Reflections on the Election, Israel and Partisan Politics

I have now lived in North Carolina for over thirteen years. As one who cares passionately about the State of Israel, I have lobbied on behalf of Israel with North Carolina senators and congressmen. On this issue, I have been fortunate to develop very good relationships with both Republicans and Democrats. I have managed to become friends with elected officials with whom on many issues other than Israel, I have great disagreement.

While the majority of our congregation tends to vote Democratic, I was also diligent during the campaign season, to examine Senator McCain’s record and position paper on Israel. The bottom line was that I found both Senator McCain and Obama to be very Pro-Israel and I was very careful not to be drawn into discussions about which one would be better for Israel. Frankly, I felt that no matter which candidate won, Israel would find a friend in the White House.

My feeling is that Israel needs all the friends in Congress it can get. Occasionally, there is a congressman or a senator who is indeed anti-Israel; but thank God that these seem to be few and far between.

For the first time in recent memory, North Carolina was a battleground state in the Democratic Party primary. Before the primary, Senator Barack Obama came to Greensboro and asked to meet with three members of the clergy. I, along with an African American minister and a Presbyterian minister, were fortunate to spend some twenty minutes with the senator. I thought it was unique that on his first trip to Greensboro, he would reach out to clergy in such a way.

Before our meeting with Senator Obama, I contacted the Leadership of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and asked them if there was any particular question that they wanted me to ask the senator. The answer was that they were interested in knowing who the Senator felt were his key Middle East advisors. I proceeded to ask the question and the very next day received a list of six people who the Obama campaign viewed as their closest advisors on Israel. I passed these on to the national leadership. I also had an opportunity to talk with Obama about issues concerning health care and the elderly.

One month before the general elections, a political analyst in Washington, DC told me that North Carolina would go for John McCain. In the end, however, North Carolina was to be a battleground state in the general election and Obama would win by some 12,000 votes. This was the first time the state has gone democratic since 1976.

Therefore, it was with great disappointment that I observed that the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) was trying to make Senator Obama’s support of Israel appear to be questionable. They did this through a fear campaign and innuendo. The fact that Senator Obama once spoke at a dinner honoring a Palestinian or once knew somebody who had some sort of connection to a more pro-Palestinian view point was used by the RJC as a way to gain Jewish votes for McCain.

This scare tactic was most significant in the state of Florida. Despite all of the efforts of the RJC to increase the amount of Jews voting for McCain, Jews once again voted overwhelmingly Democratic. They learned to be comfortable with Obama on Israel and the Middle East and, in my opinion, never became comfortable with Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential nominee.

What disturbs me the most, is that we had two very Pro-Israel candidates running for President and yet the RJC still seemed to make Israel into a “wedge” issue. Quite frankly, this amounted to their making an issue where there was not one and was done in the most selfish, partisan way. God forbid that there is a candidate who really is not a supporter of Israel and her security.

Until that time, as long as both Democratic and Republican candidates support Israel, it is very dangerous to use Israel as a grossly partisan political tool. It is my hope that in the future those in the Jewish community, whether they be Democrats or Republicans, will refrain from unwarranted and highly partisan attacks on candidates because of perceived or made up issues regarding Israel. Such attacks do not serve the legitimate and long term interests of Israel and her security.