Former AIPAC Official Assesses Senators on Support for Israel

By Lucille Barnes

Statisticians say a member of Congress is more likely to die in office than to be defeated while running for re-election. But with American voters expressing strong anti-Washington and anti-administration feelings, many congressional incumbents are running hard, and calling in the chips they have accumulated by voting for foreign aid and following the directions of Israel's Washington lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), on arms sales to Arab and other Middle Eastern countries.

Israel's lobbyists expect such loyalty from most members of Congress, but they are worried this year about some of the particularly faithful legislators who have secured places on the appropriations, foreign operations, armed services, and foreign relations committees that play the key roles in making sure that Israel keeps its present one-third of America's world-wide foreign aid budget, and that there is sufficient aid for Arab states that keep the peace with Israel like Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and now Jordan.

That worry is reflected in a column by Douglas Bloomfield, former AIPAC legislative director, in the Aug. 25 issue of the Washington Jewish Week. He lists five Democratic and two Republican senators, "all good friends of Israel," who "are considered highly or potentially vulnerable."

The Democrats are Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Charles Robb of Virginia, Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania, Dianne Feinstein of California, and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. The Republicans are Slade Gorton of Washington and Conrad Burns of Montana, whom the columnist calls "consistent friends of Israel."

Bloomfield devotes the remainder of his column to assessing the candidates for Senate leadership positions after the 1992 elections. The two leading candidates to replace retiring Democratic leader George Mitchell are Tom Daschle of South Dakota, whom Bloomfield calls "a leader on pro-Israel issues," and James Sasser of Tennessee, whose support for Israel Bloomfield describes as "good but not great."

He assesses Republican Senate leader Bob Dole of Kansas as "never much of a friend of Israel" who, "now that he is contemplating another run for the White House...is in one of his make-nice-to-the-Jews phases, but it won't last."

Bloomfield says that if control of the Senate switches to the Republicans, Jesse Helms of North Carolina would be likely to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, replacing Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, who is "consistently pro-Israel, pro-aid and closely tied to the Jewish community." Of Helms, Bloomfield writes:

"Helms is a recent convert to the pro-Israel cause. He saw the light in the 1984 election when Gov. Jim Hunt, with strong support from the national pro-Israel community, gave Helms the toughest run of his career. Since then he has been a different man. Not only has his rhetoric changed, but so has his voting, although not quite enough. When it comes to foreign aid, Helms is still adamantly opposed."

Bloomfield goes on to characterize Richard Lugar of Indiana as "evenhanded" (a pejorative term in the pro-Israel community) on the Middle East. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland is described as "one of Israel's best friends," and Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas as "a frequent critic" of Israel.

Robert Byrd of West Virginia is described as "perhaps the most anti-Israel member of the Senate," and Mark Hatfield of Oregon as "no great friend but not as antagonistic" as Byrd. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is described as a "consistent friend of Israel" and Ted Stevens of Alaska as "supportive of the strategic relationship" with Israel and of "votes for aid" to Israel. "Israel has no greater friend and leader in the Senate than Dan Inouye" of Hawaii, Bloomfield writes.

Assessing potential Armed Forces Committee chairmen, Bloomfield says Strom Thurmond of South Carolina "does not have many ties to the Jewish community and has shown little interest in Middle East policy," and John Warner of Virginia "has been helpful on defense cooperation." The columnist says "both have mixed records on foreign aid and arms sales issues."

Among other potential committee chairmen, Pete Domenici of New Mexico is described as "a supporter of foreign aid generally but not especially close to the pro-Israel community" and Charles Grassley of Iowa as "a good friend of Israel." Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York and Bob Packwood of Oregon both are described as "very pro-Israel," and Bob Kerry of Nebraska is a "strong supporter" of Israel.

Bloomfield's Washington Jewish Week column from which these assessments were extracted was cast as an examination of what would happen if the Republicans win the Senate. Actually, it is a thinly disguised guide for one-issue, pro-Israel campaign donors and voters to Senate friends of Israel in trouble. However, it can serve those who oppose present high levels of U.S. foreign aid to Israel just as well in situations where campaign donations to support last-minute surges of television advertising can make a difference.

A similar article in the Sept. 23-29 issue of The Jewish Week of Queens, NY by Washington correspondent James D. Besser states that in the House "an unusual number of Jews, all Democrats, are on the endangered legislators list." He explains: "Pro-
Israel stalwart Nita Lowey of Westchester (NY), a key player in the foreign aid process, may be facing a stiff challenge. Lynn Schenk of California and Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky of Pennsylvania are considered particularly vulnerable. And Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut is running for his life in an always-difficult district that may be even more difficult in what is expected to be a big GOP year."

