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Ryan Fishman: Republican Party Must Get Back To Roots — And Out Of Our Bedrooms

June 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

fishmanGrowing up, I always believed in individual liberty and personal freedoms. I even remember the exact moment I knew I was a Republican. It was Sept. 11, 2001, and a kid watched his president address a nation in crisis. In that moment, George W. Bush seemed larger than life, and I was captivated. The next day, I begged my mother for her credit card so I could go online and make a donation to the Republican National Committee.

I still can’t quite explain it, but as long as I’ve understood politics, there’s always been something about the GOP’s platform that just made sense. Ronald Reagan embraced a conservatism that empowered the individual and embraced limited government, a balanced budget and an unmistakable military advantage that protected our national security interests.

Today, the Republican Party embraces far-reaching policies that reflect a paternalism once reserved for Democrats. The notion that government can and should legislate what two people do in the privacy of their own home makes me think twice about whether the Grand Old Party still reflects the same principles that lured in a 13-year-old ready to take on the world.

Read more at Free Press Ryan Fishman: Republican Party must get back to roots — and out of our bedrooms | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.

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Move Over Sandy Koufax: Tiger’s Hank Greenberg Bravest Jewish Baseball Player Of All Times

April 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

hank-greenbergOn October 6, 1965, Sandy Koufax sat out the first game of the World Series in observance of Yom Kippur. By putting the holiest day of his faith before the most important event of the most popular sport in America, the best pitcher of his era cemented his status as an American Jewish icon. Nearly 50 years later, Koufax’s decision to spend the Day of Atonement in a synagogue rather than on the mound remains a compelling cultural touchstone for American Jews — even ones who don’t follow baseball — and an inspiring example of Jewish pride.

But with all due respect to “The Left Arm of God,” Koufax’s Game One opt-out was pretty much chopped liver compared with the conundrum that Hank Greenberg faced on Rosh Hashanah in 1934. When Koufax sat out Game One of the World Series, he did so with the full support and acceptance of his teammates, as well as with that of the majority of his fans. Koufax had the good fortune to pitch in a city and era where both Judaism and expressions of personal freedom were at least, if not always fully understood, generally accepted by the cultural mainstream. Koufax was also a fully established superstar; with four no-hitters, three pitching Triple Crowns, two previous World Series victories and numerous awards and trophies already to his credit by October 1965, his skill, fortitude and personal makeup were all well beyond reproach.

Hank Greenberg had no such support or reputation to fall back on. In September 1934, The Detroit Tigers — who hadn’t been to a World Series since 1909 — were desperately trying to hold off the New York Yankees in the American League pennant race, and Greenberg’s was one of the most consistently productive bats in the Tigers’ lineup. The big first baseman was playing in just his second full season as a major leaguer; though already an immensely popular player in Detroit, he’d yet to stockpile the sort of achievements and accumulated goodwill that would allow him any sort of personal latitude in terms of putting his faith before baseball.

Read more at the Forward Was Baseball Great Hank Greenberg Even Braver Than Sandy Koufax? – Forward.com.

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Op-Ed: After Successful Obama Trip, It’s Time For Israel To Back Down From Settlements

March 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Barack Obama, Benjamin NetanyahuBy Ryan Fishman

In Israel for the first time as President last week, Barack Obama did his best to say and do all the right things. Maybe that was to make up for what many have claimed is a less than stellar track record on the subject. I’m amongst those who characterize many of his “hiccups” as bad public relations and bad timing rather than bad intentions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced his American counterpart and welcomed him with open arms. Obama planted trees with President Shimon Peres, visited Yad Vashem, laid pebbles on Herzl’s grave, and toured the country’s holiest sites. It was the perfect photo opportunity, but so much more than that.

Obama took a firm position, with the whole world watching, that America stands with Israel. He highlighted Israel’s positive contributions to the global economy and lauded Israel for technological developments and innovations that have benefitted both Israelis and Americans. He recognized the dangerous threat of Israel’s neighbors and reasserted his belief that prevention – not containment – is the right approach to Iranian nuclear armaments.

This trip was not, however, a diplomatic vacation. The President had an obligation to make an important pronouncement about the future of the Israeli-Arab conflict, and I believe he said the right things, and means them. Israel needs to draw down building in the West Bank so that Palestinians will come to the table. But the President recognized that Israelis have made the concessions necessary to get negotiations started and the Palestinians have been far more like Elijah than your Aunt Susie when it comes to showing up for dinner. For peace to happen, the Israelis will have to be the bigger man time and again, until there is global pressure on the Arabs to recognize our right to exist and to negotiate a solution.

