The executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America expressed disappointment with Jewish activists who have attempted to use Judaism – and Senator Joseph Lieberman’s personal Jewish observance – to criticize the Connecticut lawmaker for his opposition to a Congressional health care bill that contains a “public option.”
Some religious representatives of Jewish and other groups have accused Mr. Lieberman, because of his opposition to a particular version of the health care reform bill, of not properly expressing his religion’s ideals. One group, the Philadelphia-based Shalom Center, has gone so far as to call on the senator to “do teshuva” and “bring… the values of an ‘observant Jew’ to the public service of the American people.”
“One can argue the details of the health care bill in good faith,” said Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel. “But to claim that one or another position on those details is mandated by the Jewish faith is simplistic at best.”
“The rabbis of the Mishneh,” the Agudath Israel leader noted, “taught that Torah should not be ‘made into a shovel with which to dig’ – that people should not appropriate the mantle of Judaism to promote their own personal or political convictions. The Torah has much to say about caring for the sick. But turning it into a tool to promote a particular provision of a health care plan – or into a bat with which to pummel an outstanding public servant who happens to think that provision is objectionable – dishonors the Torah.”
It is ironic, Rabbi Zwiebel added, “that people who are usually disapproving of anything that smacks of mixing religious beliefs and politics here are so harshly criticizing an observant Jew for not hewing to their particular notion of ‘faith and religious tradition’ with regard to the health care debate.”
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7 Responses
very well put!
Rabbi Zwiebel is a living Kiddush Shem Shomayim!!
Can anyone please tell me why Senator Lieberman came out at the last minute against a medicare buy-in option that he had supported and argued for for many years?
One major problem is the tremendous amount of money given to all politicians by lobbies. Would Judaism permit a witness who had received large amounts of money from one side in a dispute?
3, because nuch ala maysas Joe Lieberman is a democrat and he will do what all democrats do which is why he cannot be trusted.
Well put maybe – but it equally apblies to so much of the nourishket written here in support of conservative positions.
The issue with Lieberman is his 180 turn around, breaking the proposal for medicare expansion that he supported vocally but 10 days earlier.
I am old enough to remember the conservative opposition to Medicare in the 60s – I mean the sky was going to fall – it was going to be the end of our freedoms in healthcare – it was communism come to America. Now it’s a ho hum part of our system (as is Social Security, which itself came under the same kind of attacks 25 years earlier)
I bet that the same thing will happen here. Gone will be pre-existing condition restrictions, caps on annual coverage, uncovered kollel families, etc – and in a few years the healthcare changes will become a ho hum and appreciated part of our system.
And by then the conservatives will have a new “Oh-my-G-d-it’s-the-end-of-the-world-conspiracy” to peddle.
Yawn
YonasonW, I remember when Ronald Reagan wanted to do “means testing” of Social Security, Medicare, and unemployement. The Democrats said no.
I don’t know where you work in state government, I have worked for the feds before as well as my family members who are currently and previously employed by the federal government. It was my experiences with working within the bureaucracy which turned me from an idealistic, 18 year old liberal, to a conservative.
You are right about the conservatives though. They take for granted that people know and understand what to them seems obvious. It is up to conservatives to keep on educating the public about conservatism, the principles of liberty that the Founding Fathers used to base the Constitution on, and most specifically, explain in everyday dollar and cents terms how much it is costing each and everyone of us.
Now, if only Rick Lazio would come out in favor of repeal of the 16 Amendment, then that would put fire in the “belly of the beast” of the political process. Halevai……
Flatbush Bubby (# 6)- All of the 3 programs you mention have always had financial eligibility requirements. What you are referring to might be AFDC (Aid for Families with Dependent Children . . . “welfare”) which had no meaningful means or related requirements . . . people could live on it for years. It was eliminated in 1996 under a welfare reform . . . passed by a Democrat majority Congress and signed into law by President Clinton.