The below is posted at JillStein.org. For the time being, I’ll leave it to readers to discuss the claim that Dr. Stein is the first Jewish presidential contender.
Jill Stein, the first Jewish contender for the presidency of the United States of America, called today for the international community to heed the findings of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine and to take immediate steps to ensure that Israel comply with its responsibilities according to international human rights law. Specifically, Dr. Stein reiterated that as president, she would require Israel, as well as other nations, to uphold international law and human rights as a condition for further U.S. aid. In particular, this would require Israel to end human rights abuses, and respect the rights of Palestinians and other peoples living under Israeli rule.
The Green Party of the United States has long been a leader in standing up for the rights of all peoples living under military rule and racial apartheid, and the Palestinian people are no exception,” said Dr. Stein. “I am proud that our party platform reflects our universal and consistent commitment to human rights.”
Today’s statement adds to earlier statements Dr. Stein has issued detailing immediate steps regarding U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine that she will implement on taking office (U.S. policy to Israel, Palestine must change, says Stein – May 15, 2012).
The 2012 platform of the Green Party of the United States urges support for “popular movements for peace and demilitarization in Israel-Palestine, especially those that reach across the lines of conflict to engage both Palestinians and Israelis of good will.” The platform specifically recognizes the rights of self-determination of all peoples in Israel-Palestine, the legal right of return for refugees from the conflict, the suspension of U.S. aid to Israel, the use of boycott and divestment as non-violent means to pressure corporations and the Israeli government to end human rights abuses, and the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, “whose inaugurating action would be mutual acknowledgement by Israelis and Palestinians that they have the same basic rights, including the right to exist in the same, secure place.”
Dr. Stein added that, “The Green Party is the only political party in the U.S. that reflects the views of a growing number of American and Israeli Jews, including especially younger Jews who insist that Israel honor its proclaimed mission of being a ‘Beacon to the World’ and a ‘Light unto Nations.’” She pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu does not speak for the majority of Israeli Jews, never mind Israeli citizens, in his war-hungry policy toward both Palestinians and Iranians.
“Bibi is a threat not only to human rights and to U.S. interests, but also to the security and sanctity of the Jewish people living in Israel-Palestine.” Dr. Stein further applauded the actions of the Israeli political party Meretz in committing for the first time to support for a return to 1967 borders, including a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, and for supporting the 2002 Arab Peace Proposal.
Dr. Stein, a Massachusetts physician and past political opponent of Mitt Romney, is the first Jewish candidate to appear on ballots nationwide for the presidency. The first Jewish-American candidate to appear on any national presidential ticket was also a Green Party candidate: Winona LaDuke was the Green vice-presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000; LaDuke’s mother was of Russian Jewish descent, and her father was an Anishinabe man from Minnesota.
Comments removed from this thread; see archive.org to find them.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2012/10/01/interview-with-green-party-candidate-jill-stein-part-one/
By her own account Dr. Stein is currently in an agnostic family. She is Jewish by descent and uprbringing all of her grandparents being roughly turn of the century immigrants from Eastern Europe. She grew up in the North Shore Congregation Israel. Her residence was in Highland Parks IL. She indicated that what she was very influenced by what she learned in her religous uprbrininging
When I spoke with the executive director of North Shore they did not know who she was but knew her parents Joseph and Gladys
Marc Allan Feldman Post # 33
I agree with you that it is important for a person
who is Jewish also needs to know who is also Jewish. However you are wrong that all person born to a Jewish mother are also Jewish.
Take the case of a Mamzer (bastard), they are
not Jewish even though there mother is Jewish.
It clearly states at Deuteronomy 23.3:
“A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the congregation of the Lord.”
If you can recall that in the Passover Haggadah
it states that “It happened that Rabbi Eliezer,
Rabbi Joshua, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi
Akiba, and Rabbi Tarfon met in B’Nei Barak…”
At the meeting Rabbi Tarfon told the others that
a Mamzer can purchase a Shifhah Kena’anit
(non Jewish maidservant (slave)) and marry her, then give her freedom as his wife, so their
children will be Jewish.
This can be found in Kiddushin 69a – b. This the
reason Tractate Gittin talks about we bury non-
Jews as are own, viz., Mamzer get a washing at
their death just like Jews. Also remember the
613 commandment do not apply to the Mamzer.
The Mamzer has only to comply with the orginal 7 of Noah.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman,
American Independent Party of California
RTAA
This is correct. It is because there were no paternity tests.
Aside from the issue of rape, women were always suspected of being unfaithful.
So, the father could never be known with any certainty.
You heard wrong. They also consider those converted by an Orthodox Rabbi to be Jews as well. Anyone who led you to believe otherwise misinformed you.
