By Reuven Rosenfeld in VINnews

Joining us for a pre-passover interview is Rabbi Yaakov Menken, the Executive Vice President of Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV). CJV represents over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis and they are the largest rabbinic public policy organization in America.

While many Jewish organizations in America are stagnant, CJV is growing! They recently announced on March 31st the expansion into Indiana with the Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana (JAACI) joining CJV as their Indiana chapter.

With so much happening in the Jewish world in America and in Israel, we sat down with Rabbi Menken to learn more about CJV.

VIN News: So let’s jump right into the interview. Could you provide our audience with an overview of the Coalition for Jewish Values and what distinguishes CJV from other Jewish advocacy organizations in the United States?

Rabbi Menken: Judaism is not Wokeism. Although this is simple and obvious to those in our community, much of America is confused about this. Our Torah says one thing, but loud, aggressive voices on the Jewish left say something entirely different. Despite a plethora of left-wing Jewish organizations that portray their personal ideologies as “Jewish,” no one has clearly spoken up for actual Torah values. That is the void that CJV aims to fill, confronting the Chilul HaShem that those organizations have created as they denigrate Hashem’s Torah.

Judaism, rather, teaches the principles that made America great. The Founding Fathers relied upon Torah principles to guide them—they cited Sefer Devarim (Deuteronomy) most frequently. These values built America, and are good for every civilization and of course the Jewish community.

The other advocacy organizations serving the Torah community are focused upon our unique needs, and their work requires that they not speak out on every issue. There are many times where loudly proclaiming the Torah position offers no immediate benefit, and might alienate potential allies. They thread the diplomatic needle admirably, but that means that no national Jewish organization is fighting to keep men out of women’s sports and women’s prisons other than CJV—although that will certainly lead to problems for the Torah community down the road if not addressed now.

VIN News: How do you feel CJV impacts the political landscape within the United States?

Rabbi Menken: Consider that the most pro-Israel and pro-Jewish American demographic is the Evangelical community, which is significantly more aligned with Torah positions on life, gender, and parental rights than are most Jews and Jewish organizations. CJV shows them that they have natural allies in our community, and we don’t care only about our own community. This naturally increases their support and makes them attuned to our statements on antisemitism and other issues of concern to us.

Without CJV, Ilhan Omar would still be building seniority on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rashida Tlaib would have held her “Nakba” event in the Capitol, and no one would have stood up for Senate Judiciary Republicans when the ADL accused them of “bias” for daring to question a nominee for a federal judgeship about his ties to a terror-supporting institute at Rutgers.

Note, too, that the left claims that since only Christian groups care about Biblical values, to listen to them would “violate church-state separation.” This would, of course, have seriously confused the Founding Fathers, all of whom were deeply religious. Simply by adding our voice, we show that moral positions are basic American values: what they call “Judeo-Christian ethics” are, in reality, simply learned from Judaism.

VIN News: CJV was among the first Jewish organizations to publicly support Mike Huckabee’s nomination to serve as President Trump’s Ambassador to Israel. What factors led to this early endorsement and why does CJV think a non-Jew will be a good Ambassador to Israel?

Rabbi Menken: Actually, a non-Jew can be a better Ambassador to Israel, because he cannot have the “dual loyalty” trope thrown at him. Mr. Huckabee has a very long track record with many public statements about Israel, all expressing the same views as those of Torah Jewry. In other words, he is as attuned to our interests as was Ambassador Friedman, without that downside. There’s a good reason why antisemites universally oppose his nomination.

VIN News: Let’s shift to domestic issues.Given the documented rise in antisemitism on college campuses, what is CJV’s assessment of the current situation?

Rabbi Menken: Terrible, but likely to get better. I can speak to you personally about this, because I became frum halfway through my four years at Princeton University. What is going on there today is something I thankfully never experienced, and it is shameful. The current President, Christopher Eisgruber, claims to have discovered that he is himself of Jewish stock, yet he has presided over the university’s slide into bigotry and hate.

Even many Jews are confused by what we, as Torah Jews, understand immediately. Boycotting Jews has a long and ugly history, yet people imagine that boycotts aimed at Israel today might be different. They are not, and obviously not, at least to us. The Trump administration, in clear contrast to the last one, is clearly getting this issue right, and is playing hardball with the universities where it counts: with their government funding.

VIN News: President Trump’s administration has begun revoking student visas for those involved in antisemitic activities. Secretary Rubio confirms that hundreds of visas have been revoked. Does CJV support this measure?

Rabbi Menken: “Is it a good idea to deport those who came to America to incite Jew-hatred?” Yes! President Trump promised our community to crack down on foreign terror supporters and remove them, and both the Jewish community and American civilization are much better off with him keeping that promise.

VIN News: Now let’s talk about the future of Jewry in America, which CJV plays a critical role. What are CJV’s recommendations for fostering and instilling Jewish pride in America, particularly among younger generations?

Rabbi Menken: The message of CJV is that Judaism stands for something, in fact for the values that underpin any first-world civilization. Prioritizing peace over warfare, treating human life as sacred, equal justice, universal education, family, and charity are all Jewish values that today characterize the civilized countries in which people prefer to live. Rabbi Ken Spiro did a book about this, called WorldPerfect. Even the idea that the ruler does not have ultimate, unchallenged power is a Jewish concept from King David’s time that took thousands of years for others to put into practice. Jewish values are good for America, good for Jews, and good for humanity. Millions of Americans are anxious to hear a Jewish voice standing up for Torah values, and that is having a positive impact that is growing daily.

Photo credit: Core Values by Nick Youngson, with CC BY-SA 3.0 license on Picpedia.Org