Obama campaign says no to Republican Jewish Coalition

Barack Obama's campaign recently decided that the best way to respond to the Republican Jewish Coalition's ads is to shun the organization.

Representatives for the Democratic nominee will no longer participate in debates and forums with representatives of the RJC, though they will continue to take part in such activities with other representatives of the McCain campaign.

A source in the Obama campaign said the RJC has spread false information about Obama in part through a series of newspaper advertisements.

The decision already impacted one Bay Area debate sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley, when Obama representative Andrew Lachman pulled out days before an Oct. 19 event in Los Gatos. A replacement, Menashe Shapiro of the National Jewish Democratic Council, flew in to debate the RJC state director, Larry Greenfield.

Despite the last-minute change, the event was a success, drawing more than 100 people, said Diane Fisher, director of the federation's Community Relations Council. She felt the switch did not adversely affect the quality of the debate.

"It makes sense that representatives of the NJDC debates representatives of the RJC," she said in an e-mail, "which is what we ultimately had take place."

Said Greenfield, "The Obama campaign has decided they won't debate [the RJC] but all forums are going on. They have been civil and thoughtful discussions. The American political tradition of debate and discussion has withstood this campaign to boycott the Jewish community."

The debate flap comes as some Jewish Democrats have grown increasingly upset over advertisements the RJC has run in Jewish newspapers. The ads have called Obama's views on Israel "dangerous" and labeled his advisers "anti-Israel" and "hostile to Jews."

KGO radio host and Democrat John Rothmann will debate the RJC's Greenfield at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26 at Burlingame's Peninsula Temple Sholom. Because he is not an official representative of the Obama campaign, Rothmann is free to participate.

"I have never been afraid or reluctant to debate with anyone on any subject," said Rothmann, who said he has not seen the latest RJC newspaper ads. "I have, over the years, vigorously objected to the characterization by the RJC of the Democratic Party as being anti-Israel. The attempt to describe Obama as anti-Israel is not only absurd but it is completely false."

At the same time, he said it is "ludicrous to ban or forbid a debate. It's healthy and constructive, and I think these kinds of forums are important for our community."

Barbara Mortkowitz, a local RJC member, condemned the Obama campaign's decision to freeze out the RJC.

"They can't selectively decide who they should and shouldn't talk to," she said. "They are marginalizing us. What are they trying to hide?"

In addition to the event at Peninsula Temple Sholom, Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco will host a debate at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 between two local attorneys unaffiliated with the RJC or the Obama campaign.

Meanwhile, the debate over the debates continues. Though he counts RJC members among his "dearest friends," Rothmann said the group's line of attack against Obama is "damaging, not true and counterproductive. They ought to be ashamed of themselves."

Countered Mortkowitz: "We're not doing this to be mean, nasty people. It comes out of great concern. My hope is all voices will be heard. Freedom of speech has to go both ways."




Eric Fingerhut is a JTA reporter. Dan Pine is a j. staff writer.