[Inkie]

I agree with you on the religious points. Though I think, to be fair, a lot of my friends are liberal Jews and they make extremely moral choices in their own lives. They do live their values (life is too short to have friends who are hypocrites). They just can't bring themselves to "impose" their morals on others. Except, of course, when it comes to taxes!!!! Personally, they are very generous to truly needy causes (they are NOT political donors but rather volunteer at shelters, participate in literacy programs, support Habitat for Humanity, drug rehab programs, etc. -- in fact, we have some very dear friends where the husband has done well and the wife's family are all really struggling, so her husband is helping send her nieces and nephews to college and is helping her mother, whose alcoholic ex-husband impoverished her). But they have this view that, somehow, "the rich" are not doing their part, though it has been shown that, particularly religious people, are extremely generous in their personal lives, and not only to their churches but to other deserving causes as well. I try to give them the stats (Investors Business Daily is a FANTASTIC resource for this, btw, if anyone is interested), but their ideologies are just too ingrained to get through. Still, I'll keep trying.

When I think of the kinds of people you are talking about, the Barbra Streisands of the world come to mind. They want yours and my taxes to fund abortions in China, but they would never think of using their own ample funds to support their ideologies. As I said, though my friends disagree with me, they are nothing like that. They live their values. Although I disagree with them, I do respect the way they behave.

[Sam Cree]

" But they have this view that, somehow, "the rich" are not doing their part "

I think that their (I mean Jewish liberals in general, since I don't know your friends) underlying leftist philosophy disapproves of wealth on principle, since it doesn't reconcile with "equality" and since the Left seems to assume that the "wealthy" got that way by "exploiting" the poor. The fact that wealth building actually is of tremendous benefit to all of society is at least irrelevant to leftist philosophy.

It's true that many "liberal" Jews are compassionate and really care about the disadvantaged, and are willing to devote both time and money to worthy causes. What bothers me is that all this "social action," admirable though it may be, is always framed by leftist philosophy.

I guess I'm not a good temple member, because through all these years of belonging (and sending the kids through Hebrew School, I hate to think what they were taught, as the "Education Director" was recently telling me how great socialism is)I've been oblivious to the very active leftist politics pursued by Reform Judaism.

Now that I'm aware of what's going on, and it's becoming obvious even to a "2 day a year" member like me, I am considering resigning my membership. This really causes me great anguish, and my wife even more.