SPECIAL COMMENTARY

The Friends Of Our Foes

Philadelphia
want a reliable indicator of the think-
(sons of their famous namesakes), the
s the weeks pass since the
ing of the anti-Israel crowd.
anti-Israel apple didn't fall far from the
collapse of the Camp David
One of the most noteworthy fea-
tree.
Middle East peace summit,
tures of the magazine is an election-
The Washington Report's favorite
one thing becomes clearer:
year report card on Congress that eval-
senators are Spencer Abraham, R-
Peace between Israel and the Palestin-
uates members of the Senate and the
Mich.; Robert Byrd, D-WV.; Lincoln
ian Arabs is not imminent.
House on hostility to Israel and relat-
Chafee, R-R.I.; Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.;
To the shock of the Jewish left —
ed causes. In other words, if you want
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Charles Robb,
and the relief of the Jewish
to know who is on the list _ D-Va.; Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.; and
right — even the Israeli offer
of good guys and bad guys
Paul Wellstone, D-Minn.
that would divide the city of
for Israel, all you have to do
While nobody should be surprised
Jerusalem was not enough to
is look at the pro-Arab
at the high marks given ex-klansmen
convince the Palestinians to
crowd's "Hall of Fame" and
Byrd and Thurmond, the pro-Arab
enter into an agreement.
"Hall of Shame."
ranking of Wellstone may surprise
Palestinian Authority Presi-
some, since he is one of the Senate's
dent Yasser Arafat made it
Anti-Israel Litmus
11 Jews. Wellstone, is, however, also
clear at the United Nations
The 535 House and Senate
the far-left Tikkun magazine's idea of a
two weeks ago that he still
members were evaluated
good politician, and thus way out of
wants nothing less than sover-
on,
among
other
issues,
the
the
pro-Israel mainstream.
JONAT HAN S.
eignty over the entirety of the
following: opposition to the
TOB IN
eastern part of the city,
use of antisemitic propa-
Specia
1 to
including all of the Old City.
ganda in the Palestinian
the Jewish News
Perhaps Israeli Prime Min-
media and textbooks; oppo-
ister Ehud Barak planned this
sition to asking the Pales-
rejection all along and deserves credit
tinian Authority and Syria about the
for his clever strategy. Or maybe Israel
whereabouts of missing Israeli soldiers
was saved from the consequences of
and linking aid to that issue; support
Barak's blundering concessions by
for Palestinian statehood prior to the
Arafat's intransigence. As in the book
achievement of a peace agreement;
of Exodus, maybe sometimes God real-
support for a bill prohibiting the use
ly does harden Pharaoh's heart.
of intelligence on terrorism for evalu-
But regardless of the cause of the
ating immigration cases (as in sup-
breakdown, the continuance of the
porters of Hamas who are liable to
conflict is something for which many
deportation); the signing of a letter
American Jews — who have spent the
opposing commutation of the sen-
seven years since the signing of the
tence of convicted spy Jonathan Pol-
original Oslo agreement gradually los-
lard; opposition to moving the U.S.
ing interest in pro-Israel activism —
Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to
are unprepared.
Jerusalem; and opposition to sanctions
On the other hand, this compla-
on rogue nations like Libya and Iraq.
cent attitude is not shared by support-
As far as the Arab lobby is con-
ers of the Arab cause. For them, the
cerned, the more members of Con-
work of opposing Israel and Jewish
gress opposed antisemitism and terror-
interests on every front has only just
ism and/or were willing to support
begun.
Israel, the less the Washington Report
The Arabist "Hall of Shame"
Evidence of this is on display in the
liked them.
included Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y.;
latest issue of the Washington Report on
Chief among the members of the
Peter Deutsch, D-Fla.; Michael
Middle East Affairs. The Washington
Washington Report's "Hall of Fame" is
Forbes, D-N.Y.; Bob Franks, R-N.J.;
Report is a glossy monthly that serves
Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich. Bonior's
Sue Kelly, R-N.Y.; Rick Lazio, R-N.Y.;
as the guidebook to the Arabist lobby
animus for Israel is no surprise, given
Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.; Jerold Nadler,
in the United States.
the large number of Arab-Americans
D-N.Y.; Ileana Ross-Letinen, R-Fla.;
The Washington Report specializes
in his Macomb County district. It is
Matt Salmon, R-Ariz.; Jim Saxton, R-
in defaming Israel. But far from being
ominous however, since he is in line to
N.J.; and Brad Sherman, D-Calif.
the product of fringe Islamic funda-
become the House majority leader if,
Only four of the House's 23 Jews
mentalists, it is written and published
as many expect, the Democrats win
made it to the list: Deutsch, Lowey,
by a Washington, D.C., outfit that is
back the House in November.
Nadler and Sherman.
staffed by former U.S. foreign service
Among the other anti-Israel House
While both parties are well-repre-
officers who haven't stopped hating
favorites are John Conyers, D-Mich.;
sented on both sides of the ledger, it's
Israel even though they are no longer
John Dingell, D-Mich.; Amos
worth noting that two of the Republi-
on the federal payroll. As such, it is a
Houghton, R-New York; Jesse Jackson
can Parry's most notable challengers
must-read for friends of Israel who
Jr., D-I11.; John Lewis, D-Ga.; Jim
for the Senate made it to the Washing-
McDermott, D-Wash.; Cynthia McK-
ton Report's "shame" list: Bob Franks,
Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor
inney, D-Ga.; Ron Paul, R-Texas;
who is facing an uphill battle against
of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia.
John Sununnu, R-N.H.; and Maxine
billionaire financier Democrat Jon
He can be reached via e-mail at
Waters, D-Calif.
Corzine
in New Jersey; and Rick
jtobin@jewishexponent.com
In the case of Jackson and Sununu
Lazio, the man who hopes to defeat