Israeli Army Vet in Ohio Senate Race

One Senate race seemingly too close to call is for the Ohio seat vacated by retiring Democrat Howard Metzenbaum. The Democratic candidate, Joel Hyatt, served as a volunteer in the Israeli army in the 1973 war, an experience that he says "has informed my whole perspective on the situation in the Middle East."

Writes Larry Kanter of the Jewish Bulletin of Northern California: "If Hyatt's views on Israel sound similar to those of Metzenbaum—who for decades has been one of the pro-Israel community's most reliable allies in Congress—it is a little bit more than a coincidence. Hyatt just happens to be Metzenbaum's son-in-law."

Hyatt's Republican opponent is former lieutenant governor and former U.S. Representative Mike DeWine. DeWine also is campaigning hard for Jewish votes, calling aid to Israel "an important part of U.S. foreign policy," expressing concern about PLO compliance with the peace process, and calling for the resignation of Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott for writings critical of Israel when Talbott was a Time magazine correspondent.

Nevertheless, Kanter writes of DeWine's attitude toward Israel when he was in the House of Representatives, "in general his foreign aid voting record proved mixed." An August poll, according to Kanter, showed Hyatt leading DeWine by one percentage point, 43 to 42 percent.

Another Senate race the Israel lobby is following closely is between incumbent Maryland Democrat Paul Sarbanes, whom Bloomfield described as "one of Israel's best friends" who is "highly or potentially vulnerable," and Republican challenger William Brock, now an Annapolis resident who is a former representative and senator from Tennessee. Brock told Washington Jewish Week managing editor Eric Rosenman that because America "has a strategic interest in a stable Middle East, we have an absolutely clear self-interest in the well-being of Israel." The statement by Brock, who was U.S. trade representative when the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Area Agreement was negotiated and who was a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council before the Holocaust Museum was opened, is hardly the kind of abject endorsement of unlimited aid to Israel that most candidates offer when contacted by representatives of the weekly Jewish press.

"Jewish Community Watching" Robb-North Virginia Race

Columnist Douglas Bloomfield wrote last June that "the Jewish community will be watching Virginia with more than casual interest this year." The reason is that incumbent Democratic Senator Chuck Robb, whom Bloomfield later listed among "good friends of Israel," is "a member of both the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees where he has been a consistent supporter of pro-Israel legislation and policies." By contrast, Bloomfield pointed out in the Washington Jewish Week, Republican challenger Ollie North is "the current darling of the religious right." North was ahead of Robb in the polls before former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder, a Democrat running as an independent, dropped out of the race. North is handicapped by the candidacy of Republican candidate Marshall Coleman, running as an independent. The race, however, promises to be close.

Feinstein Friend Takes Ethnic Turn

Democratic political operator Lynn Cutler took California's Senate race between Democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein and Republican Representative Michael Huffington deep into ethnic politics when she issued invitations to a July 18 Washington, DC fund-raiser at her home for Feinstein. Cutler's solicitation to a select list of women stated that Huffington "represents everything that is antithetical to us as women and as Jews."

After seeing a copy of the invitation, Huffington, a multi-millionaire capable of financing much of his own campaign, stood outside Cutler's home in the rain during the fund-raiser. He told a television reporter that "there's no room for bigotry in this campaign. I wanted Dianne to say that it was totally unacceptable—and she didn't. That's why I went there."

When Feinstein arrived she claimed not to have read the offending invitation. Responded Huffington, "Well, if that's true, she should fully disavow herself of the statement—or live by it. Otherwise she should not be the United States senator from California."

Defending herself, Cutler explained: "I never said he was anti-Semitic. He's for school prayer. And he's not in favor of a woman's right to choose abortion."

Asked about Cutler's comment, Huffington exploded: "It's a lie! How can you lie about a person's record and then answer it with another lie? I believe in a woman's right to choose abortion." Huffington said he opposes third trimester abortions unless the mother's life is at stake.

Meanwhile, Feinstein finally offered her own comment on the invitation: "There's nothing Michael Huffington has done to give us reason to believe he is anti-Semitic."

Ted Kennedy Faces Stiff Challenge

Incumbent Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy is another candidate who probably could finance his own campaign if he had to. However, that hasn't kept him from accepting some $45,000 from pro-Israel political action committees over the years, and presumably a lot more from individual pro-Israel donors, considering his long record of support for U.S. taxpayer aid for Israel. This year he's in the electoral fight of his life with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who by mid-July had pulled within three percentage points of the incumbent.

