Posted at 02:47 PM on 05/07/08

Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain spoke about an issue near and dear to the Jewish community (Orthodox or not) today as well as one that is of critical importance to the GOP base, including evangelical Christians: religious freedom.

The Arizonan said that prisons "in places like China, Iran, Burma, Sudan, North Korea and Saudi Arabia are tens of thousands of people whose only crime is to worship God in their own way" And he promised that as president he would make religious liberty for all part and parcel of his foreign affairs in "bilateral negotiations, or in various multinational organizations to which America belongs, I will make respect for the basic principle of religious freedom a priority in international relations".

Given that our community has always placed this issue high on its agenda, and historically, how the Jackson-Vanik amendments were crucial to securing the freedom for Jews in the Soviet Union, we are sure this will be well received in our community. Sadly, the issue has not gone the way of the Soviet Union.