When an Orthodox Jewish, kippa-wearing Democratic candidate might lose a
congressional election in the most Jewish (and 75% Democratic) congressional
district in America – a seat occupied by Democrats for nearly a century – to a
non-Jewish Republican, something significant is going on. And Golda Koppelman
knows what that something is.
New York’s 9th Congressional District
(Brooklyn and Queens) is gearing up for the September 13, 2011 special election
to fill the seat vacated by disgraced Democrat Anthony Weiner. Koppelman, a
Holocaust survivor who has lived her American life in the district, is a devout
Jewish mother and grandmother, with family in both Israel and America. Like many
of her generation, she’s also a devout Democrat. Until now.
“I have never
voted for a Republican in my life” she says. But in this election, “I don’t even
care who the Democrat is; I am voting Republican to show Obama I am upset with
his policy on Israel.”
Koppelman is not alone. That attitude toward
President Obama accounts in large part for the surprising emergence of Israel
policy as a key issue between two pro-Israel candidates, Democrat David Weprin
and Republican Bob Turner. They’re statistically tied in recent
polls.
Turner, a no-nonsense businessman, Zionist and deficit hawk, is
not only endorsed by pro-Israel stalwarts Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Peter
King; he recently received a major endorsement from Democratic former mayor and
outspoken Zionist Ed Koch.
Koch recently blasted Obama for “tying
Israel’s hands by demanding that negotiations on borders begin with the 1967
armistice lines…. The President made no demands upon the Palestinian
Authority. He did not demand that they recognize Israel as a Jewish
state, if negotiations end successfully. Nor did he demand that Hamas, now part
of the Palestinian Authority, forswear violence and agree to accept the Jewish
state of Israel if negotiations conclude successfully. Nor did he demand that
the PA state it will engage in land swaps. The President… has ended, in
effect, the special relationship which began with president Harry S
Truman.”
Koch argues that if the staunchly pro- Israel, heavily Jewish
and reliably Democratic NY-9th elects a Republican, it will be a “political shot
heard around the nation.” With Obama’s 2012 reelection at stake, a
Republican win “will certainly get [Obama’s] attention” and possibly prompt a
reassessment of his disturbingly harsh treatment of Israel.
This election
also highlights a growing phenomenon: non-Jewish Republican candidates
outflanking Jewish Democrats in their pro-Israel positions. The most notable
example is Col. Allen West, a rising Republican African-American star, arguably
the most fearless, unapologetically pro-Israel congressman from either party,
who recently defeated incumbent Jewish Democrat Ron Klein in heavily Jewish
South Florida.
The trend reflects the timidity of the sizeable Democratic
Jewish congressional contingent. Of the current 40 Jewish members of
Congress, exactly one is a Republican. Where are all those vocal
congressional Jewish Democrats who certified Obama as “100% kosher” prior to his
election?
Too many, evidently, are fair-weather Zionists, unwilling to make
waves.
Would Democrat Weprin be any different? So far, he has dodged
questions about whether he endorses Obama’s reelection. And while Turner
is adamant that “not a single American dollar should be going to the Palestinian
Authority while it is paying terrorists and condoning rocket attacks on Israeli
families,” Weprin is so opaque on the issue that Turner has offered “a $1,000
reward to any New Yorker who can clearly explain” Weprin’s position on cutting
off aid to the PA.
Turner has been profoundly critical of Democrats’
spinelessness in Israel’s defense. As one example, he cites Obama’s
less-thansolid backing of Israel following last year’s Turkey-to-Gaza flotilla
incident, while letting Turkey off the hook (the White House is still asking
Israel to apologize): even those pro-Israel Democrats who spoke out merely
“condemned Turkey, not our policies toward Turkey.”
The pattern recurred
in statements following last week’s lethal terror attacks and missile
bombardment of southern Israel, where Weprin would only condemn the attacks
themselves, but would not join Turner in criticizing Obama’s terror-enabling
policies or his allowing of US tax dollars to be funneled to convicted
Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails.
Weprin, a career politician, is
a nice enough man. He maintains that, as a Democrat, he can be more effective in
changing President Obama’s position on Israel “from the inside.” Good luck with
that. Congress is crowded with nice enough Jewish Democrats who, pro-Israel
though they profess to be, can’t seem to find the words to push back against
their president. What happens if Obama wins a second term, and is unconstrained
by reelection or fundraising concerns?
The idea of sitting in
shul next to an
actual congressman, or talking policy with him over herring and Scotch
afterwards, is appealing (though constituents looking to attend services with
Weprin might be disappointed: he doesn’t actually reside in the
district). But is it more important than restoring America’s special
relationship with Israel?
The New York Times described Weprin as “a good
Democratic soldier.” Precisely. That’s hardly what pro-Israel NY-9th voters like
Koppelman are in the mood for.
This election, they are voting
Republican.
The writer is an American attorney and political commentator
living in Israel. He serves as Counsel to Republicans Abroad Israel.