"Lautenberg's List" Raises Eyebrows

Incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey turned the Holocaust into a campaign issue with a fund-raising letter signed by New Jersey Holocaust survivor Murray Pantirer, who was among 1,100 Jews saved by German industrialist Oskar Schindler. The solicitation was sent to tens of thousands of Jewish households across the United States inside an envelope on which the words "Enclosed: Schindler's List" were printed.

The letter called for the re-election of Lautenberg, "a great friend of Israel," to fight racism. Although Lautenberg was described as both "vulnerable" and a good friend of Israel by Washington Jewish Week columnist Douglas Bloomfield, national director Abraham Foxman of B'nai B'rith's Anti-Defamation League was quoted by writer Steve Lipman of The Jewish Week of Queens, NY as commenting on the solicitation: "I wish politicians wouldn't use other people's suffering for fund-raising."

Spokeswoman Karen DeMasters for Lautenberg's Republican challenger, Garabed Haytaian, said of the letter, "I think it was disturbing in that it seems in bad taste." Haytaian, speaker of the New Jersey Assembly and the son of Armenian immigrants, also is portraying himself as a supporter of Jewish causes. Last fall he supported a bill to require the study of the Holocaust and other genocides in New Jersey public schools. In June he made an eight-day visit to Israel.

Lebanese-American Is Michigan Republican Senatorial Candidate

Arab Americans are excited at the Republican candidacy of Spence Abraham for the Michigan Senate seat vacated by Donald Riegle. With the retirement of Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, the Senate will have no other Arab-American members unless Abraham, a former deputy chief of staff to former Vice President Dan Quayle, is elected. Abraham is a Harvard-educated attorney and second-generation Lebanese American who chaired the Michigan state Republican Party from 1983 to 1991. He told the Detroit Jewish News that he favors maintaining the alliance between the United States and Israel and that he supports continuing current levels of aid to Israel.

Abraham's opponent is Rep. Bob Carr. Staff writer Jennifer Finer of the Detroit Jewish News says Carr has a "solid" voting record on Israel and told the Detroit Jewish News that "the United States has to be a friend of Israel and support its efforts to negotiate peace with its neighbors."

To support Abraham, the National Association of Arab Americans revived its political action committee, which was not active in the 1992 election. However, potential Abraham supporters who are squeamish about PACs can make direct contributions to Spence Abraham for U.S. Senate, PO Box 1468, Royal Oak, MI 48068.

Serbian American Loses in Maryland

Maryland Republican Helen Delich Bentley received a lot of unsolicited campaign donations from critics of Israel for her successful 1984 campaign to unseat Clarence Long, who had used his position as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee to support over several years the phenomenal buildup of U.S. taxpayer aid while Menachem Begin was prime minister of Israel. After her win, Bentley, a veteran Baltimore political reporter, did not hold committee assignments pertinent to the Middle East, and her subsequent re-election campaigns were not of significance either to supporters or critics of aid to Israel.

However, Bentley was the only member of Congress of Serbian descent. During her 1992 re-election campaign she was criticized for using House stationery and the services of her congressional staff in support of her role as president of SerbNet, the Serbian American National Information Network. Bentley termed her actions a mistake. But the issue did not go away, particularly after she launched a campaign for the open governorship of Maryland.

Although the Baltimore Sun endorsed her 1994 gubernatorial campaign, the newspaper also criticized her defense of Serbian army actions in Bosnia. "As she continues to act as that outlaw regime's voice on Capitol Hill, she knows that Baltimore County and Harford County constituents will judge her for it," the Sun wrote. "They are likely to be appalled at what she defends."

Only days before the September primary, a group that included American Muslims, Croatian Americans, and Jewish Americans picketed Bentley during her appearance in a Maryland suburb of the national capital where the Republican candidates were debating. Craig Sumberg, executive director of the National Capital Region of the American Jewish Congress, called Bentley's support for Serbia "definitely troubling" and said that although his organization didn't co-sponsor the anti-Bentley picketers, he had made calls encouraging board members to attend.

Democratic activist Selig Freedman, who is Jewish, said his participation had "nothing to do with being a Democrat or a Republican...I can't stand people who defend a holocaust." Croatian-American Steve Rukavina, a founding member of Marylanders for Ethics in Government, predicted more demonstrations against Bentley.

That, however, won't be necessary. Bentley lost her bid for the Republican nomination. It is not clear how much her role as apologist for Serbia contributed to her electoral defeat. Nevertheless, as Long learned when he was defeated by Bentley in 1984, identification in the minds of donors and voters with "people who defend a holocaust" is not smart politics.

Lucille Barnes covers political affairs from Washington for U.S. and foreign publications.