Oren: ‘I believe in your mitzva’
Back home in the community where he was raised, Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, greeted Super Sunday volunteers with a warning about the high stakes facing supporters of Israel.
He framed his brief remarks by holding up a “No Nukes for Iran” car magnet distributed at the event by members of the Teen Advocacy Program of the National Council of Jewish Women’s Essex County Section.
“I was particularly gratified to walk in and be greeted by three wonderful young people who gave me this. This just made my day,” said Oren, who said he would like to see such advocacy become a priority at every American-Jewish institution.
“Why don’t we have banners like this on our JCCs?” he said. “I’m very gratified to see there are often banners on Hillels and Jewish community centers that say, ‘End the genocide in Darfur’ or ‘End the plague of AIDS in Africa.’ All of that is important and it’s important that we as Jews stand up for that.
“But where are the stickers, where are the banners that say, ‘Stop the Iranian bomb’?” he continued. “This represents a threat to a country of seven million people — seven million people in the State of Israel whose future safety and security are jeopardized by a regime that threatens to wipe us off the map and is assiduously working to acquire the nuclear military capability for doing that.”
On a lighter note, Oren joked about the state where he was raised: “I spend more of my time defending New Jersey than defending Israel.”
The ambassador was introduced by his former rabbi, Stanley Asekoff of B’nai Shalom in West Orange. The audience included Oren’s wife, Sally, and his parents, Marilyn and Lester Bornstein, who still reside in West Orange.
Local politicians came out to show their support and make phone calls, including Freeholder-at-large Pat Sebold, who comes every year but skipped 2008 because she was hospitalized. Fully recovered, she said, “I’m happy to be back.”
Gov. Jon Corzine arrived around noon and praised the local Jewish community for its commitment to philanthropy.
“It’s something that’s inspiring to those of us who care deeply about public life and about having a better world to live in. I believe in your mitzva,” he said, “and I believe what you are doing is for the right and benefit of all of us.”
Corzine, who relinquishes the governorship to Republican Chris Christie next month, thanked the community for working so closely with him on issues like Darfur and promised, “I will be back.”
Other dignitaries who attended Super Sunday were Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen; State Sen. Tom Kean, Jr.; Assembly members Mila Jasey, Jon Bramnick, and Tom Giblin; Freeholder Jack Shrier; Mayors Victor Deluca of Maplewood, Sandra Haimoff of Millburn, Joseph Tempesta Jr. of West Caldwell, and V. Nelson Vaughan III of Chatham; Council members Tim Smith of Roxbury and Gary Schneiderman of Livingston; Deputy Mayor Arlene Johnson of Livingston; and Essex County Sheriff Armando B. Fontura.
— JOHANNA GINSBERG
No comments:
Post a Comment