Recently, however, I have read stories about Palestinians who are confident that a one-state solution is the right answer, and it’s concerning to me. Yasser Arafat used to say the greatest weapon in the Palestinian arsenal was the womb, and he was certainly right. A one-state solution would mean Arabs could out-populate Jews and through true Democracy turn a Jewish state into another Arab state. It’s time to press forward with a two-state solution drawing borders that protect the security of Israel and preserve her autonomy. Painful concessions will be made, but so long as Israel is willing to make those concessions for the progress of the region then no one in the global community can condemn us for failing to extend a hand.

If nothing else, President Obama’s trip was a great lesson for the Israelis on public relations, that even in the face of intense scrutiny at the eleventh hour, you can change your image. It’s time for the Israeli’s to take the lead again, press for negotiations, table settlements, and fight toward a workable peace – with all the backing and support the President has promised.

Ryan Fishman is the Vice President of Strategic Consultation at Steward Media, handling PR and media consultation for politicians, businesses, and non-profits. Fishman is a former talk show host, political reporter, and news anchor.

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Op-Ed: As We Say Goodbye To Carl Levin, Let’s Elect A New Senator Who Represents All Michiganders

March 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Ryan Fishman at Senator Carl Levin's Senate Office earlier this week lobbying on behalf of AIPAC

Ryan Fishman at Senator Carl Levin’s Senate Office earlier this week lobbying on behalf of AIPAC

By Ryan Fishman

With Carl Levin’s forthcoming departure from the United States Senate, I can’t help but sit back and think about what has happened to the statesman. Carl was a leader you could count on to reach a hand across the aisle and work with colleagues to find creative solutions to our problems. He came up with a class of Senators, both Democrat and Republican, who put country before politics. Today that’s a rare commodity.

I was buzzing around the Capitol this week for AIPAC’s Policy Conference, and was often reminded that when it comes to Israel, almost everyone in Washington can agree, even when they disagree about almost everything else. That’s great news for the state of Israel and the Jewish community, but it’s terrible news for our country. It’s time to start working together

I worry that in replacing Carl we will get a partisan; someone to lead the debate to the fringes not to the center. I wonder if Senator Levin is walking away from Washington for this exact reason. Michigan is the perfect state to offer up the next great statesman, the only real question is whether we’ll do it.

Think about our demographics for a minute. In Michigan we have the country’s largest Arab population. We have African Americans, Hispanics, Jews, and a representative sampling of almost every other minority in this country. We have an international border. We have Native American reservations. We have fresh water resources, one of the most diverse agricultural offerings in the country, and manufacturing infrastructure. We have movie studios and vibrant suburban communities. Michigan is a melting pot; a representative sampling of almost everything that’s great about this country and we hold in front of us all of the opportunity in the world to rise again and rebound, even if no one expects us to.

Democrat or Republican, why not send someone to Washington who can raise the bar for our state and raise the bar for our country? Why not tap a leader who has demonstrated a record of bipartisanship, someone who can advance the debate not hold us back? Who that leader will be, I can’t say, but I can only hope as Michiganders we take this great open door and walk through it, instead of shutting it and settling for the status quo.

I’ve seen a lot of names tossed around on both sides of the aisle in the last 24 hours or so, and many of them are the same partisans who have run for office again and again and again and are bound to make the same mistakes over and over again. This is my challenge to Democrats and Republicans – think for the good you can do for your state and the good you can do for your country and forget for even one nanosecond the good you can do for your party.

Remember that representative government does not thrive based on partisan politicians representing partisan interests, it is instead dependent on true leaders reflecting the will and the interests of every one of their constituents, whether they voted for them or they didn’t  I hope we get another Carl Levin, and that he or she sticks around for many years and can fill those very big shoes our senior Senator leaves behind.

Ryan Fishman is the Vice President of Strategic Consultation at Steward Media, handling PR and media consultation for politicians, businesses, and non-profits. Fishman is a former talk show host, political reporter, and news anchor.

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Op-Ed: A Strong Israel Means A Stronger Jewish Community In The United States

March 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

By Ryan Fishman

I lobby for Israel because I believe it is the single most important thing I can do as a Jewish American for my people and my faith. This weekend I’ll join something like 10,000 plus concerned Americans (no, they aren’t all Jewish) in Washington, D.C., for AIPAC’s Policy Conference. On Tuesday that group will head to the Capitol to meet with almost every member of the House and Senate to discuss the issues impacting Israel this year. Short of traveling to Israel, I know of no experience as electrifying or exciting.

