Jews Obama Israel | One Jewish Mom for Obama

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Cambridge, MA (October 3) – Janette Hillis-Jaffe, An Orthodox Jewish supporter of Senator Barack Obama who lived in Israel for five years, has released a ground-breaking video (www.JewsObamaIsrael.com) encouraging other Jews who love Israel to join her in supporting Obama.

Hillis-Jaffe, who lived in Israel during the Second Intifada and the start of the Iraq War, knows first-hand the existential dangers that Israel faces. Her fond memories of her life in Israel will forever be marred by fear and violence. “I remember the terror of sealing my son Tani’s nursery against the threat of nerve gas and practicing strapping Tani into his toddler-sized HazMat suit while praying that it would never be necessary,” Hillis-Jaffe explains. “And there were so many suicide bombings near our home that Tani started asking about the explosions, and I had to lie to him about what they were.”

When Hillis-Jaffe heard the anti-Obama rumors circulating in the Jewish community, she was as concerned as anyone. However, when she researched the claims, she found that they were the exact opposite of the truth. “The material on Web sites like JewsForObama.com and njdc.org, and the substantive endorsements by many long-time supporters of Israel, made it clear to me that Obama has always had close ties to Jews and been a strong supporter of the Jewish state.”

Hillis-Jaffe is convinced of Obama’s support for Israel, but that is far from the only reason why she supports him. “Supporting Obama is an obvious choice for someone who lives their life, as I do, according to Jewish values. I see that same ethical code in Obama’s message to the American people, particularly in his dedication to social justice issues such as health care, education and civil rights.”

Hillis-Jaffe is no stranger to activism. A graduate of Cornell University and the Harvard School of Public Health, she previously directed the Massachusetts Child Hunger Initiative at Project Bread – The Walk for Hunger, worked for NGOs in Israel, led a nationwide evaluation of U.S. health education materials, and worked for a member of the Japanese Diet (parliament) in Tokyo.

For the past several years, Hillis-Jaffe suffered from Lyme disease and was able to do little more than care for herself and her family. Her condition recently improved, but finding the time and energy to make the video was still a challenge. Nevertheless, she felt that she had to do something. “When I heard about an anti-Obama letter filled with falsehoods being circulated among teachers at a Jewish preschool, I knew I couldn’t stay on the sidelines. It made me so angry and determined to fight back,” she said.

To make the video a reality, Hillis-Jaffe reached out to Ellen Krause-Grosman, a long-time friend and former video producer who lives in Brighton. Krause-Grosman, who lives in nearby Brighton, was enthusiastic. “Everyone I spoke with loved the idea,” she explained. “Within 48 hours I was able to pull together a terrific all-volunteer, Jewish production team.” They put the video together in just over two weeks.

The team included filmmaker Henry Felt (www.feltco.com), associate producer Randy Cohen Coblenz (Arlington, VA), photographer Lloyd Wolf (www.lloydwolf.com), and editorial and publicity consultants Yocheved Seidman (Ithaca, NY) and Jonathan Kamens (Brighton, MA).

Technorati Tags: jews obama, obama israel

Conceived and written by Janette Hillis-Jaffe

Janette Hillis-Jaffe and Rabbi David Jaffe live in Cambridge, Massachusetts with their two sons.  They lived in Jerusalem from 1999 to 2004, while David pursued Rabbinic ordination and Janette studied Torah (at Nishmat, Yakkar, and MaTan), worked, and birthed two beautiful boys.

Janette is currently an at-home mom.  Previously, she has directed the Massachusetts Child Hunger Initiative at Project Bread-The Walk for Hunger; done development and fundraising work for NGOs in Israel; led a nationwide focus group evaluation of U.S. health education materials; and worked for a member of the Japanese Diet (parliament) in Tokyo.

Produced by Ellen Krause-Grosman

Ellen Krause-Grosman lives in Boston Massachusetts with her husband and two young children. Currently she is a stay at home mom with a part-time life coaching practice. For many years Ellen worked as a Producer of documentary and educational videos. Ellen is active in the Boston Jewish community as an educator and community member. She is a former member of the Jewish Community Relations Council community advisory board and one of the original steering committee members of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. Ellen received her Masters in Education from Harvard University and her BA from the University of Chicago. She lived in Israel and studied at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem.

