October 29, 2004/Cheshvan 14 5765, Vol. 57, No. 9
Religion comes first
MICHAEL MIKLOFSKY
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 Tevi Troy, right, addresses issues of faith and politics at Chabad at ASU on Oct. 14. At left is Stuart Fern, an American Israel Public Affairs Committee student liaison to Arizona State University. Photo by Michael Miklofsky |
Tevi Troy, deputy director of policy for Bush's re-election campaign, spoke about how he has maintained his faith while working a hectic schedule and what it means to be a Jew living in Washington, D.C.
Before joining the campaign staff, Troy served under the current Bush administration as Jewish community liaison and as deputy cabinet secretary. In 2001, Troy wrote a book, "Intellectuals and the American Presidency: Philosophers, Jesters or Technicians" (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, $27.95 hardcover) and served as policy director to then-Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft.
Troy told ASU students and other guests about the lunches Ashcroft would have with his staff, which included each staff member taking turns saying a prayer before the meal. Troy led the prayer several times and said it was Ashcroft's way of embracing the various religious and cultural backgrounds of those who worked for him.
When Troy would have to leave early on Friday afternoons for Shabbat, he remembered Ashcroft saying, "Go! Make sure you get home in time."
The Bush administration holds annual Hanukkah parties and a few years ago, Troy was asked to make the preparations for the event, which required finding a proper menorah and making sure that kosher food was available for guests.
At first, Troy hesitated to accept the opportunity to join the Bush-Cheney campaign, because he knew of the many long days that would be required. He accepted the position when it was agreed that he would have Saturdays off to observe Shabbat.
Brad Wolf, an ASU pre-business freshman who attended Troy's lecture, says he strongly supports the candidacy of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
"I was interested to hear a Republican Jew's views, who worked in the White House under Bush," he says. "(Hearing Troy talk) gave me more of a level of respect for President Bush.
Another student, Israeli-born Tal Yakirai, says that he plans to vote for Bush.
"I just feel that I can see everything that (Bush) has done for Israel," says Yakirai, an observant Jew. "For all the people that work in the White House, to be working together with a religious Orthodox Jew, helps them understand what religious Jews are all about."