If the wider non-Jewish community of Los Angeles had been peering in a window at the Bais Naftoli synagogue in LaBrea a week ago Sunday morning, the politically astute would have been staggered.

Especially if they share the most common American perspective, that Orthodox Jews are politically conservative, and that non-Orthodox and non-religious Jews are liberal.

Wrong.

Diversity abounded.

Among the 250 Silver Anniversary Breakfast guests, no one complained about a dearth of rightists or leftists.

There were plenty of both.

Bais Naftoli founding President Andrew Friedman shuffled the diversity deck so deftly that a fierce diversity advocate would have huffed out the door in frustration.

He would have been reduced to excess baggage.

In his un-diverse mind, the diversity advocate could not possibly have thought up anything to kvetch about.

Mr. Friedman’s purity laced motivation is inarguable.
“As I emphasized at the breakfast,” Mr. Friedman said later, “since only 1.5% of the (American) population is Jewish, it is crucial that the Jewish community builds bridges, makes coalitions and reaches out to the gentile community.

“As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
marched together with members of the Jewish community in the civil rights movement, members of the Latino, African American and Jewish minority groups should march together in support of the State of Israel.”

This is precisely why Mr. Friedman, with a confident conscience, could invite:

• Co-honoree Larry Elder, the libertarian/conservative 870-AM and nationally syndicated talk show host,
• Seriously liberal Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles, now running for governor,
• Liberal Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, and
• County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, who identifies as non-partisan.

Liberals, conservatives and others all have their humanity in common.

That was Mr. Friedman’s point.