Home > About Rich's Work > Rich's Blog: Redeeming Hope
Printable Version
Tell a friend
Mayor Bloomberg and the Jews
On Friday, New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg stood before some 200
people at the Jewish Federation of South Palm
Beach County to set straight a nasty rumor
about Senator Barack Obama, intended to strike
fear into the hearts of Jews. The rumor holds
that Obama is really a Muslim, who will not
support Israeli or even American interests.
Bloomberg went to South Florida to tell Jews
the real story, and his actions lead to this
question: Will each of us stand up when our
turn comes?
Over the years Bloomberg has not made it a
habit to talk publicly about his Jewish faith
or ties to the Jewish community. Nor is he an
Obama supporter. He even tested the waters for
his own presidential run this year, and he is
known to be close to Senator John McCain. But
according to The
New York Times, Bloomberg told the
Palm Beach crowd that the rumors about Obama
represent "wedge politics at its worse, and we
have to reject it - loudly, clearly and
unequivocally."
In Make
Hope Real, I dedicated
Chapter 3 to what I call, "A New Breed of
Leaders," and included Bloomberg among
individuals who are exhibiting a new, promising
kind of leadership.
"The new leaders are people who have highly pragmatic approaches to policy, who seek to find ways to make public life and politics work rather than to disparage it, who vigilantly look for opportunities to engage people in the ongoing process of governing and improving their lives, who try to avoid hyperbolic and heated rhetoric." (pg 26)
But there was another point in that chapter
that I have come to believe is just as
important. Over and over again, people in
communities have asked me, "How communities can
get the leaders they need to make public life
and communities work?" My response: We must
stand by our good leaders when they come under
fire, even when we do not agree with their
positions or political party when, to vouch for
their principles and values.
That's what Bloomberg did last Friday for
Obama. Instead of standing on the sidelines
watching people take pot shots at Obama, he
stepped forward. He did so because he knew that
he held special credibility on this issue with
fellow Jews; and he knew that many of the
people now living in South Florida once lived
in his beloved New York City.
The Times quoted Elizabeth Sadwith of Delray
Beach as saying, "There was no other evidence,
so I believed the [rumor-filled] e-mails."
There are many people across America who might
make the same statement; indeed, perhaps my
103-year old grandmother from Brooklyn, who now
lives in North Miami, has entertained such
thoughts.
Whether or not people end up supporting
Obama is their personal business. But whisper
campaigns to make people fearful must be fought
head-on. Bloomberg has done that, and I
gratefully and enthusiastically applaud his
actions.
Now, the question for each of is: When a
good leader comes under fire, will we stand
next to them and vouch for their integrity and
good will, even if we do not agree with a
particular position or their party?
If we want to change public life and
politics, then more of us will need to follow
Mayor Bloomberg's lead.
Download
Make Hope Real
and learn more about this
new breed of leaders