In the early 1990’s, Senator Rudy Boschwitz ran against a relatively unknown political science professor from Carleton College, Paul Wellstone, for the U. S. Senate. Wellstone used a brilliant grassroots campaign to narrow Senator Boschwitz’s lead to 3% in the weekend preceding the election. Boschwitz’s Campaign panicked, sending out a letter to Jewish families in Minnesota lauding the Senator’s support for Israel and Jewish communal issues and questioned Wellstone’s commitment to both. The letter became public and hit the front pages of the Minneapolis press, catapulting Wellstone to the U. S. Senate.

Subsequently, in the pages of the Anglo-Jewish weekly, the American Jewish World, there was a scurrilous accusation by a guest columnist that the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, of which I was the Executive, had provided the mailing list to the Boschwitz Campaign for dissemination of his letter. I blasted the editor for publishing this false accusation with no proof. I then received a call from our Treasurer, and I confirmed that we would never use our mailing list for any political partisan purpose.

The following week, we had a full-page letter in the same newspaper condemning this scurrilous attack, and the letter was signed by the current president of the Jewish Federation and all past presidents. They, like good Jewish leaders, represented significant political and financial supporters of both Senator Boschwitz and Senator-elect Wellstone. Sitting Presidents cannot take part in partisan politics while serving in office. However past Presidents are free to express their own viewpoints, although not as a representative of the organization or their past position.

I tell this story to re-affirm the importance of our Federation serving as a Big Tent for all varying viewpoints within the Jewish community. We are non-partisan, and therefore, we are able to involve Republicans, Democrats and Independents, on all the important issues confronting our Jewish community. We advocate on important issues that galvanize the community, such as support for Israel, efforts to prevent a nuclear Iran, and helping provide public and private support, in addition to our own philanthropic dollars, for the vital services provided by our Jewish community. We join with other groups in promoting social justice, such as combating the genocide in Darfur, helping to ensure a safety net for the most dependent of our populations as well as other important causes.

We have also held forums during election campaigns for all serious candidates, but have a policy of not endorsing any candidate. We can, therefore, effectively lobby members of Congress and our State legislators on the vital issues affecting our community.

It is for these reasons that we want to make sure that the Labor Seder, which we have co-sponsored for many years, does not become politicized as it was several weeks ago. We need to insure that labor and management and representatives of the Administration sit together with members of the Jewish community and representatives of other faith communities to celebrate the universal message of the Passover Seder. We are working to accomplish this with the Jewish Labor Committee, which we have supported financially for many years because of its unique role of being the link between the Jewish community and the Labor movement.

We want to help insure that future Labor Seders will serve the purpose of uniting, rather than dividing. Because we were all slaves in Egypt.

Yom Hazikaron discussion group

Thousands participated at the MetroWest Yom Hazikaron ceremony and Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration following.

Yom Hazikaron memorializes the thousands of Israelis killed in the more than half a dozen wars fought since Israel’s creation in 1948. In her first War of Independence, 10% of Israel’s population was killed, equivalent to 3,000,000 American deaths. That’s more than all of our combat deaths since our own independence in 1776. Many of the soldiers were recently liberated from Hitler’s concentration camps. I know of one who was killed, who had no relatives to mourn for him. So the family of former Shaliach, Yaacov Broder, themselves survivors, recite Yartzheit for him every year.

Despite all the troubling dissonance in bilateral relations between the Obama Administration and the Netanyahu Government, we must celebrate that we are the only generation privileged to witness the rebirth of our sovereignty in two millennia.

Martin Goodman in his magisterial history, Rome and Jerusalem, documents the horrible decimation of Jerusalem inflicted by Rome in 70CE, during which hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of our people were killed. Subsequent thousands were crushed less than a century later in the Bar Kochbar Revolts, and we were forced into exile, away from our beloved Jerusalem and Judea.

While we regained sovereignty for Israel in 1948, the Old City of Jerusalem – the East Jerusalem, so heavily politicized today, was closed to Jewish worship at the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Jewish Quarter from 1948-1967. The so-called moderate Jordanians maintained a policy of Judenrein (policy of excluding Jews) – for East Jerusalem.

Speaking of Jerusalem, we would have celebrated the 10th anniversary of a part of Jerusalem becoming the capital of a Palestinian State if Arafat had accepted the Clinton-Barak Plan, and the 2nd anniversary if Abu Mazen accepted Olmert’s plan. I believe in a Two-State Solution as the only viable option, but there have been too many wasted opportunities by Palestinian leadership.

Yes, Israel created a controversy of its own making when it embarrassed Vice President Biden with public plans for housing expansion in East Jerusalem. Even Netanyahu, an MBA from MIT, can’t control his own bureaucracy. And Israel may need to make more gestures, in response to the U. S. government, even before negotiations can commence.

But let’s remember that since Prime Minister Netanyahu came to office, he publicly accepted a two-state solution and opened hundreds of check points, a necessary ingredient in helping the West Bank achieve a 7% increase in GDP, despite the recession. And he froze all growth in settlements in the West Bank, exclusive of Jerusalem’s neighborhoods. So let’s get back to the table and start talking.

