Meet Cameron Kerry, the Jewish, pro-Israel brother of John Kerry [Hidden by MSM from leftist base]

As many of you know, one of the things John Kerry's leftist base is most uncomfortable about is his strong support (at least on paper) of Israel. In fact, his pro-Israel policy paper last week caused severe consternation among Kerry supporters.

There is a little secret that the media has kept from the people, in deference to the anti-Israel stance of the left wing of the Democratic party, and that is the existence of the Jewish brother of John Kerry, Cameron Kerry. Not only is he a converted Jew, he is a prominent lawyer for a major Boston law firm which represents many high profile Israeli business interests. Read below for a profile of Cameron Kerry from Forward magazine:

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When Massachusetts Senator John Kerry learned last year that his paternal grandparents in 19th-century Austria had converted to Catholicism from Judaism, one of the first people he called was his younger brother, Cameron.

In an interview at John Kerry's New York headquarters last Friday, Cameron Kerry told the Forward that his family had "an inkling" that they had a Jewish grandmother, but no "concrete" evidence. Furthermore, he said, his grandparents' conversion, which was discovered by the Boston Globe, struck him as "ironic." The younger Kerry, 53, had converted to Judaism from Catholicism in 1983, upon marrying a Jewish woman, Kathy Weinman.

Cameron Kerry, who lives in Boston, was in New York last weekend politicking for his brother in advance of the March 2 New York Democratic primary. One of the campaign's most public faces in the Jewish community, he spent the Sabbath at Manhattan synagogues and stayed in local homes. On Sunday, he and his brother met with some 40 Jewish communal leaders in Manhattan at a gathering that got glowing reviews in the next day's newspapers. The candidate impressed attendees with his knowledge of Middle Eastern affairs and his emotional grasp of the issues. He also got a chance to correct an earlier faux pas, in which he had suggested naming two figures who are unpopular with the Jewish community — former secretary of state James Baker and former president Carter — as possible envoys to the Middle East.

"It was Cam's doing to bring that together and make that happen," said Alan Solomont, a Jewish philanthropist and fund-raiser for Senator Kerry who attended the meeting. "He understood the importance of John getting in front of the community... of showing his incredible intellectual depth."

Cameron Kerry, who said his brother was "supportive" of his decision to convert, has given the senator some first-hand experience with Judaism. Kerry and his wife have raised their two daughters in the Reform tradition, with baby namings and bat mitzvahs. John Kerry attended those functions as a treasured uncle, and while he hasn't celebrated Jewish holidays such as Passover with the family, "he has been to Shabbat dinner," Cameron Kerry said. So, in a historical first, the probable Democratic presidential nominee not only possesses Jewish roots — and, it was discovered last week, relatives who died in Nazi death camps — but some Jewish family experiences.

In a campaign that heralds a "band of brothers," namely the fellow veterans who have flocked to the war hero's camp, it seems fitting that the candidate's biological brother would figure prominently. The brothers are close, so close in fact that the younger Kerry has served as one of his sibling's chief counselors and strategists on all of his campaigns, from his unsuccessful run for Congress in 1972 through some tough subsequent contests. His role as political strategist has turned Cameron Kerry into a story in his own right more than once.

In 1972, in what the family says was a "setup," he was arrested for having broken into a building that housed the campaign's phone lines. A caller had tipped him off to the threat that an opponent would cut the lines, but the police caught Cameron Kerry instead.

A recent New York Times profile examined Kerry's role in the axing of Jim Jordan, his brother's popular campaign manager, comparing him to the late Robert Kennedy, who gained a reputation for ruthlessness as John Kennedy's campaign manager in the 1960 presidential campaign.

James Segel, a Boston Democratic activist who has known Kerry for 30 years, laughed at the comparison.

"Cam is tough, but he doesn't give the impression of being ruthless," Segel said. "I would not compare him in style to the Bob Kennedy of the 1960 campaign. As confidant to the candidate, there's a comparison there. John Kennedy had 110% confidence in Bob, and John Kerry has 110% confidence in Cam."

Segel and others describe the younger Kerry as his brother's eyes and ears on the campaign, "kind of quiet" and "not obtrusive" but with "very good political judgment."

"He gives good, honest advice to his brother, and that's rare, because too often people tell the candidate what they want to hear," Segel said.

A more apt comparison than the Kennedys might be to another dynamic duo, Batman and Robin. The younger Kerry looks like a boyish version of his 60-year-old brother, who stands several inches taller and whose features are craggier. He speaks about Senator Kerry in terms Robin might have used for the caped crusader, too.

