Jewish groups are backing the front-runners in the June 14 races for majority leader and majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The reason is that they have strong records of support for Israel, unlike their opponents, one of whom is a strong advocate of Palestinian rights.
The Jewish groups are favoring the election of Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Ma.) as majority leader and Rep. William Gray III (D-Pa.) as majority whip.
House Speaker Thomas Foley (D-Wash.) had been the majority leader. He was elected speaker Tuesday to replace Rep. Jim Wright (D-Texas), who resigned his post and is expected to retire in the face of a House ethics committee investigation.
The whip post is being vacated by Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Calif.), who is retiring June 15 rather than undergo a likely investigation by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
Rep. Ed Jenkins (D-Ga.) is the other announced candidate for majority leader against Gephardt, who unsuccessfully sought the 1988 Democratic nomination for president. Running against Gray are Reps. David Bonior (D-Mich.) and Beryl Anthony (D-Ark.).
Bonior is considered a vocal supporter of Palestinians and is said to have a close working relationship with two of the premier Arab groups in this country: the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the National Association of Arab Americans.
He met with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat in July 1982.
‘ONE OF THE MOST UNFRIENDLY’
He argued forcefully in favor of a 1986 arms sale to Saudi Arabia, saying that a defeat of the sale would “undercut relations with this pro-Western, anti-Soviet nation.”
In an interview last August with the Detroit Jewish News, Bonior said, “Culturally and politically the American-Israel lobby has been very effective in winning public and congressional support, so I am always going to be a minority voice in Congress.”
Morris Amitay, a pro-Israel lobbyist in Washington and former executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called Bonior “one of the most unfriendly members in the House with regard to Israel.”
Gray, on the other hand, has been “a very important friend over the years on the Appropriations Committee and as budget chairman” for aid to Israel, he said.
Likewise, Gephardt has been “a solid, consistent friend of Israel, with a fine voting record,” Amitay said. He described opponent Jenkins’ record on Israel as “fair.”
“Anthony is a little better than Jenkins” on Israel, Amitay said.
But Jenkins, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, is being supported by the committee’s chairman, Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) and by at least one Jewish, staunchly pro-Israel member of Congress, Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“Jenkins is not outstanding, one way or the other, whereas Bonior is outstanding negatively,” Amitay said. On the other hand, Jenkins, but not Bonior, has traditionally voted against foreign aid bills, including the annual $3billion package for Israel.
STRONG CANDIDATES FOR CAUCUS CHAIR
One congressional aide to a strongly pro-Israel member of Congress couched Jenkins’ votes against foreign aid by saying that the Georgia congressman never had “an incentive to vote in favor of foreign aid,” because there are not a lot of Jews in his district.
Jackie Sosby, Jenkins’ press secretary, said Jenkins’ foreign aid votes were not “directed at any ethnic group whatsoever.”
On domestic issues, Jenkins and Anthony are “more conservative across the board, and it certainly plays out on the social issues,” said Mark Pelavin, associate Washington representative of the American Jewish Congress.
Gephardt is the “centrist” among the five contending for Democratic leadership posts, Pelavin said.
For example, Bonior and Gray are co-sponsors of the family medical leave act, “which is a priority for many Jewish groups,” Pelavin said, while Anthony and Jewish groups,” Pelavin said, while Anthony and Jenkins are not.
When House Democrats convene on June 14, they will also be electing a new caucus chairperson, unless Gray, the current chairman, retains that post.
The candidates for caucus chairperson are both pro-Israel: Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Barbara Kennelly (D-Conn.).
Hoyer is “outstanding,” Amitay said, noting his co- chairmanship of the congressional Helsinki Commission monitoring Soviet human rights policies. And Kennelly has “a good record of support” for Israel, Amitay said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
