Pro-Israel, Except When It Counts

Ted Deutch, aspiring Democratic congressman, suddenly goes silent.

Jim Geraghty
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The special election in Florida’s 19th congressional district hasn’t gotten as much attention as some other special elections in the past year, and perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. Both Obama and Kerry carried 66 percent of the vote in this district, and the last congressman to represent this area, Democrat Robert Wexler, always finished with at least 66 percent of the vote.

The district — encompassing a narrow, non-coastal strip of Palm Beach and Broward counties — has one of the most heavily Jewish voting populations in the country, and so naturally, the Democrat who seeks to be Wexler’s successor, state senator Ted Deutch, heavily emphasizes his pro-Israel bona fides. On his campaign website, Deutch emphasizes “security and peace for Israel” along with the economy, education, and health care. The first line of his biography declares, “Senator Ted Deutch is an accomplished legislator who has passed legislation on critical issues benefiting seniors, public education, national security and victims of the Holocaust.” He counts as one of his two landmark legislative initiatives in the state legislature a measure to require that state workers’ pension funds be divested from investments in Iran’s oil-and-gas sector. The other is a similar measure covering investments in Sudan. According to his testimony before Congress, the legislation led to the state of Florida’s divesting more than $1.1 billion.

But this is a particularly troubling moment for American friends of Israel. Anyone who’s even casually following news out of the Middle East or Washington has noticed what the Israeli ambassador calls the “worst crisis in 35 years” for U.S.-Israel relations. While differences between the Obama administration and the government of Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu have been clear for some time, a rift tore open two weeks ago. While U.S. vice president Joe Biden was visiting the Jewish state, the Israeli government announced plans to expand the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

Obama adviser David Axelrod denounced the decision and its timing as “an insult” and “affront,” and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a list of demands to Netanyahu in a heated phone call. Among them: Reverse the decision on the new housing units, make a substantial gesture toward the Palestinians including prisoner release or territorial concessions, and issue an official declaration that the talks with the Palestinians, even indirect talks, will deal with all the conflict’s core issues — borders, refugees, Jerusalem, security arrangements, water, and settlements.

This has friends of Israel, and traditional friends of the administration, suddenly recoiling; Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, declared, “We are shocked and stunned at the Administration’s tone and public dressing down of Israel on the issue of future building in Jerusalem. We cannot remember an instance when such harsh language was directed at a friend and ally of the United States.”

It’s a tough spot for any pro-Israel Democrat; a beloved president and a beloved ally are butting heads. But Deutch’s heretofore full-throated defense of Israel has encountered a remarkably timed bit of laryngitis. As of Friday, ten days after the Israeli settlement announcement, Deutch had not put out any statement on developments in U.S.-Israel relations. Neither the candidate nor anyone from his campaign has been quoted in the local or national press about the recent controversy.

Ashley Mushnick, deputy campaign manager for Deutch, confirmed on March 16 that the lawmaker had not issued any statements on developments in the Middle East, but said she would relay National Review’s request for a comment. The campaign did not reply to additional requests.

By contrast, the Republican candidate, Ed Lynch, offered a 400-word statement decrying the administration’s policy on March 8. He concluded, “if Senator Deutch can’t summon the courage to speak at a public forum to discuss the imminent threat that now confronts Israel and explain why the Obama Administration’s policy towards Israel is misinformed and reckless, how can anyone expect Senator Deutch to display the necessary leadership in Congress to stand on principle and stand with Israel, rather than vouch for a naïve American President whose policies are jeopardizing Israel’s national security?”

“We find [Deutch’s] silence on the matter predictable,” said Vince Mariano, communications director for Lynch. “He’s married to Obama’s position. He said he would be a supporter of Obama’s efforts on Afghanistan and Iran, and thus has accepted the effort to reach out to Iran. This has marginalized our strategic relationship with the Israelis, and put them on par with every rogue regime in the region. . . . [Deutch] has been dead silent on the diplomatic row breaking out here, and we don’t expect him to say anything.”

Mariano acknowledges that while the district is heavily Jewish, Deutch’s silence probably won’t cause a wholesale erosion of support from traditionally Democratic-voting Jews in the district: “Wexler basically took the same stance, pressuring Israel on the development of settlements, always on board with Obama and he had the ears and support of J Street. Ted is hoping to glom off the capital that Wexler built up. . . . Of course, we haven’t heard a peep from him on any of this. You’re running for Congress, and you don’t deem it necessary to actually campaign for the job?”

While Mariano acknowledges that Lynch has an uphill climb, it’s not insurmountable. The district has 110,000 registered Republicans (of whom only 9,000 voted in the primary). Mariano puts the ceiling for turnout in this special election at a bit above 100,000, and “the prevailing attitude is unawareness that there’s a special election going on. . . . If we turn out half the Republican vote, forget any crossovers, we win.”

It’s a tall order. But among the early lessons of this campaign is that Deutch is adamantly pro-Israel up until the point where he has to publicly disagree with President Obama. When push comes to shove, his spine has all the steel of a matzoh ball.