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August 11, 2000/10 Av 5760, Vol. 52, No.48
Faith informs Lieberman's public-policy views
SHARON SAMBER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) has been in public life a long time and has left an extensive public trail of votes and positions on the issues. But when Al Gore named the two-term U.S. senator and former Connecticut attorney general as his running mate this week, as much was initially made of Lieberman's religion as his record on the issues.
Lieberman will be the first Jew in U.S. history to be named to a major national party ticket. Perhaps this scrutiny on his religion comes because Lieberman's religious convictions form the base for his political beliefs.
His record shows him to be a moderate Democrat who crosses party lines on certain issues. His moderate approach fits most of the agendas supported by mainstream Jewish organizations.
On many domestic issues, such as gun control, abortion and hate crimes, Lieberman supports much of what those organizations stand for: increased gun control, the right of a woman to choose and national hate crimes legislation.
One issue that may define him as a candidate is school vouchers, using government money for private schools. Lieberman co-sponsored legislation in 1995 that would have provided vouchers to low-income parents to send their children to public, private or parochial schools. Most Jewish organizations oppose school vouchers on the grounds that government funding of parochial schools violates the separation between church and state.
But Orthodox groups side with Lieberman.
"He has been a key champion of school choice in the Senate," said Abba Cohen, director and counsel of the Washington office of Agudath Israel of America.
Another issue that may demonstrate Lieberman's pragmatic approach is his stance on prayer in public schools. While he generally opposes such prayer, in 1992 Lieberman spoke out against a Supreme Court decision that struck down prayer in school graduation ceremonies.
"Students who are graduating will lose much more than they will gain from the prohibition of prayer at their graduation," he said.
The Supreme Court this year said student-led prayers at high-school football games are not constitutional. The court is expected to address the issue of student-led prayers at graduations in the coming term.
Lieberman also takes a centrist approach to foreign policy. A strong supporter of Israel and foreign aid to the Jewish state, Lieberman did not want to pressure the administration to advance an American peace plan while Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were going on last year. In a letter to the administration from 81 senators led by Lieberman, he said, "It would be a serious mistake for the United States to change from its traditional role as facilitator of the peace process to using public pressure against Israel."
Lieberman also has showed his disapproval for the administration's use of a waiver to postpone moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in the interests of national security. In 1999, Lieberman and nine other senators sent a letter sternly warning President Clinton against invoking the waiver, saying it would be inconsistent with the intent of Congress.
"Non-fulfillment of the law does no good to the U.S.-Israeli relationship or to prospects for Arab-Israeli peace," the letter stated. Clinton exercised the waiver at that time, but he indicated after the failed Camp David summit last month that the administration would reconsider its position.
Lieberman has said his Orthodox beliefs play a major role in his politics. In an interview several years ago with Reuters, Lieberman said that his religious upbringing and education contribute to his identity. "And who I am determines how I vote on particular issues," Lieberman said.
Lieberman has said he would break Shabbat in cases of an emergency and he has walked from his Georgetown home to the Senate, several miles across Washington.
But one of the most memorable stands that Lieberman took was not on a policy issue, but rather on Clinton's behavior during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
In September 1998, after Clinton admitted he had a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, Lieberman called Clinton's behavior "disgraceful."
"Such behavior is not just inappropriate. It is immoral. And it is harmful, for it sends a message of what is acceptable behavior to the larger American family," Lieberman said. "The misconduct the president has admitted ... may help to blur some of the most important bright lines of right and wrong in our society," he said.
Lieberman's strong moral stand, many analysts say, will help Gore distance his ticket from the problems of the Clinton administration.
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