Dear Friends,

There are certain significant moments in the life of each community when its rabbi feels an unusually special sense of pride in his or her community. Recently, I enjoyed such a moment and I consider it my sincere privilege to share it with you.

On Tuesday afternoon, March 13th, a delegation of over forty people representing our synagogue and our community attended a meeting with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, at his office in Washington, D.C. This delegation, co-led by Jerry Unatin and me, represented the single largest Jewish delegation ever to meet with the Congressman. Congressman Rohrabacher’s positions on matters pertaining to our national security reflect concerns that parallel those of the government of the State of Israel. That so many of us traveled to Washington D.C. to visit with the Congressman, and afforded him opportunity to express his support for the values and security concerns that we share as a country with the State of Israel, was a milestone for the Jewish community’s relationship with Congressman Rohrabacher and supported the deepening and strengthening of our country’s relationship with the State of Israel.

All of the above took place in the context of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) Annual Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Almost 6,000 people attended this conference in March of 2007, the largest contingent ever to attend. When one considers that two years ago, there weren’t any Congregation Ner Tamid members in attendance at this most significant gathering of the American Pro-Israel Movement, it is particularly heartening to note that over thirty-five individuals connected with our synagogue comprised our delegation in 2007.

Ours is a community in which the joy and spirit of Judaism is well and alive. Ours is also a community in which profound care for the welfare of the Jewish People, of our homeland, and of every Jew everywhere is deepening into committed expressions of activism. Our delegation to AIPAC’s Annual Policy Conference in 2007 is something that we should all be proud of and every one of us should consider participating next year (in June 2008) if at all possible.

Since our visit with Congressman Rohrabacher, he has signed an important Congressional letter to the European Union encouraging the Europeans to withhold support for any Palestinian government that fails to recognize Israel and does not renounce violence unequivocally as a means to advance its political or ideological ambitions. He has also lent his support as a co-sponsor to H.R. 1400, a bill that will give sharper teeth to our country’s efforts to isolate Iran and apply economic pressure upon the Iranian regime until it abandons its nuclear ambitions. Iran’s open, clear, and continuously repeated intention to wipe Israel off the map and then to target our own country must be taken very seriously and the Congressman exhibited a profound appreciation for the real threat that must be considered. Our visit did not cause Mr. Rohrabacher to vote as he will. Our visit rather strengthened him evermore to pursue our shared convictions as our elected representative.

May we grow only from strength to strength, in support of all of those causes of the Jewish People that merit and demand our attention. In doing so we will respond meaningfully to the privilege we share to live freely and to enjoy our blessings, and we will share our many blessings with others who need them.

B’Shalom – with Blessings of Peace and Wholeness,

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader