The Rabbi Responds

Editor's note: This is a widely disseminated e-mail by Rabbi Daniel Lapin of Mercer Island in response to news reports linking lobbyist Jack Abramoff with Lapin and Toward Tradition, the nonprofit Lapin runs and on whose board Abramoff served. This e-mail has been edited to clean up some obvious punctuation mistakes and to insert a hyperlink. For context, see the Seattle Weekly articles cited in the Extra Info box.

[Begin e-mail excerpt]

From: Rabbi Daniel Lapin
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 6:18 PM
Subject: A Message from Rabbi Daniel Lapin: Jack Abramoff and Toward Tradition

A special message from Rabbi Daniel Lapin...
For free and unrestricted use with attribution

Jack Abramoff and Toward Tradition

By Rabbi Daniel Lapin

In recent news reports Toward Tradition has been drawn into the whirlpool of the Abramoff lobbying scandal. Because news media are notoriously inaccurate I would like our friends and supporters to hear directly all the facts about the relationship between Jack Abramoff and the organization I have the privilege of serving.

Initially my name began appearing in connection with one of the stories circulating about how Jack Abramoff met Tom DeLay. Some articles claimed that I introduced them while others, including one in the Washington Post, have the two meeting at a DeLay fundraiser, introduced by Edwin A. Buckham, then DeLay's chief of staff. Although I have no clear recollection of having formally introduced them, it is certainly possible. I was at several Republican Party events at which both Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff were present, including one at the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego at which I spoke.

Abramoff was not among the group of twenty two Jews and Christians who originally conceived of and founded Toward Tradition in 1991. However, he became a supporter and joined the board of directors a little later and eventually served a few terms as chairman of the board. He resigned his chairmanship at the end of 2000 and from the board in 2004. In total, on account of his time pressures, Jack Abramoff attended only five board meetings of Toward Tradition. He contributed to the organization at a level typical of the level of other board members. His giving to Toward Tradition was slightly lower than some board members and slightly higher than others. We now know that on one occasion, a contribution came in the form of a check from his CapitalAthletic Foundation. It is not unusual for donors to submit contributions from foundations or organizations they are involved with. At no time have I personally ever received funds from Jack directly or from his various organizations.

During that period, Jack's access to the White House was being eagerly courted by many organizations both Christian and Jewish, usually in the hope of obtaining the President as a speaker for an upcoming event. I heard one of the leaders of a prominent pro-Israel lobbying organization boast that Jack Abramoff took his phone calls.

In June 2003 I wrote to a number of Toward Tradition supporters saying that if they intended contributing substantially to the Bush Cheney '04 campaign they may wish to direct their support via Jack Abramoff.

Then came his fall which has almost Shakespearean overtones. Sometimes the most poignant tragedies are those in which the victim is complicit in his own destruction. But of course, that is true for most of usѷe are often our own worst enemies.

On June 25, 2005, The Washington Post ran a profile of me with the heading "The Republicans' Rabbi-in-Arms." Alluding to Abramoff, the piece referred to me as "the Man Who Stands by His Scandal-Ridden Friends." Later the writer claimed about my frequent visits to Washington DC, "Usually on these trips Lapin stays with Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist who is an old friend of the Lapin family." The travel information is not true. Anyone familiar with my travel habits knows that I never impose on households and always much prefer to stay at hotels. However Jack was a long time friend of the Lapin family. He first met my brother, David, while he was shooting Red Scorpion in South Africa during the late 80s. In the early 90s, Jack Abramoff arrived in California with an introduction from David and became friendly with my father and me.

I did not serve as Jack's rabbi or mentor and our friendship revolved around our families, children's educational challenges and the difficulties of being a political conservative in the larger Jewish community. We shared occasional social and family events. I can recall no discussions about Jack's business and never heard anything from him that caused me to think he was doing anything unscrupulous. I never met or heard mention of names like Scanlon, Kidan, and others involved in Abramoff's business dealings. We did share an enthusiasm for Jewish Christian cooperation, for ancient Hebrew texts, and for the role of religion in politics.

The press located an email from Abramoff asking me to supply him with an award that he said he needed to gain admittance to an elite Washington DC club. Anyone familiar with Abramoff's jocular and often fatally irreverent email style won't be surprised that I assumed the question to be a joke. The very notion that an exclusive social club would regard a meaningless award from Toward Tradition to be adequate credentials for admittance was ludicrous. I responded in similar style offering to "wallpaper his office with awards." I regret the exchange. I should have candidly explained that Toward Tradition is not an academic institution and does not issue the kind of awards he described. Like most organizations, our awards only acknowledge the support provided the organization by the recipient. Whenever Toward Tradition has issued an award it has always taken place at a public event after considerable board discussion and a resolution. As a board member, Abramoff would have known this which is what assured me that he was joking.