Meeting with these leaders is our opportunity to remind them why they must also support Israel and stand up for her right to exist and defend herself. A strong Israel means a stronger Jewish community in the United States, and a stronger Jewish people. Throughout our history the Jewish people have faced the precipice of destruction, and we stand in that position again today.

Your leadership in advocating for Israel can help to prevent a nuclear Iran rather than contain one. You can work to ensure the continued development of leading technology that is changing the way we live. Meeting with your leaders in Washington can help to preserve the safety of the lone democracy in the Middle East and America’s first line of defense in the War on Terror.

I don’t take for granted the opportunity we have today, developed by the trailblazers who came before us. 70 years ago, in 1943, President Roosevelt refused a meeting with four hundred members of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis who traveled to Washington to ask for proactive intervention in Europe. Today, through pro-Israel politics and AIPAC lobbying efforts, we have the opportunity to meet with nearly all members of the Executive and Legislative branches. When 10,000 American citizens, concerned with the future of Israel and the Jewish people, march on Washington, we aren’t turned away – instead we are embraced with open arms. That’s true progress, and it is our responsibility to maintain this tradition and create lasting relationships with our leaders.

I encourage anyone who reads this column to pick up the phone and call their Representative or Senator, and thank them for meeting with the members of their community heading to Washington in the coming days. I would ask you to  encourage them to continue to be a leader on the issue, and when you have the opportunity, head to their office and thank them in person. Developing a relationship with a member of Congress and pressing them to support Israel is not only a true privilege, but also our responsibility as American Jews.

Ryan Fishman is the Vice President of Strategic Consultation at Steward Media, handling PR and media consultation for politicians, businesses, and non-profits. Fishman is a former talk show host, political reporter, and news anchor.

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Op-Ed: Will The Republicans Nominate A Tea Party Libertarian From West Michigan To Replace Senator Carl Levin?

February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

By Ryan Fishman

How do you replace Carl Levin? Michigan’s senior United States Senator is currently in his sixth term and the 78-year-old told the Detroit Free Press he isn’t ready to announce whether he’ll run for a seventh term next fall.

Levin is in many ways an institution in both Michigan and Washington, D.C. He joined the Senate in 1979 and has left his mark on America’s defense sector as the ranking Democratic member of the Armed Services Committee for an impressive sixteen years.

I haven’t always agreed with Levin politically, but I worry about who might replace him. What I do know is the vacant seat could create a bloodbath on both sides of the aisle as up-and-coming Democrats and Republicans vie to replace the elder statesman. Both parties are in a state of transition, and the competing egos could use the race as an opportunity to plant a flag for the future platform of either party.

One person floating the possibility of a run, though he won’t decide on vying for the seat until Levin announces he’s out of the picture, is Justin Amash. The U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District is a self-declared Libertarian and a tea party favorite. His histories in both Washington and Lansing (he was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives before his Congressional career began in 2010) indicate he’s a poster-boy for the critique of modern Republicans as the party of “No.”

Amash believes life begins at conception, opposes abortion rights and the use of federal funding for abortion. He supports the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman and wants limits on states’ recognition of same-sex marriage. He wants to limit the authority of the EPA. He believes restrictions on gun ownership violate the Second Amendment. Amash has voted against authorizations for defense spending and believes decreased military spending is a good way to balance the federal budget. In 2012 he endorsed Ron Paul for President of the United States.

Beyond all of that, he’s a supporter of a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. He has said as “an American,” he won’t take sides in the conflict. He voted for a re-authorization of military aid to Israel last spring, but was quick to distance himself from his vote when attacked for it on his Facebook page. Amash has said he doesn’t support foreign aid, and has avoided direct engagement with AIPAC.

He has also tangled with his own party on numerous issues (he has one of the lowest records in the House for voting with party leadership), including indefinite detention of wanted terrorists, the use of drones, the Patriot Act, and other legislation he’s deemed “anti-liberty.” His challenges to our nation’s military infrastructure and the techniques that have advanced our fight in the War on Terror should be enough to leave any Democrat or Republican wondering if he’s really the right person to replace Levin.

I worry about the future of the Republican Party when entrenched party leaders like Dick and Betsy DeVos have thrown their weight behind a character like Amash who seemingly wouldn’t reach across the aisle for a tissue. This is the kind of party representative who poses a danger to the modernization, advancement, and expansion of the Republican tent. He is instead a perfect example of every Republican position that has sent moderate and independent voters running for the hills, and it should be quite frightening that he could be the new standard-bearer for the G.O.P. on a statewide ballot.

