist rabbi and executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; and Steven Foster, a Reform rabbi from Congregation Emmanuel in Denver.

Saperstein said it is important for rabbis and other religious officials to participate openly in the political process because their input can be invaluable.

"A religious voice offers challenge and comfort, and it has played an important role in American public life from the beginning of the republic," he said in an interview this week. Saperstein, who had not yet decided what to say at the invocation, also is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on Tuesday called "Faith in 2009: How an Obama Administration Will Engage People of Faith."

Schwartzman will take part in an officially designated Interfaith Gathering Sunday afternoon, the day before the four-day convention begins. The session will feature eight clergy members who will each recite a self-composed litany (a call-and-response prayer) drawing on their particular faith tradition and elucidating an assigned theme.

The theme of Schwartzman's litany is "our sacred responsibility to our neighbors," and its content will be drawn from the biblical book of Leviticus. "I hope the participants will be reminded that our relationship with our neighbors is a fulfillment of God's vision for us in the world," she said.

Schwartzman said she is "excited and enthused" about participating in "a historic event" ----the nomination of America's first-ever black presidential candidate -- and is "honored to have the opportunity to make a contribution to an important movement toward change for our nation."

She noted, however, that she is "sensitive to the fact that not all of my congregants share my political views," adding: "My job in my congregation is not to be a Democrat, but to hold up the mirror of Judaism to the world."

Moline is slated to participate in an interfaith panel discussion Tuesday titled "Common Ground on Common Good" at which he plans to discuss the Conservative movement's Hekhsher Tzedek kashrut initiative that seeks to address ethical workplace issues as well as the ritual purity of food produced at those sites. "This is an example of something the faith community can do to improve the life of everyone," he said.

Moline is also to join several civil rights leaders and others in a "unity breakfast" a week from today to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, a massive political rally promoting civil rights and racial harmony.

Moline said religion and politics can, and should, coexist comfortably because "most Americans consider faith to be part of their worldview. If decisions are being made that affect the direction society takes, the perceptions of the faith community should be an essential part of that equation."