Jews & Obama; Elina Kishinevsky-Stern: Bham is "one of a kind"
JEWS & OBAMA
Edited excerpts from a report issued Friday by the Gallup organization:
Although President Obama's approval rating among Jewish Americans has been declining, it has generally declined no more than it has among all Americans.
There is little sign that President Obama is suffering disproportionately in support among Jews; 54% approved of his job performance from Aug. 1-Sept. 15, 13 percentage points higher than his overall 41% approval rating during that time, and similar to the average 14-point gap seen throughout Obama's term.
All in all, Obama continues to do better among Jews than among all Americans, and there has been little change in that pattern so far throughout the first 2½ years of his administration.
American Jews' support for Obama has come into question after Republican Bob Turner won a surprise special election victory Sept. 13th in the heavily Jewish 9th Congressional District in New York. The seat was previously held by Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner and has been reliably Democratic for decades. Some analysts suggested that Turner's victory was a result of the district's Jewish voters sending a message about their dissatisfaction with President Obama's policies.
Photo was taken during a meeting President Obama had with Jewish leaders at the White House.
DRAMA AT UN; NETANYAHU NOT WORRIED
The Israel Action Network (IAN), a project of the national Jewish Federation movement, has collected more than 80,000 names for a petition to counter the unilateral Palestinian statehood bid at the UN this week. The IAN also held a conference call this past week with Israel's US Ambassador, Michael Oren.
This development at the UN -- designed to bypass negotiations and isolate Israel -- has the potential to make things even more difficult for Israel. The Birmingham Jewish Federation and other Jewish Federations are helping Israel respond through our continued support and advocacy for the Jewish state.
Meanwhile, in remarks made today, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the significance of the issue. Palestinians efforts to achieve statehood at the UN will fail because the US intends to veto a resolution in the Security Council, Netanyahu said at his weekly cabinet meeting, according to the Jerusalem Post. Here's more from the Post:
Netanyahu played down the importance of the General Assembly, saying "it is possible to pass any resolution there."
The prime minister was scheduled to leave later this week for the US to meet with US President Barack Obama and address the UN General Assembly. Netanyahu said that his trip has two purposes, to ensure that the bid stops in the Security Council, and to address the General Assembly in order to "present the truth that Israel wants peace, but the Palestinians are doing everything to torpedo direct negotiations."
"After the smoke clears, I hope the Palestinians will come to their senses and return to negotiations," Netanyahu said. A flurry of intense diplomatic activity to prevent the Palestinians' unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations this week is expected to take place in the next few days.
'ONE OF A KIND'
Our small group from Birmingham had a great evening in Atlanta last Sunday night with Rabbi Brian Glusman, former rabbi at Birmingham's Temple Beth-El, and Elina Kishinevsky-Stern. The discussion topic was Jewish leadership and the organizational and personal challenges that confront leaders.
Elina, who, along with her family, came to Birmingham in the 1990s from the former Soviet Union, is married, lives in Atlanta, and has a baby boy, Zachary. (They are pictured here.)
"Thank you so much for inviting me," Elina wrote later on Facebook. "I truly enjoyed speaking about our move to this country and how The Birmingham Jewish Federation helped my family. My family, who still lives in Birmingham, is very fortunate to have found such an amazing and supportive Jewish community. Birmingham, for sure, is one of a kind."
A particularly moving moment came at the dinner when BJF volunteer leader Lisa Engel, who was part of the Birmingham group, was told that she is this year's Susan J. Goldberg Distinguished Volunteer Award winner. (Watch Update for a formal announcement shortly.)
Elina, who had babysat for Lisa's daughters when she was younger and living in Birmingham, talked about what an extraordinary person Lisa was and what an outstanding role model Lisa had been for her as a parent, a person and Jewish leader.
Having this accomplished young woman, whose family we helped start out in Birmingham, with us at dinner was moving and uplifting -- the kind of experience that reminded us of the impact of The BJF and our extraordinary opportunities to connect with people and change their lives permanently.
-- Richard Friedman, Executive Director
