Congressional negotiators agreed that the money could not be spent before February 15, 2001, thus dropping the matter into the lap of the next President who can, by executive order, decide to re-adopt the Mexico City policy. Republican leaders claim that if George W. Bush is elected he will do so. (The Dallas Morning News, 10/25/00) George W. Bush has made no statement that would indicate he would be so inclined. There are those who question whether he will be able to withstand the intense pressure against the restrictions that will no doubt come from pro-abortion Republicans who have campaigned hard for him, such as pro-abortion Governors Tom Ridge (PA) and Christine Whitman (NJ). Those of you who would like to inquire about Governor Bush's intentions regarding taxpayer funding of abortions overseas before election day can contact the Bush campaign at: (Phone - 512/637-2000; Fax - 512/637-8800; E-Mail - bushhq@georgewbush.com.)

Lieberman Excommunicated by Rabbinical Court 
A rabbinical court in Brooklyn has taken the unusual step of excommunicating Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the democratic vice-presidential hopeful, over his stances on homosexuality and partial-birth abortion.

Cybercast News Service reported on 10/24/00 that a specially-convened New York Torah Court said Mr. Lieberman had caused "grave scandal" for Judaism. "While claiming to be an observant Jew, Lieberman has been misrepresenting and falsifying to the American people the teachings of the Torah against partial-birth infanticide, against special privileges and preferential treatment for flaunting homosexuals, and against religious intermarriage of Jews," the news service quoted the court as saying.

The court, called a beth din, consists of three Talmudists who convene to consider sanctions when there is a question about how a Jew has conducted himself on Jewish teachings.

This declaration against Mr. Lieberman is not comparable to a Catholic excommunication, which binds the whole church.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin of New York, who was not a participant, estimated the beth din's ruling represents "tens of thousands of Jews in Brooklyn and other parts of the country," and perhaps as many as 150,000 Orthodox Jews.

The Gore-Lieberman press office in Nashville had no immediate response to the excommunication, the news service reported. (The Washington Times, "Inside Politics," 10/25/00)