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22.09.03, 02:56
www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=13221&intcategoryid=3
BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Latest contender for president
comes from long line of rabbis
By Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (JTA) — Raised a Southern Baptist who later converted
to Roman Catholicism, Gen. Wesley Clark knew just what to say when he strode
into a Brooklyn yeshiva in 1999, ostensibly to discuss his leadership of
NATO´s victory in Yugoslavia.
"I feel a tremendous amount in common with you," the uniformed four-star
general told the stunned roomful of students.
"I am the oldest son, of the oldest son, of the oldest son — at least five
generations, and they were all rabbis."
The incident could be a signal of how Clark, who became the 10th contender
in the Democratic run for the presidency on Wednesday, relates to the Jews
and the issues dear to them.
Apparently Clark, 58, revels in his Jewish roots.
He told The Jewish Week in New York, which first reported the yeshiva
comment in 1999, that his ancestors were not just Jews, but members of the
priestly caste of Kohens.
Clark´s Jewish father, Benjamin Kanne, died when he was 4, but he has kept
in touch with his father´s family since his 20s, when he rediscovered his
Jewish roots. He is close to a first cousin, Barry Kanne, who heads a pager
company in Georgia.
Clark shares more than sentimental memories with Jews.
He couples liberal domestic views that appeal to much of the Jewish
electorate with a soldier´s sympathy for Israel´s struggle against terror.
Appearing in June on "Meet the Press" on CBS, Clarke said he agreed with
President Bush´s assessment that Israel should show more restraint, a
reference to the policy of targeting terrorist leaders for assassination.
"But the problem is," Clark continued, "when you have hard intelligence that
you´re about to be struck, it´s the responsibility of a government to take
action against that intelligence and prevent the loss of lives. It´s what
any society would expect of its leadership. So there´s a limit to how much
restraint can be shown."
Speaking to the New Democrat Network this year, Clark said that dismantling
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat´s Ramallah headquarters was "a
legitimate military objective from their perspective.
"For the Israelis, this is a struggle really for the existence of Israel,"
Clark said in remarks quoted on a support group´s Web site.
Clark is also tough on neighboring Arab states, expecting more from them in
nudging the Palestinians toward peace.
He has said he would like to see Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in
a "contact group" similar to the alliance that Serb-friendly Russia joined
to force the Serbs to back down in Kosovo. He blames Saudi Arabia for
allowing extremist strains of Islam to spread.
The former NATO leader also opposes any active international role in
policing the West Bank until the political situation is settled, a view that
Israelis — nervous at relinquishing control to foreign troops on their
borders — would appreciate.
Domestically, Clark favors many of the liberal views popular with many Jews.
He is pro-choice, and is strongly in favor of separating church from state.
"In order to have freedom of religion, you´ve got to protect the state from
the church," he is quoted saying on his supporters´ Web site.
One of the leaders of the Draft Clark campaign said Clark´s strength on
foreign policy would neutralize an advantage President Bush now has with
Jews, and would bring the debate back to domestic issues, where the Bush
administration is weaker with Jews.
"It makes him credible and allows him to focus on domestic policy," Brent
Blackaby said in a telephone interview from Clark´s campaign headquarters in
Little Rock, Ark.
Two of Clark´s top advisers are Jews who had prominent roles in the Clinton
and Gore campaigns. Eli Segal was a top adviser to President Clinton in his
first term; Ron Klain helped run Vice President Al Gore´s 2000 campaign.
