[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 13, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E335-E336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




STATEMENT BY RABBI ISRAEL ZOBERMAN CONGREGATION BETH CHAVERIM VIRGINIA 
                               BEACH, VA

                                 ______


                          HON. OWEN B. PICKETT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 1996

  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I offer for inclusion into the 
Congressional Record this statement made by Rabbi Israel Zoberman of 
the Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, VA, on February 16, 
1996, at his request.

                A Jewish Response to the Religious Right

       One of the poignant lessons of the Jewish people's story is 
     not to take for granted a hospitable environment which 
     confers equality on all its children. That must mean that we 
     have a stake in preserving and enhancing the quality of 
     American Life. Eternal vigilance is the non-negotiable price 
     that comes along with the previous benefits of a great 
     democratic system of government.
       The United States has flourished due in large measure to 
     its built-in pluralism, a complex and delicate texture that 
     would unravel without one essential thread--the traditional 
     separation between church and state as guaranteed in the 
     First Amendment to the Constitution.
       That principle has been under attack by powerful forces 
     committed to replacing the enviable American way of life with 
     their own sectarian vision. The Religious Right, potentially 
     embracing fifty million Americans, first flexed its 
     considerable muscle at the 1980 presidential elections and 
     has kept faithful to its promise to try to change America as 
     we know it. The proponents of our nation as an exclusively 
     Christian one, have proven to be creative and resourceful.
       Let us not take lightly a movement with a sense of mission, 
     particularly one with a mixture of religious and political 
     aspirations that also happens to have friends in some of the 
     highest offices in the land. In spite of its flirtation with 
     the State of Israel, I assume that the Religious Right counts 
     the Jews among those who will yet have to see the light.
       There is surely a no better place to begin implementing 
     one's radical plan than in the mind of a child. It is no 
     wonder then that our public schools have turned into 
     contested arenas, with children becoming pawns in a scheme to 
     recreate American society. I believe that God should, indeed, 
     be present in our public educational system, but not in a 
     subjective manner upholding a certain religious approach 
     clearly identified or nebulous. God is found where caring, 
     sensitivity, concern and learning permeate the classroom, 
     where a student's and teacher's sacred heritage and secular 
     curriculum are not compromised by undue pressure to conform 
     to enforced guidelines of religious expression of whatever 
     type. The Book of Genesis was not intended to be a scientific 
     textbook. Its thrust was and remains to instill an 
     appreciation for revered ideas and principles. The cause of 
     religion is best served when its teachings and guidelines are 
     expounded upon in one's church, synagogue and mosque, where 
     interpretation is offered according to one's traditions.
       While we should be candid about our fundamental 
     disagreement with the Religious Right, we are duty-bound to 
     emphasize to its supporters and to ourselves that we also 
     share a common agenda.
       The urgent need to stringent family life, though we part 
     ways on the issues of reproductive choice and life styles. 
     The significance of transcendent values and time-tested

[[Page E336]]

     ideals in a pervasively secular and materialistic 
     environment. The positive contribution religion can and 
     should make to the individual and community. The obligation 
     to consciously remedy the ills and shortcomings we face.
       Working together on these weighty themes which unite us 
     all, would hopefully provide us the indispensable platform to 
     discuss differences of purpose and approach. Our opponents 
     need to know that a wrong kind of medication can be fatal to 
     a patient. So it is with improper means employed toward 
     beneficial ends.
       We Jews are not alone in our apprehension, joined as we are 
     by concerned fellow-Americans across lines of religious and 
     political affiliation. Only through such a wide coalition, 
     will we respond most effectively to the challenges 
     confronting the entire American system. A time of crisis is a 
     time of opportunity. May we all dedicate ourselves anew to 
     the kind of America we dare not do without.
       Rabbi Israel Zoberman is the spiritual leader of 
     Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and 
     past president of the Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis and the 
     Virginia Beach Clergy Association.

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