washington | The Jewish religious establishment is trying to walk a fine line, telling Jews to go out and vote, but not for whom.
Concerned about maintaining their nonpartisan, tax-exempt status, the four main Jewish streams are working together to inform rabbis and other synagogue leaders about what they can and can’t do to educate congregants about candidates and issues in the upcoming presidential elections.
These moves come as President Bush’s re-election team is seeking to campaign through liaisons in the nation’s churches and new legislation in the House of Representatives would allow clergy to endorse political candidates and allow houses of worship to play a more active role in partisan politics.
Some are charging that the administration is stretching the tax-exempt status granted to places of worship, which by tax law are prohibited from partisan political activity.
The news last week that Bush’s campaign was seeking advocates to coordinate campaigns in 1,600 “friendly congregations” in Pennsylvania has sparked debate about what’s legal to say and do in churches and synagogues. Similar concerns apply to other religious nonprofit institutions, such as Jewish federations, community centers and day schools.
Meanwhile, campaign organizers for presumptive Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) have said they will not court voters in their houses of worship.
In addition, new legislation currently under consideration would allow churches and synagogues to play a more active political role.
The “Safe Harbor for Churches” provision would allow religious leaders to endorse candidates from the pulpit, as long as it is expressly identified as a statement made by the individual leader, and not on behalf of the place of worship.
Churches and synagogues also would be allowed to engage in political acts up to three times a year without affecting their tax-exempt status.
Many Jewish organizations oppose the legislation. Wishing to steer clear of mixing politics and worship, the Jewish religious leadership’s message to followers is two-fold: It wants community members to be active and engaged, hoping to maintain Jews’ traditional influence in the political process, but it also wants synagogues and federations to follow the law.
“We’re going to be very careful of the rules and continue to both encourage our community to be involved but be cognizant of what the rules are,” said Reva Price, Washington director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, an umbrella organization for Jewish community relations councils around the country.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the congregational arms of Judaism’s four major streams have sent out “Get Out the Vote 2004” guides to leaders across the country. The publications outline how synagogues and other Jewish organizations can participate in the political process by registering members to vote, holding candidate forums and even serving as polling places.
It also suggests that rabbis should give sermons on the important issues for the Jewish community in the November elections, and on the importance of civic participation.
But the guide defines the limits of what synagogues and their leaders can do. It stresses that any candidate forum must include all viable candidates for office, that no endorsements are allowed and that candidate questionnaires must be done with extreme caution to ensure objectivity.
Rabbi Marla Feldman, director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism and the guide’s co-author, said it’s important for synagogues to follow the guidelines not only to maintain their tax-exempt status, but to avoid alienating members of the community.
“We are very cognizant and respectful of the fact that there is diversity in our pews,” Feldman said. “I don’t think we would tell people who to vote for.”
Political actions that Jewish organizations take are likely to be heavily scrutinized in the coming months. Questions already rose when the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Fla., welcomed Vice President Dick Cheney for a speech last month.
The event was paid for by Bush’s re-election campaign but, before allowing Cheney to speak, federation officials set down several parameters to adhere to federal laws for places of worship, said Larry Altschul, the federation president.
The event could not be billed as a campaign event; Kerry could not be denigrated; and fund-raising, campaign literature and banners were prohibited.
“It’s not that you can’t deal with candidates, it’s that you can’t be partisan,” Altschul said.
Altschul said the campaign adhered to all the rules, using the speech to recap the Bush administration’s Middle East policy parameters. At one point, when an elderly couple stood up and shouted, “Four more years!” Cheney smiled and said, “No comment.”
Altschul says he’s satisfied that the Cheney event did not cross the line. But religious leaders remain concerned that if the Bush/Cheney campaign seeks advocates in the nation’s churches and synagogues, partisanship could rule the day.
Nevertheless, Jewish leaders hope that concerns about partisan politics won’t stop synagogues from getting their congregants registered to vote.
“The more we vote, the more impact we have in the political arena,’ Feldman said.
JTA Washington intern Justin Bosch contributed to this report.