When there is tension between our government and Israel, we shouldn’t sit on the side-lines. We should celebrate the miracle of Israel’s birth, and what she accomplished these past 62 years.

Ilana Schuster Jonsson

Shortly after the revelry of New Year’s, we received the devastating news that Ilana Schuster Jonsson was killed in an automobile crash, when the perpetrator crossed the median of the Garden State Parkway and hit her car head-on. Miraculously, her husband survived, but Ilana was killed instantly.

We have a photo of my wife, Gail, pregnant with our son, Howard, Ruth Schuster with Ilana and Ellen Lazer, another lifelong friend, pregnant with Adam. Ilana was like a daughter to us, and like a sibling to our children. We will never forget her.

Ilana was only twenty-eight years old, but was already an accomplished Biology Teacher at Montville Township High School. She served as a mentor for new teachers, developed curriculum and taught honors Biology and Food Science. Most importantly, she was loved by her students. There were thousands of entries in a Facebook memory page, and hundreds of individuals from the school attended her funeral and Shiva.

Here is a typical student's letter to Ilana’s parents: “I am so sorry for your loss. Mrs. Jonsson meant so much to all her students and we miss her very much. She was such a good teacher and was enthusiastic about everything that she taught us. I learned so much from her, not just about biology, but about life. I thought that it was so great that her main goal was to make us better people and grow up to make a difference in the world. Mrs. Jonsson is without a doubt a hero, not only to her students, but to every person who has ever spoken with her.” Indeed in her short life, she made a remarkable difference to her students.

Rabbi Alan Silverstein, who officiated at the funeral, captured the essence of Ilana in his eulogy: “In Judaism, a Hebrew name implies the essential qualities of a person. The letters (Aleph, Yod, Lamed, Non, Hay) in Ilana — are reflective of Jewish values which shone brightly in Ilana Michele Schuster Jonsson’s life and deeds. Aleph — quiet and strong, that was Ilana. She was quiet until you came to know her well — and then she was vivacious. She was very strong in her opinions. She had strong values and a strong sense of who she was. She was highly principled, and fiercely devoted to her powerful sense of right and wrong. In terms of her Aleph aspect, she was truly a mensch, a most wonderful human being.

Yod —Yiddishkeit. Jewish identity meant a lot to Ilana. Her very name was a Hebrew name. The name Ilana – implies a tree – a source of vitality – a source of giving to others. Ilana was raised in a Jewishly highly identified family. All four grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Many of the extended family died in the Shoa. Ilana has many relatives in Israel. Ilana was a Bat Mitzvah at Beth Shalom here in Livingston. She was active at the Hillel at Rochester. She participated in the Birthright Israel experience. She attended holiday services with her family. She and Justin were married with a ketuba by a rabbi. She was planning to raise her children as Jewish children. In terms of Yod, Ilana’s Jewish identity was an important part of who she was.

Lamed — Laasot — a person of action/exhibited in her commitments to those she adored. Ilana bonded to others in a strong way. She was very caring. She liked to take care of people in need — this was true both in her teaching, and among family and friends. Ilana cultivated a devoted inner circle of friends — including the children of her parents’ close friends. These friends are so very special that they sat with Justin in the hospital for hours and hours – not wanting him to be alone — until his parents arrived from overseas. Appropriately, today’s pall bearers — six women in the Chapel — and six men at the grave site — are all among Ilana’s closest of friends.

Nun — Nachus — in terms of instilling pride in others by mentoring them, giving them self-esteem. Ilana was born a nurturer. Her CV includes countless activities as a teacher — even during her teenage years she worked with disabled kids, autistic kids, kids in need. Ilana, the born teacher and creator, loved poetry — she took classes and taught pottery as well — just as she engaged in all kinds of crafts.

Finally, Hay — Heim — family. Ilana was a loving and beloved family person – to all generations of her family. She was a beloved grand-daughter, most cherished daughter, and beloved daughter-in-law. And beloved wife and partner-in-life to Justin — her devoted husband — for whom we offer prayers for healing. And Ilana was a beloved sister, and sister-in-law. As a family person par excellence, Ilana was a nurturer. She was committed to starting a family. Ilana and Justin had just closed on their first condo this past Friday.

In recognition of the impact Ilana had on so many lives during her short life and to preserve her memory, the Schuster family has established at our Jewish Community Foundation, the Ilana Schuster Jonsson Scholarship. The purpose of the fund will be to support an annual scholarship to be given to a graduating high school senior from Montville High School to pursue an education in Biology or become a teacher.

I don’t normally ask for contributions to a specific Fund in our Jewish Community Foundation. But in this case, I’m making an exception, because of my personal connection to the family and to memorialize the great contribution Ilana made to society despite her too short life in it.

Anyone interested in contributing to the Ilana Schuster Jonsson Fund should send a check payable to Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest NJ.  Please note in the memo section that the contribution is for the Ilana Schuster Jonsson Fund. JCF’s mailing address is 901 Route 10, PO Box 929, Whippany, NJ 07981. Contributions may also be made online.