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OU Pushes Aid, Faith-Based Programs
March 14, 2003
By James Besser
New York Jewish Week
The big aid (to Israel)
package was also very much on the minds of some 150 Jewish
activists representing the Orthodox Union, who were in town on
Wednesday for a day of briefings and Capitol Hill visits.
“The Israel aid package will be a top priority,” said Nathan
Diament, director of the group’s Institute for Public Affairs, in
advance of the meetings. “We will also express in general terms
our support for confronting Saddam Hussein.”
On the domestic front, the group lobbied for the latest version of
the Bush administration’s faith-based initiative and for changes
to a major education bill expanding federal services to parochial
school students with special needs.
The OU marchers also pushed for the long-delayed Workplace
Religious Freedom Act (WRFA), which continues to languish in
Congress.
The group presented an award to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) “in
recognition of the senator’s steadfast support of religious
liberty throughout his career,” according to a statement. Hatch,
chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will be a key WRFA
sponsor when the bill is reintroduced.
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