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Exclusive: Prominent Rabbi Says Lieberman was Excommunicated and it is Still in Effect

Refers to Lieberman’s "long and sad record of embracing partial birth abortion and the homosexual agenda"

By John-Henry Westen

NEW YORK, August 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) -  Eight years ago when Al Gore selected then-Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman as his Vice Presidential running mate, an Orthodox Jewish Rabbinical court formally excommunicated Lieberman over his stands on partial birth abortion and homosexuality. The excommunication is said to stand to this day.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin spokesman for the Rabbinical Alliance of America and the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada, organizations representing over 1000 Orthodox Rabbis, told LifeSiteNews.com today that the excommunication is still in effect as Lieberman is in the final running as a potential VP pick for Senator McCain.

In October 2000, the New York Torah Court stated that Lieberman caused "grave scandal" for the Jewish religion "by the fact that, while claiming to be an observant Jew, [he] has been misrepresenting and falsifying to the American people the teachings of the Torah against partial birth infanticide, against special privileges and preferential treatment for flaunting homosexuals, and against religious intermarriage of Jews."

Rabbi Joseph Friedman, a spokesman and participant in the rabbinical court, said in a statement that Lieberman "violated our sacred Torah by his Senate votes upholding partial birth infanticide and legitimizing homosexuality, which abnormal and unhealthy behavior the Torah strongly condemns as sinful and immoral."

Rabbi Levin recalled his own participation in that process. “We excommunicated him to show that serious Orthodox Jews consider what Lieberman was doing a betrayal of the most basic values of our holy Torah. That excommunication, even though not widely acknowledged, is still one hundred percent spiritually valid.”

He explained to LifeSiteNews.com, “serious religious Jews who understand that the most important issues facing our country are the moral issues and know Senator Lieberman’s long and sad record of embracing partial birth abortion and the homosexual agenda realize that he’s the wrong choice for Vice President or for any high position in a McCain administration.”

Rabbi Levin expressed concern that Christian pro-family leaders in America may be tempted to soft-pedal criticism of Lieberman due to his Jewish faith.  “We call upon Christian pro-family leaders such as Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Don Wildmon, Tony Perkins et al. to raze McCain at the Republican Convention, he said. 

“To revolt and say that Lieberman should he be appointed is unacceptable.  It is only by respecting the pro-family values of Americans that McCain deserves to be President.  If he should betray us I don’t think it bodes well for his political future or the future of the country.”

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