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January 14, 2005/Tevet 4 5765, Vol. 57, No. 20
Rabbi's son tapped for Homeland Security chief
RON KAMPEAS
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - Michael Chertoff, the Jewish judge President George W. Bush nominated this week to head the vast Homeland Security bureaucracy, brings a rabbi's son's sensibility to resolving the tensions between protecting Americans and preserving civil liberties.
Bush made clear in his announcement Jan. 11 that he found Chertoff appealing because of his toughness and his sterling reputation.
But Jewish community leaders who know him say the judge would bring much more than that to the position. "I can't sing his praises high enough," said attorney Stephen Flatow, who says Chertoff was instrumental in drafting the USA Patriot Act, which led to the U.S. indictment of a Florida-based alleged leader of Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the 1995 murder of Flatow's daughter Alisa in a Gaza Strip terrorist attack.
Chertoff, 51, would be Bush's second Cabinet-level Jewish appointment: Josh Bolten has run the Office of Management and Budget since 2003.
Chertoff was the top criminal justice official at the Justice Department at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The controversial Patriot Act, which removed the wall between how domestic and U.S. foreign intelligence agencies gathered and shared information, accelerated the case against the Islamic Jihad leader, Sami al-Arian, who faces trial in Florida this summer.
As a result of this legislation, "they were able to put together the case very quickly but thoroughly," said Flatow, who is now chairman of the community relations committee of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest in New Jersey.
Chertoff since has come to question what many consider some of the extremes of the Patriot Act - but that has also earned him Jewish praise.
"To his credit, Judge Chertoff recognized himself that many of things done immediately after Sept. 11 were not things that should have been done," said Paul Miller, the president of the American Jewish Congress. "He's someone who understands the balance we need between protecting people on the one hand, and tools to protect our safety - and also not to destroy our American values."
Chertoff himself emphasized the need for balance in his short speech accepting the nomination.
"If confirmed, I pledge to devote all my energy to promoting our homeland security, and as important, to preserving our fundamental liberties," he said.
Chertoff has strong ties to the Jewish community. Born and raised in Elizabeth, N.J., Chertoff is the son of a rabbi, his two children have attended Jewish day schools and his wife, Meryl, was a co-chairwoman of the regional Anti-Defamation League's civil rights committee when he was the U.S. attorney in New Jersey in the mid 1990s.
Beyond his Jewish ties, Chertoff has an impressive resume: Harvard Law School, U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, partner with the law firm of Latham & Watkins, U.S. attorney, assistant U.S. attorney general. He's now a federal judge on the Philadelphia-based Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Chertoff represents a change of pace from Tom Ridge, the outgoing secretary, who is considered by many as a little too attached to symbolism and the media spotlight and not concerned enough with running the unwieldy bureaucracy created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
It is clear that Bush expects Chertoff to tame the Homeland Security beast.
"When Mike is confirmed by the Senate, the Department of Homeland Security will be led by a practical organizer, a skilled manager and a brilliant thinker," Bush said.
More substantially, Jewish leaders say, Chertoff would bring a rare tendency to reach out to an administration with a reputation for insularity.
Chertoff, a moderate Republican, is well-liked on both sides of the aisle.
"Judge Mike Chertoff has the resume to be an excellent Homeland Security Secretary," U.S. Sen Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
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