Raphael and Linda Benaroya recently hosted a NORPAC event for Senator Cory Booker at their home in Englewood along with chairs Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Dr. Ben Chouake, and Dr. Mort Katz.
Senator Booker, who is serving his first term in the U.S. Senate after winning the special election last year for the seat of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg, has a long-standing history with the Jewish community. Booker first met Rabbi Shmuley Boteach at Oxford in 1992, and a budding friendship, with them regularly studying Torah together, began, correlating with Booker becoming the President of the Oxford University L’Chaim Society, which Rabbi Shmuley founded, and which was, by membership, Oxford’s second largest society. Since then, the Senator has appeared many times at Jewish schools and social functions as a proud advocate of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
The event, which was kept to limited engagement to ensure close interaction with the Senator, began with an introduction by Mr. Benaroya on the Senator’s past history with the Jewish community and current support of pro-Israel legislation. Booker was a co-sponsor of the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 to bolster military cooperation between the two countries and co-sponsored S.Res.498–a resolution expressing support for Israel during the Gaza War.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach took the podium with Senator Booker and asked questions pertaining to current topics on the U.S.-Israel relationship. He asked about the November 24 deadline for the negotiations with Iran. Senator Booker was adamant that he, as well as the rest of Congress, would not stand for a “bad deal” that would allow Tehran to continue to pursue a nuclear weapons capability. He stated that members of Congress have been briefed on the current status of the negotiations, and that he has been in contact with administration officials to ensure that the President is working toward a satisfactory agreement entailing the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Rabbi Boteach then asked the Senator to evaluate his time with the Jewish community and the life lessons he has learned. Booker mentioned that he had, at one time, swapped literature with Shmuley–he reading Eli Wiesel and Rabbi Boteach reading works from Malcolm X. The two shared how their mutual experiences have changed them to grant a deeper understanding of cross-cultural issues.
The event wrapped up with Senator Booker’s pledge to continue fighting for a stronger bond with Israel and to ensure that Iran does not achieve its goal to become a nuclear power that would threaten the United States and its allies.
By NORPAC
