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May 4, 2007
Lieberman speaks of hope
In Montreal, senator speaks about freedom, law, good and evil.
ERIN RAMSAY
After a week of unseasonable snow storms and generally poor weather,
the beautiful skies and temperature were a breath of fresh air and
a welcome change of pace for Montreal. And that is exactly how to
describe the visit of United States Sen. Joseph Isadore "Joe"
Lieberman to the city last month.
The Independent senator from Connecticut ventured north to speak
at the Second Annual Evelyn and Samuel Margolick Memorial Lecture,
which took place at Congregation Zichron Kedoshim on April 22. After
congregation president Nachum Siegel and Lionel Margolick said a
few words, Rabbi Avrohom Jacks introduced the senator with a quote
from Maimonides, who said we must view life as a scale of good versus
evil that is in perfect balance and that the next act will tip the
balance in the eternal struggle. Jacks likened this idea to the
senator's position in the U.S. Senate, as an Independent sitting
with 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans.
Lieberman spoke in a warm, friendly manner and with candor, beginning
with stories about the 2000 presidential election. Not surprisingly,
one of the senator's most ardent supporters was his mother who,
on the eve of his formally accepting the vice-presidential nomination,
was the guest of TV talk show host Larry King. King asked Lieberman's
mother, "Growing up, what did you say to Joe when he made a
mistake?" She replied, "Mistake?" A few days earlier,
at a private reception, she had told Al Gore, "Mr. Vice-President,
you made the right choice!"
Lieberman said that the American people had been very accepting
of his running on the Gore ticket and that "the fear of anti-Semitism
among Jews was much greater than it really was in America."
When later asked about the readiness of the United States for a
minority leader, he described his country as being in a very open
time and that it was a distinct possibility, mentioning Barack Obama
and Hillary Clinton. He said that he found it curious that there
seemed to be a remaining bias against Mormons (although he did not
mention Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney by name).
The senator said he was excited to be able to take a religious tack
in his talk, as he "doesn't get to do this on the floor of
the Senate." He remarked that he was addressing a Jewish audience
at a very auspicious time in our calendar - between Passover and
Shavuot. He juxtaposed the two holidays, describing them as two
of the most important holidays of year, but noting that Passover
is the most observed while Shavuot is the least observed. He likened
the Counting of the Omer, the period between the two holidays, to
our present-day journey, as we live in momentous times, he said,
alluding to the situation in the Middle East. We have many issues
to tackle, he added, in deciding the type of society in which we
want to live.
Lieberman extolled the virtues of "the law promulgated at Sinai."
He strongly believes that the "Jewish people didn't become
a nation until we received the law, the Ten Commandments,"
and "that freedom cannot exist by itself without law."
The senator described mankind "as capable of great good and
great evil" and said "the law leads people to right and
good." He then quoted Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary
for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Sharing his emotions about a recent visit to the Holocaust museum
in Washington, Lieberman pointed out that "each atrocity was
an act of man and act of choice" and "that evil breaks
through that is so intense and psychopathic that you have to fight,
it won't just go away."
He affirmed that this is a lesson of the Holocaust: we must "confront
evil when we see it and don't turn away." He stressed, "When
we say 'Never again,' it has to be for everyone," pointing
to the massacre in Rwanda and the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Darfur,
Baghdad and Iran.
Lieberman fielded several questions on the conflict in the Middle
East. Before dealing with specific issues, he pointed to bipartisan
legislation he passed with Sen. John McCain in 1998, calling for
the ousting of Saddam Hussein. He said he felt it was necessary
to intervene in Iraq but that terrible mistakes had been made in
the prosecution of the war. This comment was softened when he said
he disagrees with many of President Bush's policies, but, with respect
to Islamic terrorism, "he gets it."
Lieberman closed with a story from the Midrash. When Moses was at
the Red Sea, he said, the waters did not part until someone had
the courage and faith to believe, and it wasn't until someone walked
into the water that they parted. Lieberman challenged us all to
believe that we could tip the scales for good.
Erin Ramsay is a software engineer. He resides in Montreal
and writes about local events for the Jewish Independent.
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