"There's nobody I want more by my side in a tough situation than my brother," Kerry said. "That's what his crewmates have seen, and that's what more and more and more people have seen in this country as this campaign has unfolded."

The Kerry campers and others consulted for this article all praised Cameron Kerry as a thoughtful, self-effacing, gentle man. He's even a hero to his rabbi. Rabbi Ronne Friedman of Temple Israel of Brookline, Mass., recounts how last year Kerry's family took the lead in the class project of his daughter's b'nei mitzvah class, to build a playground for an urban school in Roxbury. The family helped raise money, worked with the parents of the school and assembled dozens of volunteers for the construction, according to Friedman.

"He's present in the pew with regard to worship, and whenever time allows has been a student," Friedman said. "He's genuinely an intellect and has an interest in Judaism from an intellectual point of view."

Kathy Weinman Kerry is a member of the synagogue's board and its ritual committee.

Cameron Kerry's Jewish connections also extend to his business life, and have paid off for John Kerry. A telecommunications lawyer, Kerry works at a Boston-based firm, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, although he has taken a leave to work on the campaign. While Mintz Levin is now a diverse, 450-lawyer shop, it was once known as the "Lox et Veritas" firm — a play on the Yale motto "Lux et Veritas" — having been founded in 1933 by Jewish lawyers "who weren't entirely accepted at white-shoe firms," Kerry said. The firm, which built itself up as counselors to the Jewish entrepreneurs of Boston, even now has a big business in helping Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs gain access to American markets.

Kerry has made rain handsomely for his brother at Mintz Levin. Employees of the firm have emerged as the second-largest source of contributions to the candidate in this election cycle, providing a total $113,500 in contributions, according to the Web site of the Center for Responsive Politics.

The younger Kerry describes the campaign fund raising in the Jewish community as "very strong," thanks to the efforts of Solomont, national campaign finance chairman Louis Susman and Denver fund-raiser Ron Brownstein.

As a strategist, Cameron Kerry said, the decision of which he is most proud was "to shift gears from being a national campaign to focus on Iowa."

John Kerry's surprise win there started the momentum that has carried his candidacy forward to the point where it appeared to have locked up the Democratic nomination after wins in 9 of the 10 states that voted this week.

But Cameron Kerry may have another role: humanizing the John Kerry often pilloried by the press as stiff and aloof. Kerry said he doesn't recognize that figure.

"He's somebody with very intense personal relationships," he said of the senator. "You can see on this campaign, it's impressive the number of people who have intense loyalties going back a lot of years. It's a reflection of the deeply loyal relationships he has."

Exactly,
I always question when someone says "Conversion" from Christianity? is there such a thing? I can imagine you might decide to become an "Atheist" which is a lack of moral strength IMO..

But since you can be a Jew or Gentile Christian, I do not see what Kerry's brother converted too? if he became an Atheist then I guess he had a immoral conversion, if he is part of the Jewish faith he can still be a Christian as the Apostles and the early christians (All Jews) were...up until Antioch...

I do not see what Kerry's brother converted too?

Well, its pretty straightforward. He converted to Judaism. A Reform conversion, from the sounds of it, although that isn't clearly stated in the article.

Just because this concept doesn't fit into your worldview doesn't mean that people don't do it all the time.

if he is part of the Jewish faith he can still be a Christian

He may never have been a believing Christian. Or, if he once were, he rejected those beliefs somewhere along the way. At any rate, when he converted to Judaism, he no longer held specifically Christian beliefs such as the trinity, the incarnation, etc.

Yes, the "Kerry" family had a different, Jewish name before changing it.

Meanwhile, I heard on Catholic radio this week that some priest is suing to have Kerry booted from the church on the grounds that he supports murder of unborn and partially born children, 100% against Church policy. According to this priest, Kerry is ALREADY technically excommunicated for a.) supporting abortion and b.) taking communion even though he's technically excommunicated. I hope they get a lot of air time, at least on Catholic radio.

Maybe Kerry should join some New Age "inclusive" church where all are welcome no matter what they believe, if anything.

The fact that he has - according to the article - an honest, hard working brother
would be considered a PLUS to the Kerry side (compare to the clinton family(?)).

In a rational world, yes.

But a fair amount of Kerry's supporters (I'd guess many of them former Deaniacs) fit the
same demographic of the Europeans who think Israel and the USA are the two most
dangerous countries on the face of the earth.
Before North Korea, no less.

