MLK Service at Temple Emanuel, Friday evening, Jan. 12 at 7:30pm

Implementing Dr. King's Vision: What We Have Done in Montgomery County, and What We Need To Do in the Future. 

COUNTY EXECUTIVE IKE LEGGETT TO SPEAK AT THE ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., SHABBAT SERVICE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 12

The Temple is honored this year to have Montgomery County Executive Isiah (Ike) Leggett as the guest speaker for our annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Shabbat Service, to be held Friday, January 12.  The Service will begin at 7:30 pm.

     Ike Leggett last spoke at our MLK Service in 2004.  Elected as County Executive in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 and 2014, he is now completing his last year in office.  This will be an appropriate time to both look back and look forward.  His topic will be Implementing Dr. King's Vision: What We Have Done in Montgomery County, and What We Need To Do in the Future. 

    Growing up as the seventh of 12 children in a four-room house without indoor plumbing, Ike worked his way through Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was elected student body president and commanded the school’s Reserve Officer Training Corps, while at the same time organizing for civil rights.  Following his 1967 graduation, he served as a Captain in the United States Army, where he earned the Bronze Star Medal in Viet Nam.  Finishing first in his class at Howard University Law School in 1974, he worked as an attorney for the Department of the Navy and later joined the Howard Law faculty, where he served until 2006, taking time out in 1978 and 1979 to serve as a White House Fellow.  In 1981, Ike was appointed to the Montgomery County Human Relations Commission, becoming its chair in 1983, and serving on the Commission until his election to the County Council in 1986. He served on the County Council through 2002, including three years as Council President, and then was chair of the Maryland State Democratic Party from 2002 through 2004.

    The breadth of his commitment to social justice and the ideals of Dr. King are further illustrated by his participation on the boards of directors of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes of Maryland, Metro DC PFLAG, the African American Business Council of Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Washington Area Housing Partnership, and the Montgomery County Boys and Girls Club. In 2007, he was the recipient of the first King-Heschel award from the Jewish Community Relations Council.

    There is no one better in our community than County Executive Leggett to help us celebrate the life and work of Dr. King, and to discuss the challenges ahead as we work to create a better country and world.  Please join us on January 12.

    We ask that people bring to the service non-perishable food for Manna Food Center.  As always a box for contributions is outside HaMakom.

     THE TEMPLE IS LOCATED AT 10101 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, KENSINGTON MD, ABOUT A MILE NORTH OF THE BELTWAY.

When the phony "War on Christmas" starts to become an actual War on 30% of the American Population.

A recent Pew Research Center study reveals that the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian dropped to about 70% in 2015. What happens when a demagogic President decides he can gain advantage by telling the 70% that they are under siege from the "others"?

As a Jew, when I was growing up in Silver Spring MD in the 1950s and early 1960s, I had the feeling that when people said "Merry Christmas," it was never out of malice, but just out of the sense that virtually everyone in their communities was Christian, and it was just a way of being friendly. This felt true even though a significant percentage of the people in my neighborhoods were also Jewish.

I never experienced anti-semitism that I could not easily shrug it off. And on the rare occasions when I was older and out in the world, those rare instances when something came up that could be deemed serious anti-semitism never really bothered me because, in late 20th Century America, being Jewish never was something that disadvantaged me. Indeed, I felt "culturally advantaged" because the Jewish culture in which I grew up fostered education, which turned out to be a very useful tool in navigating and progressing in America. And, in truth, this was the era in which, as with other immigrants before us, "Jews became White" in the view of the majority cultures. When Presidents said "Merry Christmas," it did not seem like an attack; and when they also said "Happy Holidays," they were affirmatively recognizing that we ALL belonged.

As American society became less overwhelmingly Christian, it became more polite to say "Happy Holidays," which encompassed not only Christmas and Chanukah, but also Kwanza and the totally secular and universal New Year's Day. It was not "politically correct." Rather, it was simply a matter of being inclusive.

But as people like the very un-Christian Bill O'Reilly at Fox sought to play on fears of White people (most of whom identified as Christian), they attacked the use of "Happy Holidays" as somehow an attack on Christians. This became a key factor in the culture of victimization, in which some politicians and right-wing groups sought to convince members of the dominant White culture (particularly those whose economic prospects declined as America lost its post-World War II economic advantages once other countries recovered from the War and were able to begin catching up with us) that they were under attack from "elites" (aka, Jews and "intellectuals") who looked down on them.