Andy: It seems rather ridiculous to me to only go by the mother. What about the father? Shouldn’t the men count for passing on the ethnicity/religion as well?
Years ago, I heard some woman call in to a radio talk show to explain why this rule was so. She claimed to be Jewish, and have studied Jewish history.
She said that back in ancient times, rape was common. The chance of a woman being raped several times in her lifetime was high. Tribes would routinely raid each other, looting and pillaging and raping.
This meant that you often could not be certain of who the father was. But you always knew who the mother was.
Hence the rule that the mother (but not the father) had to be Jewish.
Naturally, an anonymous caller to a radio show is not the most reliable source, so take it FWIW.
For traditional Jews, it is important to know who is Jewish. It determines what a person’s religious obligations are. It affects who can participate in certain religious ceremonies, who we can marry, etc.
A Jew is someone born of a Jewish mother, or someone who converted. Either way is 100% Jewish, nothing less. King David was the descendent of a convert. I am probably as “hardcore” as you are likely to find here.
I don’t think it is relevant whether Dr. Stein is Jewish or not unless her Judaism impacts her philosophy. Does it effect her vision or her mission.
My Judaism provides support for my libertarian philosophy. I do not quote scripture to convince others, but I find it important to me personally.
1 Samuel 8
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [b] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
Andy @ 27,
“It seems rather ridiculous to me to only go by the mother. What about the father? Shouldn’t the men count for passing on the ethnicity/religion as well?”
These rules were established thousands of years ago. It only very recently became possible to accurately establish paternity, whereas maternity is always pretty obvious.
“paulie // Oct 12, 2012 at 4:32 am
Yes, all of them do, and whether you consider it ridiculous or not that’s just how they do it.”
I’ve heard that the really hardcore Jews only consider people born of a Jewish mother to be real Jews.
Certainly within any group of people there exists a diversity of opinions on various issues, be it Christians or libertarians or Americans or whites or blacks or whatever other way one can think to group people. So it shouldn’t be surprising if there is diversity on opinions of various issues among Jews.
Back in Georgia, I recall at a home in Atlanta
that Sonny Perdue showed up during the issue
of the Bell Confederate Flag restoration campaign. It was a Jewish home so I showed up with a Confederate Flag yamaka.
Sonny Purdue wanted to impress the Jewish dinner guests, so he told the dinner guests that
his wife Mary family was from Huntsville, Alabama and their next door neighbors were
a Jewish Family and that he one visited a Jewish
doctor!
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman,
American Independent Party of California
r.
Let’s go back a bit. Forget the people running for
POTUS. Let’s just go to the Empire of the United
States, viz., Norton I.
I lived in San Francisco for many years, so I recall the story of Norton I.
My friend Barry Goldwater told me that he had
a Jewish father and a Jewish grandchild. Yet he
was not Jewish. Remember, that Barry Goldwater Jr. was Chairman, of California YAF
in the early 1960’s. That would make him an
uncle of a Jew and a Grandson of a Jew, he also
ran for VPOTUS.
Now lets go to George Walace who ran in several
election for POTUS. He had a Jewish uncle that
I met in Florida in 1968 at a meeting of the Jewish Society of Americanist (which changed the name to Jewish Society of America).
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman,
American Independent Party of California
Gene, My friend, Barry
Yes, all of them do, and whether you consider it ridiculous or not that’s just how they do it.
It is based on very old traditions and not really up for anyone living today to change. What should or shouldn’t be is beside the point here, it’s just what is. People who feel it is up to them to decide whether to change such traditions are thus, by definition, not Orthodox or conservative Jews.
And yes, I’m sure.
“paulie // Oct 10, 2012 at 4:51 pm
Orthodox Jews consider converts to be Jewish if they are converted by an Orthodox rabbi. They consider someone Jewish by birth if they are Jewish through their matrileneal descent, i.e. mother’s mother’s mother etc.”
I don’t think that all of them do.
It seems rather ridiculous to me to only go by the mother. What about the father? Shouldn’t the men count for passing on the ethnicity/religion as well?
JD @10: I find it interesting the release emphasizes [Stein’s] faith. Is that supposed to make her criticism of the Israeli state more legitimate?
No, I think it’s to preempt the usual knee-jerk, unfair charges of anti-Semitism, which often follow any criticism of Israel.
In 2004 it was uncovered that John Kerry was a descendent of Fritz Kohn, a Jew from Moravia, who came to America, became a Catholic and changed his name.
http://www.praguepost.com/archivescontent/36681-u-s-senator-uncovers-czech-roots.html
So John Kerry, like Barry Goldwater, was ethnically at least partly Jewish. Also both ran for President against warmongers from Texas.
