ager; spokesman Eric Hauser; and
Marcia Aronoff, a top adviser who
worked as an aide to Bradley while he
was a senator and now is working out
of his campaign headquarters in West
Orange, N.J.
Indeed, Aronoff disputes the view
that Bradley was not a leader on issues
important to Jews. In a recent tele-
phone interview, she detailed his suc-
cessful efforts to pass legislation dur-
ing the oil crisis — which stretched
through the 1970s — that directed
the Carter administration to fill U.S.
petroleum reserves as a way to wean it
from its dependence on oil from the
Arab countries.
She said Bradley strongly opposed
the sale of AWACS, a sophisticated
radar plane, to Saudi Arabia; was an
early co-sponsor of 1995 legislation
aimed at moving the U.S. Embassy
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; and
opposed a 1986 tax reform bill that
would have taxed scholarships, includ-
ing those that some Orthodox institu-
tions give their students. In a speech
last month to the Orthodox Union —
the first to a major Jewish group since
declaring his candidacy — Bradley
indicated that he would be a friend to
Jewish voters on key issues: Israel and
religious freedom.
Bradley avoided direct political
campaigning during the event held to
honor retiring Sen. Daniel Patrick
Moynihan (D-N.Y.) for his decades of
service defending Israel and promoting
Jewish causes. But Bradley, in recalling
Moynihan's ideals and accomplish-
ments, seemed to imply his own good-
ness by association with the veteran
New York senator, who had just weeks
before endorsed Bradley's campaign.
Bradley touched on Moynihan's
history as a statesman and as
American ambassador to the United
Nations, including his support for
Soviet Jewry and his vehement defense
of Israel against the 1975 United
Nations resolution equating Zionism
with racism.
Alluding to Moynihan's sponsorship
of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy
Relocation Act, which requires the
U.S. to move its embassy from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem, Bradley praised
Moynihan's support of Israel's right to
choose "the capital of its choice" as the
recognition of "a simple truth translat-
ed to the law of the land."
Rabbi Menachem Genack, head
of the kashrut division of the
Orthodox Union and a New Jersey
Democratic Party activist close to
both President Bill Clinton and
Gore, said both Bradley and Gore

would make good presidents, but he
thinks Gore would be better.
"I know where his heart is," Rabbi
Genack said of Gore, expressing the
view of many Jewish Democratic
activists. He added that he believes
"there is no comparison" between
Gore and Bradley's leadership on
Israel and other key issues.
While many of those who have
worked with Bradley said he often
left "Jewish issues" to Sen. Frank.
Lautenberg, his fellow Democrat
from New Jersey, Bradley adviser
Aronoff disputed that view. Other
Bradley activists said they are sup-
porting him because he addresses
social and domestic issues dear to
many Jews.
June Fischer, a longtime Jewish
and Democratic activist from Scotch
Plains, N.J., said Bradley "addresses
the pluralistic issues I was weaned
on," noting that he opposes school
prayer, backs reproductive freedom
and supports minority and gay rights.
"Bill Bradley is just a comforting
factor," said Fischer, who is active on
the campaign. "He is all-inclusive."
Rep. Jerold Nadler (D-N.Y.), a
Jewish legislator who represents parts
of Manhattan and Brooklyn, said that
he believes both Bradley and Gore
are good on issues of Jewish concern.
But he is supporting Bradley because
he believes he is a "much more elec-
table candidate" against the eventual
Republican nominee, who at this
point appears to be Texas Gov.
George W. Bush.
Nadler said in a recent interview
with JTA that he thinks Bradley "is
articulating a more progressive and
forward-looking vision than anyone
else in the campaign." He cited
Bradley's proposals for universal
heath-care coverage and public
financing of political campaigns.
Some other prominent Jews who
have thrown their support behind
Bradley include Sen. Paul Wellstone
(D-Minn.); Abe Pollin, owner of the
Washington Wizards; Howard
Schultz, CEO of Starbucks; and
Louis Susman of Solomon Brothers.
It is difficult to assess Jewish finan-
cial giving to Bradley because he does
not accept political action committee
contributions or "bundled" contribu-
tions, which is money that is given to
a group that in turn passes the money
to the candidate earmarked by the
contributor. But Ira Forman, the exec-
utive director of the National Jewish
Democratic Coalition, said Bradley
"has gotten very significant support
from the Jewish community." 1-1

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