Republicans have won three of the last twenty Senate elections in the state of Michigan over the last 59 years, and that should be a concerning number. Sticking to the status quo spells a clear forecast of six more years of Democratic representation in Washington, and another blow to the Grand Old Party.

Ryan Fishman is the Vice President of Strategic Consultation at Steward Media, handling PR and media consultation for politicians, businesses, and non-profits. Fishman is a former talk show host, political reporter, and news anchor.

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Rabbi Jason Miller: The Crime Of Wearing A Tallit

February 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

Empathy is never easy. As a man, I confess that I have struggled to be empathetic to the cause of the Women of the Wall Nashot HaKotel. This group of women has been coming to the Kotel Hamaarivi Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem for close to a quarter century to pray in protest of the religious freedom they lack.

From thousands of miles away I have followed their plight after each Rosh Chodesh new month prayer service they conduct in the relatively small womens section of the Kotel. In the past year or so I’ve read about the women who are detained or arrested for having the nerve to wear a tallit prayer shawl at the Kotel, which according to Israel law is to be treated as an Orthodox synagogue. While I took interest in their civil disobedience and was supportive of their efforts, I felt they were too focused on the Western Wall when in fact they were being allowed to hold their prayer services women only or mixed at the Southern Wall Robinsons Arch which was historically more significant anyway.

Read more at Rabbi Jason’s Blog Rabbi Jason Miller – Blog: The Crime of Wearing a Tallit.

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Op-Ed: Henry Ford Published The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion, Chuck Hagel Follows In His Path

February 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

By Ryan Fishman

The Senate Armed Services Committee delayed its vote on Chuck Hagel’s confirmation as Secretary of Defense this week, with Republicans demanding he answer more questions. It’s not clear if it’s simply a matter of partisan posturing that is holding up the former Nebraska Senator’s confirmation, but there are certainly more questions Hagel needs to answer before he’s leading the Pentagon.

I’ve waited to comment on Hagel’s nomination because I hoped, and still hope, he gets borked, or better yet doesn’t make it to a vote before the full Senate. As a proud Zionist and American Jew I don’t trust the Senator, and his “explanations” don’t make up for what he’s said in the past.

My hope is as you read this column you feel the urge to pick up the phone and tell your Senators to vote against Hagel’s confirmation. If you do live in Michigan you can call Carl Levin today, as our Jewish Senior Senator chairs the Armed Services Committee and can help prevent a full Senate vote from ever happening.

If you aren’t familiar with the Hagel controversy, let me sum it up. In 2006 he remarked, “the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people” in Washington. Hagel was questioned extensively about this comment during the hearings, and could not name “one person in [his] opinion who’s intimidated by the Israeli lobby in the United States Senate.” He had also complained of “dumb things” the Senate does because of pressure from the Jewish lobby. During the hearing he could not give one example of these so-called “dumb things.”

In the past he said Israel was keeping “Palestinians caged up like animals.” When asked, he claimed he couldn’t remember the context or when he said it, but admitted he said it. His response, “If I had an opportunity to edit that, like many things I’ve said, I would.”

Appearing on Al Jazeera he failed to challenge a caller who accused Israel of war crimes, and agreed with the assertion that America is “the world’s bully.” He called the point “a good one.” When asked about the comments during the hearing he explained he does not believe Israel has committed war crimes and asked to see those comments in the full context of that interview.

In a 2006 speech Hagel commented that Israel was undertaking “the systematic destruction of an American friend,” by striking against Hezbollah in Lebanon. When asked about his comments he explained his regret in having made them.

Like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who participated in the hearings, I’m inclined to find this all a bit “disturbing.” I don’t believe Hagel’s position on Israel has changed. I believe he has a warped sense of how things work in Washington, and his backwards connotation that a so-called “Jewish lobby” exists is no different than Henry Ford publishing copies of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Hagel’s comments indicated that he did not regret what he said, but just that he said it publicly. I think it’s also noteworthy that rather than address these comments before his nomination, he instead waited for a public shaming.

Urge your Senators to vote against Hagel’s confirmation, and better yet; that they might suggest a more reasonable nominee for President Obama so we don’t go through this again.

Ryan Fishman is the Vice President of Strategic Consultation at Steward Media, handling PR and media consultation for politicians, businesses, and non-profits. Fishman is a former talk show host, political reporter, and news anchor.

