How Could Baltimore Jews Honor G. Gordon Liddy?

Some in Baltimore were outraged. Some were thrilled – including most of the 600 present who gave a standing ovation. And some just didn’t care.

What was this latest buzz? What does it say about who is deserving of Jewish honor? Are we willing to honor anyone, regardless of background? And what troubling questions does it raise about the direction of our Jewish community?

I write about G. Gordon Liddy’s appearance at Beth Tfiloh Congregation last week for the Baltimore Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (http://www.fidf.org/Page.aspx?pid=262), an event in which Liddy received the General Moshe Dayan Leadership Award (which clearly had some old Labor Zionists choking).

Few Americans who are age 45 and older are neutral when it comes to G. Gordon Liddy. They know that his moment of infamy came from leading the infamous 1972 Plumbers Unit of the Committee To Re-elect The President (Richard M. Nixon). Its formal acronym is CRP but its detractors commonly referred to it as CREEP. Yes, Liddy’s done a lot since then – including jail time. But he’s also a Fordham Law School graduate, a best-selling author, an FBI bureau director and more. But all that always come with the label “Watergate felon.”

A confession: When on in Baltimore a few years ago, I would occasionally listen to Liddy’s radio show. He was an entertaining right-winger with an excellent sense of self-deprecating humor. He loved guns, favored the anti-abortion crowd and was as hardcore right on most issues as you could get. So I disagreed with much of his domestic politics, but he represented his viewpoint well, made me think and was rarely nasty (unlike so many on right-wing talk radio and television today). So through Liddy I expanded my horizons and listened carefully to his form of logic.

But I never forgot that he was a crook who deserved his jail sentence, helped disgrace this country and brags about it until this day.

So is this someone a Jewish group should honor? Well, obviously enough people felt that to be the case. I do not, but it wasn’t my choice to make. And the 600 people present did raise $500,000. And for some that’s all that matters. My guess is that the national office is quite happy. After all, they and every national Jewish organization put “dollars raised pressure” on local offices. Get the money; that’s the goal.

But how many people stayed away angry at the choice? I’ve spoken to some of them. Some came anyway out of respect for the cause. I saw a few of them leave early.

So was it worth getting a reputation as a group that caters to right-wingers? Before you ask, I would equally oppose a polarizing left-winger as well – say Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.).

By the way, last year’s choice, Amb. John Bolton, was excellent. Sure, he’s a Republican. But so what? You are usually either a Republican or a Democrat. And he had real credibility on Israel, having been the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. (I’ve read his book on that time and it is excellent.)

Mind you, when it came to his five Israel trips, Liddy did tell good, albeit rambling stories – in an unusually subdued manner (mentioning on three occasions his late wife of 52 years, who had died in February).

Now in addition to the choice of speaker, I have other concerns about the FIDF that I can no longer hold back.

• I certainly agree that funding social and cultural needs for Israeli soldiers – particularly offering scholarships for the children of fallen soldiers – is noble. Yet I am concerned that FIDF does nothing for our American soldiers (let alone our American Jewish soldiers). Wouldn’t it be fantastic publicity and serve American Jewry well to give a portion of the funds raise – say 18 percent – to help do similar things for U.S. soldiers, and not just Jewish ones? Would not that be an amazing gift from American Jews, one that would make us all proud? That great hook might even increase contributions. (Ask the guys present who were proudly wearing the JWV hats.)

• I fully understand that it is legal to give money to the FIDF. It was one of the first questions I asked when the office opened here last year. Yet I am an American Jew who has chosen to stay in this country. Without addressing the immediate previous questions raised, I wonder how kosher it is to send money to a foreign army for any purpose. (By the way, I write as one who currently has a nephew in the Israeli Army. And I’m damn proud of him and pray for him every day.)

• I also am uncomfortable with any Jewish group that simply exists to take money from our community. That goes basically for every “friends of” group out there. We need Jewish identity building programs here. We need scholarships for Jewish education here. We need interaction with non-Jewish members of our community here. Can the FIDF play a role in that? If not, they aren’t helping Baltimore Jewry grow.

None of this is to suggest that there are not fine, good people working with and behalf of FIDF, including some friends. I just want to them to think about how they can help our community as they tap into a new fundraising vein of American Jewish life.

A final point: Many people who support FIDF will disagree with the above. That’s particularly so for Israeli natives now living here. Their identity is understandably more Israeli than American. Most served in the IDF; I did not. And we have failed to integrate most of them into our organized Jewish community (which has more than few issues to deal with when it comes to being welcoming and expressing a healthy sense of open Jewish identity).

But to them I say to them this: You chose to live here, which makes you American Jews – whether you like it or not. So why not help build our local and national community, which obviously pays dividends for Israel down the road?

And why not think a little harder next time about whom you chose to honor?
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