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January 9, 2004/Tevet 15 5764, Vol. 56, No. 16
Dean has strong Jewish ties
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
CONCORD, N.H. - In the middle of a rowdy rendition of "I Have a Little Dreidel" at the Sobelson family Hanukkah party, Howard Dean walks in and declares himself the cantor.
The Democratic presi-dential candidate recites the blessings over the candles in near-perfect Hebrew in a dining room crowded with campaign staffers.
It's just a regular Hanukkah for Dean, the former Vermont governor later says, "except there's usually only four of us, instead of 54 of us."
Dean's most immediate connection to Judaism is his Jewish wife and the couple's two children, who identify themselves as Jews. But Dean says he has been connected to the religion for decades.
Dean never considered converting to Judaism, but he says the family did ponder the prospect of joining the Reform synagogue in Burlington, Vt., though they "never got around to it."
The candidate's ties span from a college friendship with a Zionist activist, to frequent political appearances at Vermont's synagogues, to lighting the menorah and participating in other Jewish rituals at home.
Dean is spending a lot of time in New Hampshire, and it's paying off. He has a healthy lead in polls there, and political pundits have all but anointed him the favorite to win the Democratic primary campaign.
On Dec. 16, Dean paid a local visit to Sun City, Yuma and Sierra Vista.
"He would make the best president of all the Democratic candidates," said Billie Gross, Sun City West resident, who attended the Sun City event.
"I do not think he is too liberal," she said. "He is down to earth ... and seems to have the people in mind, rather than big business."
Gross noted that Dean would also be a friend of Israel because he said he views Israel as a strong U.S. ally.
Lou Goldman, a Sun City West resident who also attended the rally, agreed that Dean would be supportive of Israel, "but I want to know how far."
Goldman noted that one of Dean's strengths is the large number of supporters who have never gotten involved in politics before, namely youth.
"But I am not ready to back Dean yet," he said. "I am not opposed, but I am not ready to endorse him."
Both Gross and Goldman chose the same reason to back Dean, rather than Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D- Conn.).
"I do not think the country is ready for a Jewish president," said Goldman. Too much latent anti-Semitism still exists, he explained.
"He expresses his opinions too forcefully," added Gross. "He would not make much headway with other countries."
Dean's first spiritual home was the Episcopal Church, but he became a Con-gregationalist after fighting with the Episcopal Church in Vermont 25 years ago over a bike path.
Born on Nov. 17, 1948, in East Hampton, N.Y., Dean had a prep-school education and grew up in New York City and at a country house on Long Island.
His first connection with the issues and concerns of the Jewish community came when he enrolled at Yale University in 1967 and became friends with David Berg, a fellow student who was a former president of Young Judaea.
"My memory is that Howard was unusually interested, respectful and accepting of that whole part of who I was," said Berg, a psychologist in New Haven, Conn.
In college, Dean was unafraid to discuss Middle Eastern politics in the tumultuous period following the 1967 Six-Day War.
"Howard was not afraid to have those conversations, not from a critical point of view, but from a curious point of view," said Berg.
Their friendship developed over the years, and Berg counseled Dean on his interactions with the Jewish community - for instance, when he attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and married a Jewish woman.
Berg said Dean felt very comfortable in the environment at Einstein.
When Dean began to date his future wife, Judith Steinberg, a fellow student at Einstein, Berg broached the issue of intermarriage.
"I had slightly mixed feelings about it from the Jewish side," Berg said, "but I got over that quickly."
Dean's family had little problem with the fact that he was marrying a Jewish woman, the candidate said.
"I think the reason it wasn't an issue in my family was because my father was a Protestant and my mother was a Catholic, and when they got married, that was a very big deal," Dean said. "My father, I think, was determined not to put me through the experiences he went through when he married outside his faith."
There was some frustration in the Steinberg household that Judith was marrying a Christian.
"It was a little bit of an issue for Judy's grandmother, because she was of the old school," Dean said.
The Deans soon settled in Vermont, where they began a medical practice and a family. The couple has two children: Annie, who is studying at Yale, and Paul, who is a senior in high school.
"From early on, he was committed to them both, to giving them some Jewish education," Berg said, noting that Dean would take the children to synagogue.
Neither child had a bar or bat mitzvah or much formal Jewish education. Dean has said he allowed both children to choose their religion, and both now identify as Jewish.
Editor Barry Cohen contributed to this article.
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