Still, this phony "War on Christmas" was more a joke than a threat until the leadership of the "defenders" of Christmas devolved to someone with true demagogic skills and a huge platform: Donald Trump.

When Donald Trump says "Merry Christmas," he seemingly always follows up with a comment like, "Isn't it great that now we can say 'Merry Christmas.'" The tone of voice and, most significantly, the snide remarks, turn the benign "Merry Christmas" into a weapon. He is not simply wishing the 70% of Americans who identify as Christian a joyous Christian holiday, but he is telling them that the Jews and the Muslims and the "intellectual elites" have been oppressing them, and that now he -- Donald Trump -- has saved them from these people who, in fact, only reside here by the sufferance of the "real" Americans (aka, White Christians).

As a Jew born in this country shortly after the Holocaust, my view of America included the sense of good fortune that I was born here, in this time and place. I never felt that anyone in the White House was out to marginalize me, or to turn my fellow citizens against me. But now, in the Age of Trump, I am beginning to experience what other minority groups have been exposed to for years (albeit not as overtly in the last half century as before): the potential danger posed by fellow citizens who are told that I am not truly or fully American and that I am their enemy.

In truth, I do not have fear about this deep in my bones. My optimism about America is too pervasive for that. But it is hard to watch what is happening now and not be very concerned that my faith in my fellow citizens may be in jeopardy if Trumpism deepens its hold.

Rich Madaleno for Governor of Maryland!

 Last night, Bobbi and I held a Meet & Greet for Maryland Gubernatorial Candidate, and long-standing State Senator, Rich Madaleno.  We have known and admired Rich for many years and believe he would be an outstanding governor for our state.  Watching him discuss a wide range of issues with a group of our friends last night reinforced this belief.  The best intentions in the world are not sufficient if you do not have an in-depth knowledge of the state and state government.  Rich has that knowledge. You can get a flavor of this by listening to a recent podcast he did with The Baltimore Sun.

And you can get a sense of Rich as a person, family man, and a great dad by watching this video: video . Also, please visit Rich's website .

Rich’s tireless and effective advocacy for LGBTQ rights, including Civil Marriage Equality and the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, led us to get to know him.  But that is not the only reason we endorse his candidacy to be Governor of Maryland. We are supporting him not just because he has done so much for the LGBTQ community, or because he is gay, or because he comes from Montgomery County, where we live.  We are supporting him because he is extraordinarily knowledgeable about state government, is a true progressive, and is a fundamentally good and decent person. For example, he led the successful effort in the last session of the General Assembly to insure that our State will provide funding to Planned Parenthood in the event that the Trump Administration and Congress cuts off Planned Parenthood from federal funding, cuts that would catastrophically deprive thousands of Marylanders of essential health services.   

In the next years, we will need a governor who can navigate through the enormous challenges we will face, including how to make and keep state government effective in the era of Trump.  We need a governor who knows how to do the job and we need a governor of whom we can be proud.  The primary election will be held this coming June 26.  We appear to be blessed with a number of good Democratic candidates for governor.  Our challenge is to pick the best one.  Rich has demonstrated that he is that person. His knowledge of state government, his effectiveness in the General Assembly, and his consistently progressive values -- not to mention the fact that he is a genuine mensch -- all make him a great choice.  

He also is the only gubernatorial candidate who is taking public financing for the primary election.  That means that individual donations are of the utmost importance at this juncture.  People may donate  here.

So please consider joining Bobbi and me in supporting Rich Madaleno for Governor.  He would be the governor we need, and the governor who would make us proud to be Marylanders.

Al Franken: Falling on his sword for the cause. Today, he is a hero.

If politics were fair, the allegations of inappropriate behavior by Senator Al Franken would have simply gone to the Ethics Committee. But politics is, sadly, not fair. Whether or not Franken should have resigned is now a moot point.

Everyone should be sure to take a few minutes to watch his statement on the floor of the Senate. Franken showed the grace, wisdom, and patriotism he has consistently displayed during his time in office. He clearly is not going to participate in any Democratic Circular Firing Squad. Nor should we. By falling on his sword, Franken has cleared the way to highlight the hypocrisy of the Republican political class.

Whatever the actual extent of his inappropriate behavior, Al Franken is a hero today. There are no "What abouts?" left for the Republicans to use, unless they want to go back to the last Century with Bill Clinton. Of course, they will try that, but it will ring much less true. (The Clintons should try to disappear from public view; their presence now creates more harm than good.)