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July 30, 2004/Av 5 5764, Vol. 56, No. 45
Democrats notice Kerry's stance
RON KAMPEAS
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
BOSTON - Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) talked about how Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) would salvage a health care system, preserve abortion rights and crush the terrorist threat he claimed Bush had mishandled.
Then the popular New Mexico governor and chairman of the Democratic convention got around to Israel.
This is what he told his Jewish audience on the eve of the Democratic National Convention: "The Bush ad-ministration policy toward Israel has been OK."
Richardson didn't let it go there - never has a candidate been "more committed to Israel's security than John Kerry," he said - but the pass he gave Bush on Israel was all the more remarkable for being addressed to the July 25 con-vention-launching event sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Com-mittee. Co-sponsors included the United Jewish Com-munities federation umbrella organization, the National Jewish Democratic Council and Boston Jewish groups.
Democratic officials who deal with the Jewish com-munity say they've done all they can to highlight their candidate's bona fides on Israel, such as his sterling voting record on Israel issues during 19 years in the Senate, his recognition of some Israeli claims to the West Bank and his re-pudiation of a Palestinian refugee "right of return," and his swift condemnation of the International Court of Justice's recent ruling against Israel's West Bank security barrier.
The implication is that those Jews who insist on voting for Bush because of his extraordinarily warm re-lations are beyond the Democratic pale - but that the time has come to remind voters that from the Democratic Party's per-spective, Kerry's positions are much closer to Jewish voters on every issue Jews care about aside from the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
"There's no difference between George Bush and John Kerry when it comes to a strong U.S.-Israel alliance," Ann Lewis, a com-munications director in President Clinton's White House and an adviser to the Kerry campaign, told JTA. "On every other issue, Kerry will fight much harder for issues supported by the Jewish community, whether it's housing for the elderly, education, or church-and-state."
Republicans might well challenge the assertion that Kerry is as pro-Israel as Bush. Even so, it might not be an easy fight for Kerry on the domestic issues, given the emphasis Jews place on Israel's security.
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