Is Rabbi Yehiel Kalish's short-lived political experience a portent for the future of religion in an increasingly progressive America?
Noam Neusner, one of Bush’s speechwriters and Jewish advisors, recruited Rabbi Kalish to campaign for the president in the Jewish sections of northeast Ohio, mainly Cleveland. Rabbi Kalish took a short leave of absence from the Agudah to help Bush. His work made an impact. Bush’s margin of victory in northeast Ohio enabled him to carry the state by a slim 2.1% over challenger John Kerry. Had Kerry won Ohio’s 20 electoral votes, he would have become president.
A grateful President Bush thanked Rabbi Kalish personally at the first Chanukah party following his reelection, and Rabbi Kalish kept an ongoing connection throughout Bush’s second term.
“I literally had unfettered access to the White House for four years,” Rabbi Kalish said. “I could send an email to the White House and say, ‘I’m coming today,’ and I’d get in.”
In many of these meetings Kalish advocated for issues of importance to the Orthodox Jewish community.
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