WASHINGTON, 25 July — Pro-Israel supporters recently succeeded in ousting five-term Congressman Earl Hilliard for his balanced Mideast views, now they are aiming their sights on Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia.
But groups of liberal American Jews who “vocally defend Palestinians’ rights while supporting Israel” are condemning the action according to the New York based Jewish weekly, Forward.
Viewed by the American Israel Political Action Committee, AIPAC, as “the organized Jewish community’s least favorite lawmaker” during her 10 years on Capitol Hill, McKinney faces a tough fight in her Aug. 20 Democratic primary.
McKinney’s opponent, Denise Majette, is a retired state judge with centrist domestic positions and what are termed “pro-Israel views in line with the White House.”
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the San Francisco-based Tikkun magazine, is backing McKinney’s candidacy and says her position on Israel is a “reasonable critique.”
“For lawmakers feeling pressure to bow to AIPAC, the McKinney race would be a bellwether for feeling safe to raise criticisms of Israel,” he said. “Pro-Sharon forces have targeted this African American Democrat for defeat due to her strong stance in favor of both Israel and Palestine,” Lerner said.
“In our view, the best way to be pro-Israel is to end the occupation, and to create an open-hearted and generous reconciliation with the Palestinian people,” Lerner told Arab News in a telephone interview.
“It is clear to me that the McKinney race is a critical race, and if she loses, then anyone who has the slightest inclination to speak up for peace and reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians in Congress would be much less likely to do so,” said Lerner.
The Washington-based Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel, JPPI, also gives McKinney a top score for her “even-handedness” in voting on pro-Israel resolutions.
“We cannot endorse political candidates because of our non-profit status, so what we’ve done is created a Congressional report card, which is on our website, www.jppi.org, which grades members of Congress on their voting record on Israel-Palestine issues,” Joshua Ruebner, co-founder of JPPI, told Arab News.
“Cynthia McKinney is one of only three representatives who received a perfect score from us for advocating a balanced policy in favor of a just peace between Israel and Palestine. The other two are John Dingell, D-Michigan and Nick Rahall, D-West Virginia,” said Ruebner.
“I think it’s disgusting that Americans Jewish PACs are selectively targeting African American politicians because of their justified criticisms of Israel’s brutal occupation policies.
“The trick is to get enough members of Congress to say what Hilliard and McKinney are saying,” said Reubner.
Appreciated as a firm defender of minority rights, aid for Africa and pro-labor views, McKinney came to Congress in 1992 with help from local Jewish supporters.
But the relationship became strained through the years. This April, McKinney questioned, then called for an investigation, on whether President Bush might have had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks and had looked to profit from it.
In May, along with Hilliard, McKinney was one of five members, of the 36 voting members of the Congressional Black Caucus, to vote against a pro-Israel resolution that blamed the Palestinians for the escalating violence in the Middle East.
