A First Synagogue Visit, With Democrats for Bush

A few weeks ago, I was a Roman Catholic visiting a Mormon temple. Last Sunday, I was in a synagogue for the first time in my life. One of the sad distinctions from my previous assignment was having to pass a security check before being allowed inside this particular house of worship. A reader had sent me a notice of a forum organized by the Jewish Policy Center. The title was intriguing: "Liberal Roots and Conservative Solutions: A Jewish, Conservative View of Policy Issues Concerning the Jewish Community." The panel was moderated by Michael Medved, radio talk show host and film critic. It consisted of John Podhoretz, a New York Post columnist and author of "Bush Country;" Steven Emerson, an expert on terrorism and fundamentalist Islam; David Horowitz, author of "Radical Son" and former anti-Vietnam activist, and Michael Ledeen, influential scholar and noted author of several books on the Middle East. The forum took place at the Park East Synagogue on East 68th Street in Manhattan. After a security guard scanned me for possible weapons and my name was verified on the checklist, I was directed to the sanctuary. Outside the door, a man stood with a basket of extra yarmulkes for the men to wear before entering. Unfamiliar as I am with Jewish protocol, I was unsure if wearing one was required or merely worn out of respect. The large sanctuary filled up quickly, and I noticed a tall, rather distinguished white-haired gentleman looking in vain for an empty seat. He carried a yarmulke in his hand as if he didn't know what to do with it, and, for some reason I can't explain, this annoyed me. I was reminded of the pre-Vatican II days when women's heads were required to be covered in church. Many a time I ended up fastening a tissue with a bobby pin as a makeshift covering. We did it to show respect for a house of worship and I felt this man should have done the same even though this wasn't a religious ceremony. The forum started off with a greeting by Rabbi Arthur Schneier, who welcomed the assembly to the 114-year-old landmark synagogue. The rabbi, a survivor who lost his family to the Holocaust, spoke of the amazement that he felt on his return trip to Budapest to see the President of Israel welcomed there on the 56th birthday of Israel. Anyone who naively believes that all New York Jews are liberals is very much mistaken. There were quite a number of Bush/Cheney buttons on lapels and handbags in the audience. Mr. Medved said that the American Jewish community needs to reassess its view of the world and redefine its view on the Middle East. He claims that it is not awakening to the truth of the war in Iraq. Jews, he implied, have a rich heritage of logic and process of rational thought, but he said that self-appointed gurus are distorting the truth and leading them astray. The format of the forum had Mr. Medved playing devil's advocate by asking the panel members to answer the hard-hitting questions that the left routinely toss out to bash the right. Questions like, "What about the Bush family connection to the Saudis, and why did they sneak them out of the country after 9/11?" "Isn't the religious right's support for Israel really just a coverup for a secret agenda to convert the Jews?" "Isn't Bush's war on Iraq just paying off his father's debt?" Of course, these experts also had to field questions about the WMDs and the United Nations from the audience and if I had taken shorthand in high school instead of Latin, perhaps I could have preserved their answers more concisely. I learned that the Saudi 9/11 rumor is a lie and that the Saudis assisted the FBI in its investigation. The bin Laden family provided crucial DNA samples to help identify Osama should he be captured or killed. I learned that televangelist Pat Robertson went to President Nixon to secure crucial aid for Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which turned the tide of that conflict. I learned that George W. Bush's administration is a negative rebuke of his father's, and, according to the many comments made by Mr. Podhoretz, he is the best friend Israel has ever had. The audience loudly agreed. Although one might suspect that the Republican National Committee sponsored this forum, postcards being passed out at the exits were addressed to the president and expressed goodwill and a blessing for four more years. It was signed "Sponsored by Jewish Democrats for Bush." One thing I noted while waiting for the proceedings to begin was how much the synagogue's sanctuary looked very much like my old parish of St. Cecilia's in East Harlem. The beautiful stained glass windows also had names of the donors on plaques. The intricately carved balcony and the pillars supporting it brought back a flood of memories of the masses attended there. How I wish that all people of faith would concentrate more on the bounty we share in common than in the little that divides us.