Knollenberg Defended

Activist stands by congressman's support of Israel

when Peters camp questions it over initial vote.

Robert A. Sklar
Editor

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prominent local Democrat
expressed anger toward the
congressional campaign of
Democratic candidate Gary Peters, seeking
to oust incumbent Republican opponent
Joe Knollenberg. At issue is Knollenberg's
loyalty to Israel because of a House vote.
The Ninth Congressional District that
Knollenberg has represented since 1993
includes much of southern Oakland
County. Peters faces primary competi-
tion from Nancy Skinner of Royal Oak,
who ran against
Knollenberg two
years ago.
In a fundraising
invitation received
by Democrat
Jane Sherman
of Franklin, the
Gary Peters for
U.S. Congress
Rep. Knollenberg
campaign states
that Knollenberg
"voted against a
foreign aid bill
(H.R. 2764) that
includes $2.4 bil-
lion in military aid
and $40 million
refugee assistance
to Israel!"
Knollenberg
did vote no on the
initial version of
Gary Peters
the bill on June
22. On Dec. 17,
he voted yes following amendments from
both the House and the Senate. The Senate
approved the amended bill on Dec. 18.
President Bush signed it into law on Dec.
26.
Sherman expressed anger over the
implication that Knollenberg had turned
his back on Israel. She told the IN: "Joe
Knollenberg is the only Republican I
have ever raised money for — and only
because his stand on Israel has been so
strong!'

Peters' Side
The Peters campaign invitation specu-
lates that Knollenberg initially voted no
"because he wanted to uphold President

Bush's veto for the bill." The National
Jewish Democratic Council maintains the
GOP used traditional isolationist argu-
ments to reject the bill, a position the
NJDC deemed "bad for the United States
and bad for Israel."
Hannan Lis of Farmington Hills, one
of the invitation's co-signers, said, "While
many Republican politicians should be
saluted for their support of Israel, Israel's
position in the Middle East has suffered
significantly because of some of the seri-
ous mistakes of the current administra-
tion!'
The invitation read, "Our candidate, for-
mer State Sen. Gary Peters, would not have
voted against that bill..
"He would be a strong supporter of
Israel. He understands that the United
States' alliance with Israel is critical to the
promotion of peace and democracy in the
Middle East!'
Peters campaign spokesperson Julie
Petrick maintains that Knollenberg "is try-
ing to have it both ways!'
"When given the opportunity to vote on
the bill that funded our nation's foreign
aid, of which Israel is the single largest
recipient;' she said, "he voted no and sided
with the president, who had issued a veto
threat on the measure. This was his only
chance this year to stand for funding for
Israel in a single up-or-down measure on
U.S. foreign aid funding — and he failed
to support it!'

"Joe Knollenberg is the only
Republican I have ever raised money
for — and only because his stand on
Israel has been so strong."

— Jane Sherman

the end of the day, aid to Israel was fully
funded:' Knollenberg said.
"The legislative process is much like
the editing process; you work toward a
final product that is better than the first
draft," he added. "This is done every day
in Congress."
Peters aide Petrick maintains that the
bill Knollenberg supported "was a funding
bill for all of our non-defense spending
and was a choice between shutting down
the government or keeping it going."
"The two votes were very different:' she
said.
Sherman said Knollenberg "wanted to
start with a fresh approach to assure not
only proper funding levels for aid to Israel,
but also a piece of legislation that would
pass both houses and be signed by the
president."

Further Disparity
Sherman also expressed outrage over the
Peters camp's claim that Knollenberg no

"MOPAC has been in the forefront
of aiding Democratic candidates
considered close allies of Israel. Gary
Peters fits this description perfectly."

— Hannan Lis

Knollenberg Response
Knollenberg told the IN that he voted no
on HB 2764 initially because he felt it had
become a political football loaded with
extraneous issues as well as details that
he felt could be improved upon. He did
support the "new and improved" version
of the bill.
"It is important to note that assistance
to Israel was never in jeopardy and at

longer supports refugee resettlement. She
said he "personally made sure the Jewish
Agency for Israel received $80 million
annually for refugee resettlement, which
started in the early 1990s with the mass
immigration from the former Soviet
Union."
Sherman is a member of the Jewish
Agency's Board of Governors and the
board's executive and Israel committees.
She said Knollenberg's support has never

wavered even though immigration from
the former Soviet Union has dropped to
almost 20,000 a year. She said he also
worked to assure adequate funding for
Ethiopian immigration.
"Joe has fought the leadership of his
party, including the Secretary of State,
when they wanted over the years to reduce
or eliminate funding for the refugee
resettlement program, which is separate
and apart from Israel's annual foreign aid
tally:' said Bryce Sandler, a Knollenberg
spokesperson.
Hannan Lis' involvement with the Peters
campaign arises from his role as co-presi-
dent of MOPAC, a political action commit-
tee that supports Democratic candidates
for the U.S. House and Senate who have
positions supportive of Israel and its secu-
rity concerns.
"MOPAC has been in the forefront of
aiding Democratic candidates who are
considered close allies of Israel and who
have demonstrated real commitment to
the safety and security of Israel. Gary
Peters fits this description perfectly.
He gets the big picture said Lis, also a
national board member and Midwest
president of the Jewish National Fund-
USA.
Sherman, meanwhile, insisted that it's
wrong and misleading to characterize Rep.
Knollenberg as "somehow anti-Israel:'
"It does a great disservice not only to
Congressman Knollenberg's exceptional
record on behalf of Israel, but also to the
reputation of our community toward
elected officials more generally," Sherman
said.
"All of our community should be thank-
ing Congressman Knollenberg for his
leadership."

❑

The primary election is Aug. 5. The general
election is Nov. 4.

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February 14 • 2008

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