By Robert B. Spitzer, other
Shortly after I became president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Sen. Patty Murray called me to wish me well in the new position. She asked how she could continue to work with our Jewish community and our social service agencies.
I suggested she meet with our community. She proposed that I could convene a small group of leaders from agencies and organizations for a unscripted conversation. Within a few days, we had scheduled a meeting at my office and invitations were e-mailed out. On Aug. 13, I hosted about 25 members of the Jewish community for a wide-ranging discussion with Senator Murray. In this limited space, I want to take a moment to share with you three key topics we spoke about.
I have had a longstanding friendship with Senator Murray and was part of the group that took her to Israel in 1997. During that trip, we saw how Israel was working to establish a peaceful relationship with the Palestinian Authority and met with several Palestinian leaders, including their chief negotiator. We also heard about some of the topics in today’s news — the search for peace, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and so forth.
At our meeting, Senator Murray expressed strong solidarity for Israel, noting that her own feelings have strengthened as she watched the toll terrorism has taken on Israel and the prospects for a permanent settlement between Israel and the Palestinian people.
She also recalled visiting the Golan Heights and has not forgotten the threat Syria poses to a peaceful and stable Middle East. Because Syria continues to acquire missiles and weapons of mass destruction and because Syria remains a haven for terrorist groups, she told our group that she had co-sponsored the Syrian Accountability Act.
She expressed some reservations about the directions the Bush Administration has taken regarding broader themes in the Middle East and asked us for our thoughts on issues like Iraq.
In addition to Israel, one of the major jobs the Jewish Federation has is to help fund social service programs in our community and to represent the interests of our human service agencies with our government. Because of her strong interest in human services and her committee assignments, Senator Murray has long been an advocate and an effective partner in our efforts to help those people in need. One key issue we spoke about was legislation to reauthorize federal welfare reform. The final version of that bill is very important to our Jewish Family Service. Senator Murray’s positions on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions makes her a key player in reauthorizing this law. She is aware of the needs of our community and spoke about some of her solutions to challenges faced by single parent families, people caught in an economic downturn and especially how to provide effective care for children.
Several participants expressed concern over recent Supreme Court decisions, noting that they felt church-state protections have become even more important because of the situation in the Middle East. It was suggested that events following from 9/11, a sluggish economy and other factors might combine to increase anti-Semitism. Senator Murray added to this discussion by noting the need to balance the need for increased security without compromising civil liberties.
I hope convene similar meetings with other elected officials during my term as president of the Jewish Federation. Our goal is to provide our elected officials with a clear understanding of key issues of concern to our community and to recognize the diversity of views we have.