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Rabbi David Saperstein with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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Last update - 11:23 27/04/2009
'Obama's rabbi': Support for Israel doesn't mean blanket approval
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz U.S. Correspondent
Tags: Israel News, Obama 
'If I see my brother or sister doing something I believe is truly harmful to them - I'm going to say something.'

After Rabbi David Saperstein was appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama to a White House volunteer advisory council of religious and secular leaders and scholars, some called him "Obama's rabbi."

Saperstein, however, is more cautious with definitions. Named America's top rabbi by Newsweek, Rabbi David Saperstein is quick to supply a disclaimer: "They have my mother on the committee."

Saperstein has served for more than 30 years as a leader of the Union for Reform Judaism's Religious Action Center and is the leader of the Washington D.C.-based lobbying arm of the North American Reform movement.
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This week, he sat down to speak with Haaretz on Israel, the peace process, Iran, gay marriage and spirituality.

While he stressed the importance of the connection between U.S. Jews and Israel, the rabbi said he didn't feel support for the country necessarily meant blanket approval of its actions.

"If I see my brother or sister doing something that I believe is truly harmful to them - I'm going to say something even if they are adults that make their own decisions," he said.

"You don't really show your love to someone by remaining silent when they're doing something counterproductive or might harm someone else - if you will say that in order to be supporter of Israel you must agree with all its policies - you're going to alienate millions of people who think of themselves as active Israel supporters."

Saperstein added that he feels "it's far more effective when people who disagree with settlement policies, disagree with government positions on the right of the reform and conservative Jews, join together to support AIPAC for Israel."

In response to a question on American's Jewry's view of the new Israeli government, Saperstein said, "there is a government policy of Israel and there is Israel. They overlap, but they are not the same.

"The Jewish community's love and support for Israel is unbending, as well as their commitment to Israel's security is not affected by any particular government policies."

Saperstein was quick to highlight the role of the reform community in speaking out against Israeli government policy they feel doesn't square with the values of the Jewish community.

"The reform movement has not hesitated to speak out where those policies represented values or policy prescriptions that we think are harmful to Jewish values or the security and well-being of Israel."

He didn't sound fearful when asked if he expected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to clash with the Obama administration.

"If there is an opportunity and one party backs [away] from it - then there will be a tension," he said. "But I think everyone is committed, even if there are tensions, to keep this special relationship with Israel."

The Reform Movement leader also expressed the movement's concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

"We see Iran not only as a threat to Israel directly," he said, "but as an indirect threat to the U.S. and the Western world in terms of what it symbolizes in the context of proliferation of the nuclear weapons worldwide - the chances of nuclear weapons developed by Iran falling into hands of terrorists ? it's a serious threat."

Saperstein also expressed the movement's emphasis on social justice, citing it as the main reason the movement is growing, saying "the polls show that more Jews organize their religious commitment through Tikkun Olam [repairing the world] and their engagement through social justice activities than any other form of expression of Jewish life."

The movement's emphasis on social justice affects its role in some of the more divisive social issues of the day, including gay marriage, which the movement supports, according to Saperstein.

"It looks like a generation from now we'll look with a kind of puzzlement about the intensity of these debates in America, like towards the discriminatory policies towards women and minorities," the rabbi said.

"The direction seems quite clear not just in Jewish leadership with more and more rabbis officiating it, but the Jewish community supporting overwhelmingly the full equality for gays and lesbians."