A.

To the shock of the
Jewish left — and the
relief of the Jewish
right — even the Israeli
offer that would divide
the city of Jerusalem
was not enough to
convince the
Palestinians to enter
into an agreement.

Hillary Clinton in her bid for a New
York Senate seat.
Surprisingly, of the Senate's 11
Jews, only one, Philadelphian Arlen
Specter, R-Pa., made it to the Arabist
"Hall of Shame." He was joined there
by Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and
Connie Mack, R-Fla.
The Senate's most famous Jew,
Democratic vice-presidential candidate
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.,
missed out on the "Shame" list for his
position on two issues: his failure to
sign on to a Senate letter condemning
Palestinian antisemitism, and his deci-
sion to sign a letter opposing clemen-
cy for Jonathan Pollard.
Better luck next time, Joe.

Whose Money?

To show those opposing Israel that
there was no penalty for bucking the
supposedly "all-powerful" Jewish
lobby, the Washington Report's Septem-
ber issue also provided a chart show-
ing just how much pro-Israel PAC
money each member of their halls of
"fame" and "shame" received.
Their chart illustrated the fact that
the pro-Israel community is often far
more interested in backing long-time
incumbents and legislators in leader-
ship positions — no matter what their
policies on key issues — than any-
thing else.
Thus, anti-Israel stalwarts such as
David Bonior and Robert Byrd got
big bucks from friends of Israel despite
their awful records.
On the other end of the spectrum,
while some of the good guys were
rewarded by friends of Israel, that was-
n't true in every case. Specter received
$366,123 in pro-Israel money, but,
put together, the pro-Israel PAC con-
tributions received by Lazio, Franks,
Kelly and Salmon did not equal the
amount Bonior got! Pro-Israel senti-
ment from those backbenchers appar-
ently isn't as valued by some people as
much as Bonior's leadership position.
Given the continuing refusal of the
Palestinians to be realistic about
Jerusalem and the consequent need to
maintain Israel's strong support on
Capitol Hill, the question of who is or
is not pro-Israel remains significant.
Though most American Jews seem,
like the rest of the body politic, almost
totally focused on domestic issues,
Israel should still be on the minds of
Jewish voters and contributors.
Thus, we can thank the Washington
Report for a reminder of just who
some of our friends and enemies really
are. ❑

.

9/22
2000

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