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October 15, 2004/Tishri 30 5765, Vol. 57, No. 7
Brotherly support
JENNIFER GOLDBERG
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 Cameron Kerry Photo by Jennifer Goldberg |
Kerry is the youngest of four Kerry siblings (John is second-oldest) and converted to Judaism 21 years ago when he married his Jewish wife. He spoke to a crowd of about 40 people at Greenberg Taurig, a Phoenix law firm.
Kerry, wearing a "JK 'O4" tie decorated with American flags, spoke forcefully about the importance of his brother's message in the few remaining weeks of the election. He said, "We're now down to 22 days - 22 days that are going to have an enormous impact on this country for years to come, from the Supreme Court to economic policy ... to America's role in the world."
Topics such as Israel and the Middle East comprised a large part of Kerry's remarks. While he acknowledged the popular belief that President George Bush is a friend to Israel, he said, "John can be a better friend to Israel than George Bush, because" America can be a stronger advocate for Israel when it has "an American president who is respected in the world."
Kerry's remarks were followed by a question-and-answer session, in which attendees wanted to know about John Kerry's economic policy, his plan to deal with Iran's nuclear aspirations and his attitude toward education programs such as No Child Left Behind, among other issues.
"I hope you'll join in this," Kerry said in closing, "to reach out in your community, whether it's your Jewish community, your neighborhood or your legal community ... to persuade people to make a difference, to get people to the polls, to make sure on Nov. 2 every single vote gets counted."
Attendee Steve Berger said Kerry's remarks were "heartfelt and passionate regarding the need for change of the course of the country. They reinforced those of us who already have an opinion, and I think it was persuasive to anyone on the fence."