I thought the statement about the FEC matching funds was a typo. I understood it to be as an actual Green Party member because Nader never actually joined. Even if it is a typo the Greens didnt actually unify until 2001 so the statement in question would be correct because Nader ran with a legally distinct organization. It is still slightly misleading. Was Commoner a practicing Jew or just ethnically Jewish?
Oh, wait. My mistake. She is claiming to be the first Jewish presidential candidate. I think it would be Commoner. I also think SLP pres candidate Julies Levin was ethnically Jewish, but I can’t find confirmation.
In someways, Stein ignoring Commoner is pretty outrageous.
Actually, I think Benjamin Gitlow, the Communist Party’s VP candidate in 1924 was Jewish, his parents were, I’m not sure how observant he was, considering his bolshie leanings?
This is another of the Greens/Stein make false statements to make her lok more worthy and special.
Another false statement that comes to mind is earlier in the year when her campaign claimed she was the first GP pres candaite to get FEC matching funds (that would be Ralph Nader in 2000).
And the problem with this article abt the GP and the Russell Tribunal is that the GP is caught up in the bogeyman of a “One binational state”.
Did some digging and this is what I have come up-
Marsha Feinland-PFP 1996
Herbert Lewin- PFP 1988
Barry Commoner- Citizens Party (that is kind of a big one to miss)
Jules Levin- Socialist Labor Party 1976
Roseanne Barr is Jewish. So wouldn’t it be a tie (if in fact no Party has ever nominated a Jew)?
No sense in arguing over what definition of Jewish we will use.
I know about Phillips. I am just asking which one declared for president first in 1992. Does anyone know which campaign began first? If we take a broad interpretation of Jewish to include both by birth and choice.
Not finding anything about Marrou converting to Judaism, other than the letter previously posted here.
Wikipedia again:
Jewish by birth and a native of Boston, Massachusetts, Phillips converted to evangelical Christianity in adulthood[1] and has been associated with Christian Reconstructionism.
Who declared first Marrou or Phillips? They both ran in 1992.
Wikipedia regarding Goldwater:
Goldwater was born in Phoenix, in what was then the Arizona Territory, the son of Baron M. Goldwater and his wife, Hattie Josephine (“JoJo”) Williams. His father’s Jewish family had founded Goldwater’s, the largest department store in Phoenix. The family name had been changed from Goldwasser to Goldwater at least as early as the 1860 census in Los Angeles, California. Goldwater’s paternal grandparents, Michel and Sarah (Nathan) Goldwasser, had been married in the Great Synagogue of London.[5][6] Goldwater’s mother, who was Protestant, came from an old Yankee family that included the famous theologian, Roger Williams of Rhode Island.[7] Goldwater’s parents were married in an Episcopal church in Phoenix; for his entire life, Goldwater was an Episcopalian, though on rare occasions he referred to himself as “Jewish”.[8] While he did not often attend church, he stated that “If a man acts in a religious way, an ethical way, then he’s really a religious man—and it doesn’t have a lot to do with how often he gets inside a church”.[9][10]
Orthodox Jews consider converts to be Jewish if they are converted by an Orthodox rabbi. They consider someone Jewish by birth if they are Jewish through their matrileneal descent, i.e. mother’s mother’s mother etc.
“Is that supposed to make her criticism of the Israeli state more legitimate?”
I would imagine so.
Yes thats why I said by birth. One can be either a practicing Jew or one by birth. I find it interesting the release emphasizes her faith. Is that supposed to make her criticism of the Israeli state more legitimate?
“JD // Oct 10, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Howard Phillips is jewish by birth.”
And Howard Phillips converted to Christianity.
“So that would make Marrou the first, and Stein the second.”
Somebody above said that Andre Marrou converted to Judaism. If true, I would assume that means that he was not born of a Jewish mother, therefore I think that some Jews (at least the Orthodox ones) would not consider him to be Jewish.
Howard Phillips is jewish by birth.
My understanding is that Goldwater was 1/4 Jewish by ethnicity, but was not a practicing Jew. So that would make Marrou the first, and Stein the second.
Also, of course, Joe Lieberman appeared on all ballots as a VP candidate in 2000, and on many ballots as a presidential primary candidate in 2004.
Dennis @ 4 is correct – Barry Goldwater was the first Jewish candidate for President, and he received about 27 million more votes than Dr Stein is likely to get.
Goldwater….
lol, and Root was Jewish when it was convenient.
LP 1972 VP candidate Tonie Nathan is Jewish and she is the answer to the trivia question: “Who was the first woman to receive an electoral college vote?”
1992 LP Presidential candidate Andre Marrou is Jewish by conversion and his running mate, Nancy Lord, is Jewish.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20000914&id=IzEzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iQgGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3607,3990984
I believe that she’s the first Jewish presidential candidate in the same way that Mitt Romney is the first Mormon to ever run for President. lol