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Op-Ed: Ed Koch’s Epitaph – My Father Is Jewish, My mother Is Jewish, I Am Jewish

February 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
edkoch

My Father Is Jewish, My mother Is Jewish, I Am Jewish.

 By Ryan Fishman

Even in death, Ed Koch continues to impress me. I had the pleasure of knowing the former Mayor of New York, an outspoken political and pop-culture icon. His greatest strength, and perhaps what some perceived as his greatest weakness, was that unabashed courage to say whatever he wanted and buck the system when he was right and it was wrong.

Politics aside, Koch was a Jew, and proud of it. So proud, in fact, that on his grave marker sits the final words of Daniel Pearl, spoken before his death at the hands of terrorists in Pakistan: “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.” Koch explained this phrase was as important as any statement in Jewish ritual, that we should say it every Shabbat “with great pride.”

Koch used his position to advocate for Israel, to advocate for Jews, and to fight anti-Semitism in a public setting.

“There’s so many people who are anti-Semitic today. There are Jews who are uncomfortable announcing they are a Jew … I’m proud of the word ‘Jew.’ And that I am a Jew,” he said in an interview last year.

This brazenly proud, nebbishy sort of character should serve as an inspiration to all American Jews. Our job is to stand up for our faith and to stand up for our homeland, even when we don’t identify with Judaism on a non-secular level. We have a role to play as political advocates for our faith and for Israel, and that means never being afraid to stand up and announce who we are and where we come from.

My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.

Ryan Fishman is the Vice President of Strategic Consultation at Steward Media, handling PR and media consultation for politicians, businesses, and non-profits. Fishman is a former talk show host, political reporter, and news anchor.

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Ryan Fishman’s Column Is Back: It’s Time For Jews And Blacks To Walk Side By Side, Again

January 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Judge Damon Keith with Ryan Fishman at an MLK day celebration this week

Judge Damon Keith with Ryan Fishman at an MLK day celebration this week

By Ryan Fishman

This was an historic and important week for our country. The same day we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King as a country, we inaugurated the nation’s first African American President for a second time. Love him or hate him, Barack Obama’s election and reelection tell an important story about the progress of the civil rights movement in America. 50 years after King’s historic “I Have A Dream” speech I’m not sure you could call America a colorblind utopia, but things have improved.

Enough has probably been said this week about breaking down racial barriers, so instead I want to take my opportunity to recognize Martin Luther King’s contributions to the Jewish people. Here was a man who already had taken up the unpopular charge of leading African Americans to a better station, but then decides to also pile on the centuries-old burden of advocating for Jews worldwide.

Martin Luther King was a staunch Zionist. He once said to a student attacking his position, “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism.” In an open letter to Anti-Zionists he wrote, “Anti-Zionist is inherently anti-Semitic, and ever will be so.” I come back to these words again and again when I encounter other Jews who dismiss anti-Zionism as a political issue wholly distinguishable from anti-Semitism. The important thing to recognize, as Dr. King so wisely did, is that the true foundation of anti-Zionist rhetoric is a deep-seated hatred of Jews and the belief we have no right to a safe haven, a state of our own.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Representative Rudy Hobbs, an African American member of the Michigan Legislature, who was in Israel last month at the height of the military conflict with Hamas. He spoke of a sense of “envy” he feels for a people who have a homeland, explaining his “homeland” is somewhere in Alabama. He will never know where his family was taken from in Africa. I was touched by the Representative’s understanding of the important of Israel and his deep respect for our culture and traditions. Hobbs grew up in Southfield, one of the cities he now represents in Lansing, and had many Jewish neighbors. Listening to his perspective, I had a new appreciation of Israel, and how privileged we are as Jews to have somewhere we can always go back to, free from persecution.

This week has also left me thinking about the degeneration of the relationship between African Americans and Jews. At the height of the civil rights movement, Jews and Blacks marched side by side. There was a brotherhood, born out of slavery or, at the very least, years of common persecution and belittlement, and unfortunately I believe our synergy has faded. Many Jews and African American leaders continue to work together and call for joint efforts that benefit our two communities, but there is plenty of work left to be done. I hope a day comes when suburban Jews and their African Americans neighbors in the city of Detroit can work together to revitalize the city and our region. For that day to come we must strengthen and rebuild the ties between us, redevelop our common understanding of one another, and go back to fighting side by side for the advancement of all people.

Ryan Fishman is the Vice President of Strategic Consultation at Steward Media, handling PR and media consultation for politicians, businesses, and non-profits. Fishman is a former talk show host, political reporter, and news anchor.

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