AJC Testifies Before Democratic Party Platform Committee

American Jewish Committee
Friday, 7 July 2000

The American Jewish Committee testified before the Democratic Party Platform Committee at its hearings in St. Louis yesterday.

"Our public policy agenda draws upon the experiences of a religious and ethnic minority," Mont Levy, chair of AJC's Community Services Commission, told the Democratic Party Platform Committee. "We remain stalwart in our commitment to both the security of the Jewish people and to the core universal rights that are an essential aspect of democracy – religious tolerance, pluralism, and a belief in fairness, equality, and liberty for all persons."

"Our dedication to such diverse issues as Israel's security and fair treatment in the community of nations, support for democracy and religious freedom at home and abroad, civil rights enforcement, and protection of fundamental liberties, including free speech, reproductive choice and the separation of church and state, is reflected in the AJC principles and positions that we urge the Platform Committee to incorporate in the Democratic Platform," Mr. Levy said. Mr. Levy was accompanied at the hearings by AJC Legislative Director Richard Foltin.

Among the policy positions AJC urged the Democratic Party to include were:

- Middle East: Continued commitment to advancing the Arab-Israeli peace; to ensuring Israel's qualitative military advantage; to thwarting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and to encouraging U.S. policies that foster political reform in Arab states that have not embraced democracy.

- Foreign Aid: U.S. adherence to its international commitments, including providing adequate funding to promote democracy and protect human rights, foster sustainable economic development and offer urgent humanitarian assistance, and assure adequate staffing of our diplomatic missions abroad.

- Human Rights: Actively promote continued growth of democracy in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Latin America. AJC supports U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court and ratification of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

- Terrorism: Adequate funding must be appropriated to secure U.S. diplomatic missions and to support the FBI and other agencies responsible for counterterrorism. Pressure, including economic sanctions, should be maintained on state sponsors of terrorism. The Secret Evidence Repeal Act (HR 2121) should be rejected because there are ways to safeguard due process short of a blanket ban on the use of classified information in immigration proceedings against alleged supporters of terrorism.

- Bigotry and Anti-Semitism: The political process has a vital role to play in combating bigotry and hate. Bipartisan hate crimes legislation should be supported and common sense gun control, including an end to the gun-show loophole that circumvents background checks on unlicensed sellers of handguns, should be adopted.

- Religious Liberty: The Constitutional principles of separation of church and state and the right of citizens to freely exercise their religious beliefs are integral to the foundation of American society. Thus, the Workplace Religious Freedom Act should be enacted, efforts to amendments to the U.S. Constitution or adopt Federal or state laws that would allow organized school-sponsored prayer in the public schools should be opposed. In addition, the present policy of "charitable choice" does not provide for adequate safeguards and protections to prevent proselytization of beneficiaries and avoid conflict among religious groups competing for the same public funds.

- Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: Enforce fully all federal statutes prohibiting invidious discrimination. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act should be supported. Funding of the Violence Against Women Act should be reauthorized and its programs expanded.

- Public Education: The public school system needs to be vigorously supported, which requires competitive salaries to hire qualified teachers and superintendents; safe, clean and modern schools; smaller class sizes; quality early learning and after-school programs; and, most importantly, increased parental involvement. The diversion of scarce taxpayer funds, directly or indirectly, through vouchers or tuition tax credits, to pay for students to attend religious or nonreligious private schools, should be opposed.

- Immigration and Refugee Issues: Immigrants have enriched American society, and, therefore, it is important to ensure that the U.S. maintains its role as a haven for those fleeing persecution by adopting fair and generous immigration and refugee policies.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org