QUOTE: “I am thrilled to have an opportunity to use my skills as a video producer to help the Jewish community support positive change for the US, Israel and the world by working together to elect Barak Obama President of the United States. Janette Hillis Jaffe is one of my favorite people to work with on anything, so I was delighted to get a call from her a week ago Friday (September 12th), while I was in the midst of whirlwind family trip to Philadelphia for a cousin’s bar mitzvah. Janette said, "I have this wacky idea. I want to make a Super Jew for Obama video for utube to reach out to Jews who are concerned that Barak Obama is not a strong supporter of Israel." I said, "Lets do it! Get me a script by early next week and we will make it happen." Within 48 hours of receiving Janette’s script I was able to pull together a terrific production team. Everyone I contacted is so happy to volunteer their efforts to help get Janette’s message out to supporters of Israel. My primary occupation these days is as a stay at home mom, but at heart I am a producer - I like to transform ideas into reality - and it is such a joy to work with great people to just make this video happen.”

Filmed and Edited by Henry Felt

Henry Felt has been teaching and making documentaries on education and social issues for decades.

QUOTE: “Making documentaries is one of my ways of contributing to this world.  So when asked if I could lend my film-making experience to "A Jewish Mother for Obama," I considered it a mitzvah and a privilege.”

Associate Producer: Randi Cohen Coblenz

Randi Cohen Coblenz lives in Arlington, Virginia. A recent transplant to the DC area from many years in Boston, MA, Randi is establishing herself as a Preditor (Producer + Editor) who knows Avid and Final Cut Pro.  An archaeologist by training, Cohen Coblenz also has a Master’s degree from Emerson College. Randi is also a Blue Belt Instructor for the Nia Technique, a mind-body fitness program.
QUOTE: “I got involved in the project when contacted by Ellen Krause-Grosman, with whom I have worked with in the past. Since I have received many emails defaming Obama within the Jewish Community, I am pleased to contribute to a more realistic representation of this candidate.”

Advice on Script and visuals: Jonathan Kamens

Jonathan Kamens lives in Brighton, Massachusetts with his wife Andrea and their five young children.  (He is also the co-founder of the active website JewsforObama.com)

QUOTE: “This is the first presidential election in which I’ve been active and the first in which I’ve donated money to a candidate.  I was driven to this activism by the horrible, scurrilous slurs against Obama being circulated within the Jewish community.  When I researched the accusations for myself, I found them all to be completely false, and I was disgusted that Jews would engage in such terrible lashon hara for political gain.  The more I looked at Obama, the more I liked him, and so I felt a personal obligation to combat the false smears against him within the Jewish community.  This video seems like an awesome opportunity to get across a positive message about Obama to counteract the smears, and I am extremely excited to be involved in the project.”

Advice on Script and visuals: Yocheved Seidman

Yocheved lives in Ithaca, NY and is an Orthodox Jewish wife and mother of a 4 year old son as well as a PhD student at Cornell University studying Turkish textile workers. (She is also active in Jews for Obama, and the volunteer organizer for the Orthodox Jews for Obama group that met through the campaign’s website.)
“This project is a wonderful effort to reach out to Jewish voters and express the positive perspective that many observant American Jews feel about Barack Obama’s candidacy for President. We trust him and know that with his intelligence, calm demeanor, and iron resolve to stop Iran, he is best suited to navigate the dangerous times our beloved Israel is
currently passing through.

Lloyd Wolf donated many of the Jerusalem photographs:
Lloyd Wolf is an award-winning photographer, writer and educator whose work is in major public and private collections, and has appeared in The Washington Post Magazine, Ms., National Geographic Explorer, Jewish Monthly, The Forward, Sojourners, Elle, People, Vogue and numerous other publications. He received a National Endowment for the Arts Photo Survey Grant in 1980. His documentary projects include a prison drug-rehab clinic, the Moroccan Jewish community, the March of the Living, Operation Understanding (on Black-Jewish relations), and "Grandma’s House" - a program that cares for HIV-positive babies. He collaborated with Paula Wolfson on two books: "Jewish Mothers: Strength Wisdom Compassion" (Chronicle Books 2000) and "Jewish Fathers: A Legacy of Love" (Jewish Lights, 2004). His first book, "Facing the Wall. Americans at the Vietnam Memorial" (with writer Duncan Spenser) was published by Macmillan in 1986. He is an adjunct professor of photography at George Mason University.

www.lloydwolf.com