Saperstein added a warning about global warming, which he said "threatens to destabilize the whole world, and there is no Noah's Arc to protect the Jewish community if global warming erodes the earth's environmental infrastructure - it's up to us to do something about it now.
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  1.   rabbi???????????????? 16:52  |  steve 26/04/09
  2.   If you have the political pull & money, U 2 can be a reform Rabbi 18:41  |  Addler 26/04/09
  3.   Israel love it or leave it 18:48  |  Joe smith 26/04/09
  4.   To #1 19:02  |  Z 26/04/09
  5.   #1 huhh 19:04  |  denverHi 26/04/09
  6.   `Obama`s Rabbi` 19:21  |  jakeoff 26/04/09
  7.   Rabbi Saperstein 19:52  |  The Wise Bard 26/04/09
  8.   Spoken like a true "Reform rabbi". What nonsense. 20:52  |  Baruch 26/04/09
  9.   Obama`s rabbi is the right title 20:56  |  yeiel 26/04/09
  10.   To #4 23:38  |  Boruch 26/04/09
  11.   rabbi? 23:49  |  max 26/04/09
  12.   the real problem 00:07  |  ron 27/04/09
  13.   #7 The Wise Bard: your`s is the only post worth reading 00:48  |  Sarah 27/04/09
  14.   Okay,Like an Emperor without his cloths? 01:22  |  Whiskey 27/04/09
  15.   Jesus Christ 01:35  |  Richard Weissman 27/04/09
  16.   a zoch un vey 01:49  |  Noach 27/04/09
  17.   Rabbi Saperstein 02:43  |  Steve 27/04/09
  18.   insults and nothing more 03:00  |  bored 27/04/09
  19.   Tikkun Olam, and its two sides. 03:20  |  Fortuna Benmayor 27/04/09
  20.   I know Saperstein too but he`s not much of a traditional Jew 03:22  |  Maya 27/04/09
  21.   The Wise Bard 03:27  |  Leon 27/04/09
  22.   Rabbi???? not at all! 05:06  |  max 27/04/09
  23.   This Rabbi is a left wing idiot 05:07  |  Ralph levy 27/04/09
  24.   Diaspora Jews should move to Israel B4 making criticisms 05:15  |  Anglo Israeli 27/04/09
  25.   Critical Support of Rabbi Sapperstein 05:22  |  Echad Ha`am 27/04/09
  26.   This Obama Rabbi following the teaching of Rabbi Hillel 05:36  |  Wedi Asmara... 27/04/09
  27.   If Saperstein Wants To Criticize Israel, Let Him Make Aliyah ! 07:18  |  Ben Israel 27/04/09
  28.   A Great Rabbi 07:25  |  David Cohen 27/04/09
  29.   the Rabbi is correct 07:52  |  Zev 27/04/09
  30.   Just because you support Obama it doesn`t mean you believe or tru 07:55  |  Noel 27/04/09
  31.   Oh my G-d..... 08:17  |  Kobi former swede 27/04/09
  32.   Obama`s rabbi 08:45  |  Nili 27/04/09
  33.   If saperstein is a rabbi....im SUPERMAN! 09:15  |  Fact 27/04/09
  34.   Most dangerous 09:22  |  Israel 27/04/09
  35.   Why is it that objection to Israeli Policy makes you an Ant-Semit 09:33  |  Concerned 27/04/09
  36.   Left is not right! 09:39  |  Mike Malkovitch 27/04/09
  37.   Turkey and Syria in joint military exercises 09:49  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 27/04/09
  38.   #15, Fortuna Benmayor, excellent post 09:53  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 27/04/09
  39.   its a shame 10:17  |  Isaac Moddel 27/04/09
  40.   #.15 Fortuna Benmayor, Nice Post. 10:30  |  Stephen. 27/04/09
  41.   Reply to #25 Semicha 10:30  |  Akiva 27/04/09
  42.   Reply to #15 Reform today 10:44  |  Avi 27/04/09
  43.   #27.Cipora Juliana Kohn, 10:47  |  Stephen. 27/04/09
  44.   Reply to #19 Right to criticize 10:50  |  Joe 27/04/09
  45.   Obama wants Palestinian government to receive aid even if Hamas j 10:55  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 27/04/09
  46.   #23 Chief Rabbi Kobe 10:57  |  Sherlock Holmes 27/04/09
  47.   #29, Stephen 11:32  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 27/04/09
