Biden is Strongly Pro-Israel, Republican Attacks Ridiculous
Listed in: Israel, Stop the Smears, NJDC News, Opinions
Originally published in The Huffington Post
By Ira N. Forman, Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC)
The John McCain derogatory hit squad is at it again. All they know how to do is to sling mud, falsify records and go negative -- no matter how ridiculous the charge.
They are reduced to such absurd tactics because they know that for Jewish voters the issues that matter like separation of church and state, true support for Israel, reproductive rights, health-care for all Americans and preserving an independent Judiciary are more important than baseless mudslinging.
McCain's first hitman is Rudolph Giuliani who yesterday criticized Obama's stance on Jerusalem. Joe Biden himself highlighted Giuliani's lack of knowledge about foreign affairs when Giuliani claimed that the North Korean and Iranian nuclear weapons programs were in the same state of development. Giuliani further displays his ignorance when he is not even aware that McCain's position on Jerusalem is less supportive of a unified Jerusalem than Obama's.
The second hitman is the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) who embarrass themselves further by attacking Biden who has been a champion for Israel ever since he entered the Senate 1973.
A 94% pro-Israel record is a solid 'A' by any calculation. According to pro-Israel voting records, that is how Biden ranks over his six terms in the Senate. RJC's leading criticism of Biden is that he did not vote for the Kyl-Lieberman resolution, a vote that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) itself does not use as an indicator of pro-Israel support.
Biden points out that you don't have to be Jewish to be a Zionist and then proudly proclaims himself a Zionist. How many other U.S. Senators characterize their commitment to the security and survival of Israel in such direct and personal ways? Biden has worked closely to protect Israel's security with every Prime Minister since Golda Meir. How many other U.S. Senators can make such a claim?
These nattering nabobs of negativism injure the long standing bi-partisan consensus on Israel for pure political gain. You would think that these fear mongerers would feel some degree of shame over their ridiculous charges about the most experienced foreign policy expert in the U.S. Senate -- but you would be wrong. Even if the Democrats nominated Golda Meir for the Presidential ticket they would charge that she was insufficiently pro-Israel.