The idea that Kerry's brother might even lean to the side of the Israelis...not good
PR for Kerry in regards to some of his active supporters.

when he converted to Judaism, he no longer held specifically Christian beliefs such as the trinity, the incarnation, etc.
One other thing Malakhi concerning this statement, if the early church in Israel (Before the Gospels were preached to the Gentiles) had Christian beliefs were still Jews then I am sure in today's world the same concept applies...

if the early church in Israel (Before the Gospels were preached to the Gentiles) had Christian beliefs were still Jews then I am sure in today's world the same concept applies...

If he were halakhically Jewish (i.e., born of a Jewish mother), then he would remain a Jew by birth even if he converted to Christianity.

In the case of Cameron and John Kerry, their Jewish ancestry is not through their mother. So they are not, according to Jewish law, Jews by birth. Which is why Cameron had to convert.

A gentile who becomes a Christian is still a gentile. He does not become Jewish by virtue of his baptism. The only "Jewish" Christians are those who were born Jews and who have converted to Christianity.

I know this is proably way to in-depth to ever find a answer but here is some food for thought:
If all the Apostles were Jewish (Exception) Luke and there Jewish wives had children then by lineage they would be Jewish even if they believed Jesus Christ was Messiah this being the case how would you identify there geneaology?
Jew Gentile? no way to tell...I would find it interesting if someone had an answer to this puzzling question....

This is really simple to understand: If your mother is Jewish, you are halachically Jewish. Halacha=Jewish law. So, if mommy is Jewish then all children born to her will be Jewish according to Jewish law. And if she and daddy raise them right, they will stay Jewish.

If you have a conversion that is halachically correct (beit din with shomer shabbos rabbis, mikvah, and for men circ) you are Jewish according to Jewish law.

The father's religion does not matter. If mom is Jewish, so are her children.

If all the Apostles were Jewish (Exception) Luke and there Jewish wives had children then by lineage they would be Jewish even if they believed Jesus Christ was Messiah this being the case how would you identify there geneaology? Jew Gentile? no way to tell.

Since their Jewishness ceased to matter to them, they would have lost any such identity over the course of succeeding generations. Given the amount of intermarriage, the likelihood of a great number of Christians who are unknowingly of Jewish matrilineal descent is exceedingly small. There may be a great number who have Jewish ancestry somewhere in their family tree, but they would not be Jewish according to Jewish law.

So are you saying if Kerry had a Jewish Mother and Catholic father he does not have to convert?

That is absolutely correct. He would be a Jew by birth.

According to the article, the Kerrys' paternal grandparents were Jews who converted to Catholicism. Kerry's father's mother was Jewish, so Kerry's father, according to Jewish law, was a Jew by birth. Since John and Cameron's mother was not Jewish, however, they are not halakhically Jewish.

Well blow me down and call me a straw house - this is the first time I've ever heard anything about Mr. Kerry's family. I wonder what else is out there?

You said if the mother is Jewish and has children then her offspring is Jewish no matter if they become Atheists or Buddhists they are JEWISH those are your words.

In reading the Bible and the early church which at one point only had 2 types of People Jews and Gentiles. When Jesus was on earth as a Jew his family were Jews the Apostles were married and were Jews the Gospels were spread to many Jews through large segments in the world. Antioch was a very large Jewish city that believed in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, now I realize things changed dramatically when the early Jewish Church Changed to more of a Pagan Gentile matter, but that does not negate the fact that the offsring of many many believers were of Jewish blood so there is no way on GOD's creation that you have one inclination how to determine who truly is Jewish or Gentile that means Conversion is not accurate, unless you consider yourself an Atheist...

See, I know you have a hard time accepting this, but, Jews get to decide who is Jewish and who is not. Not Christians. They don't get to decide jack shit that has to do with Jewish Law.

And going by your theroy then I guess we are all related! One big happy family! Group hug! Group hug!

The candidate impressed attendees with his knowledge of Middle Eastern affairs and his emotional grasp of the issues. He also got a chance to correct an earlier faux pas, in which he had suggested naming two figures who are unpopular with the Jewish community — former secretary of state James Baker and former president Carter — as possible envoys to the Middle East.

flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop flipflop

but that does not negate the fact that the offsring of many many believers were of Jewish blood

That is true, but how many generations ago was that? 80? In each line of descent, for every "Jew-by-birth" man who married a non-Jewish woman, the line would become "gentile", as none of their descendants would be Jewish. Over 80 generations, the likelihood of an unbroken matrilineal string of halakhic Jews, while not mathematically impossible, is exceedingly unlikely. Because "Jewishness" ceased to matter to them, and they freely intermarried.

that means Conversion is not accurate

How so? If someone were (unknowingly) Jewish, and "converted" to Judaism, the end result would be the same -- that person would now be Jewish. The fact that their conversion was unnecessary doesn't really matter.

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