  48.   Surely the Rabbis first priority 12:37  |  Chris Linthwaite 27/04/09
  49.   Social Justice? Tikkun Olam [repairing the world]? 12:59  |  Jeff Northridge 27/04/09
  50.   Not a representative 13:21  |  Binyamin 27/04/09
  51.   irreligious saperstein 13:27  |  darryl 27/04/09
  52.   zev 21 13:35  |  potobac 27/04/09
  53.   c j k 27 13:40  |  potobac 27/04/09
  54.   Jeff Northridge.#34 What if it did? 13:47  |  Roo 27/04/09
  55.   Cipora 13:51  |  Guy from NYC 27/04/09
  56.   #18 Ralph Levy, talks of `left wing idiots`. 14:13  |  Roo 27/04/09
  57.   Kohn--Obama is doing Israel a favour. 14:14  |  Labhras 27/04/09
  58.   WILL ALL DUE RESPECT, PROVE IT 14:21  |  indrajaya 27/04/09
  59.   #31 Cipora you are the expert in Obamania 14:28  |  Ardi 27/04/09
  60.   Reform/J Street versus AIPAC 14:37  |  Roo 27/04/09
  61.   # 29 Stephen 14:40  |  Swiss (Dino) 27/04/09
  62.   "Rabbi" 15:04  |  Emi 27/04/09
  63.   #25 FACT..I sent one yesterday reminding people about Rabbi 15:10  |  Jasmine 27/04/09
  64.   #44 Ardi with his usual nonsense.. 15:40  |  Kathy 27/04/09
  65.   Lets face it Kathy--you dont like the colour of his 16:02  |  Labhras 27/04/09
  66.   potobac Kohn is a german Jew.She lives in Germany 16:08  |  Labhras 27/04/09
  67.   Social Justice 16:25  |  Vladek 27/04/09
  68.   proud 16:52  |  udi 27/04/09
  69.   Did this supposed rabbi underwent brit milah? 17:02  |  Israeli citizen 27/04/09
  70.   Roo # 52 Good Luck With Your New "World Order" 17:15  |  Jeff Northridge 27/04/09
  71.   To Israeli Citizen@6..??Oh oh dear..But isn`t he rather handsome? 17:28  |  Kathy 27/04/09
  72.   ooh Darryl .@51.I liked this part of your response 17:33  |  Kathy 27/04/09
  73.   Jeff Northridge-new world order? Hardly. 18:09  |  Roo 27/04/09
  74.   jews??? 18:46  |  gene42 27/04/09
  75.   #7, #12 19:02  |  Kevin 27/04/09
  76.   Talmud and rebuking 19:31  |  David 27/04/09
  77.   To all you Obama Admirers 19:44  |  Observer 27/04/09
  78.   #64, Kathy 20:33  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 27/04/09
  79.   Hello There CJK..Glad you arrived..Incidently,if you don`t hear 21:33  |  Kathy 27/04/09
  80.   Obama`s holymen 21:42  |  Pasha 27/04/09
  81.   ARMING ISRAEL 02:35  |  Ed 28/04/09
  82.   Indrajaya 02:49  |  Magpie 28/04/09
  83.   Time for a New Approach 03:28  |  Love Thy Neighbor 28/04/09
  84.   There is no wonder the Reform Movement hasn`t made a dent in 04:12  |  Simha 28/04/09
  85.   labrhas 66 04:31  |  potobac 28/04/09
  86.   sofar, I have not liked one obama move 05:56  |  AnInnocentObama 28/04/09
  87.   #79, Kathy 06:36  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 28/04/09
  88.   CJK -France, USSR armed Saddam, not US 06:36  |  Stephen in New York 28/04/09
  89.   The Rabbi who has no positive effect on the Mullhas. 06:47  |  Akram Zekaria 28/04/09
  90.   I like what he has to say 07:24  |  rm 28/04/09
  91.   I guess the same may be said for Israel 08:43  |  lily 28/04/09
  92.   #89 you seem to be the clearest on the state of liberalism 08:49  |  lily 28/04/09
  93.   Saperstein 19:30  |  Joseph Aron 28/04/09
  94.   Re: Talmud and rebuking 09:24  |  Shmuel 04/05/09
  95.   Reform Judiasm 18:07  |  newton 12/05/09
  96.   Re: Jesus Christ 18:26  |  newton 12/05/09
  97.   Obama the Machivellian 05:53  |  Robert 13/05/09
  98.   This rabbi 17:22  |  American Guy 13/05/09
  99.   Obamas rabbi 17:46  |  Nachum 19/05/09
  100.   To Israel 00:05  |  shelly beck 01/06/09
  101.   Sinat Hinam 04:25  |  Eric 08/06/09
  102.   #100 22:33  |  citizenkn 20/06/09
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