By Leon Cohen
of The Chronicle staff
The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle
January 30, 2001
MILWAUKEE — Former Milwaukeean Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua
Twerski said he doesn't know
why he was invited to appear with President George W. Bush at the White House
Monday, when Bush announced
creation of an Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
Twerski, brother of Congregation Beth Jehudah spiritual leader Rabbi
Michel Twerski, told The Chronicle
Tuesday that the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh, of which he is
medical director emeritus, has ``no
religious content at all" and won't benefit from this new program.
Dr. Twerski guessed that he may have been invited because he has a
reputation as both a Hasidic rabbi and
a psychiatrist who has expertise in treating addiction -- though ``how they
[the White House staff] know about me I
haven't found out."
But he may also have been invited because he believes that ``basically,
the idea is good" -- i.e., the idea of
having the federal government provide tax funds to religious institutions
that are doing social service work, such as
helping the homeless, drug-addicted, convicts, etc.
Twerski, who attended a White House briefing on the program Monday, said
that previous rules have
prevented religious organizations that do valuable community service work
from receiving government funds. Bush,
Twerski said, ``wants to remove the barriers."
``It's been demonstrated that religious people have a kind of enthusiasm
to provide community services and
do a good job," Twerski said. ``Why deprive the community of some workers who
are highly motivated?"
Twerski said he knows there is ``a knee-jerk church-and-state reaction"
from many in the Jewish
community. But he believes that application of this concept ``has gone to an
extreme"; that ``there will be adequate
safeguards" to prevent funding of religious coercion or proselytizing; and
even if the safeguards aren't 100 percent
effective, ``I think much more good will be done than any possible harm."
``We're in a situation where the prevalent philosophy among young people
is 'If it feels good, do it,'"
Twerski said. ``As a result we have severe, serious problems of addiction,
AIDS, violence and abuse because there
are no firm social values. I don't know where social values are going to come
from if not from faith.''
