The Jewish High Holidays are upon us, so naturally it’s time for the White House to feed political talking points to rabbis.<\/p>\n
As has become its annual practice, the Obama administration on Thursday convened a conference call with several hundred rabbis and Jewish leaders. According to a participant on the call, President Obama promoted his jobs bill\u201d\u201dnoting that those who have been more blessed should pay their fair share\u201d\u201dand briefed the rabbis on U.S. efforts to counter the push for a declaration of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations.<\/p>\n
I was on another such call recently, the purpose of which\u201d\u201daccording to the Jewish rabbinical group that invited me\u201d\u201dwas to help listeners “understand the current state of the economy; learn about the impact of the proposed budget cuts on the poor and disenfranchised; consider the consequences of the increasing gap between the rich and poor in America; and, glean homiletic and textual background to help prepare their High Holiday sermons on this timely topic.”<\/p>\n