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August 13, 2004/Av 26 5763, Vol. 55, No. 47
Kerry Mideast adviser praised
RON KAMPEAS
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - The big blank space on Mel Levine's CV - being out of the inner circle of Middle Eastern diplomacy for 10 years - may be the biggest asset he brings to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who took him on last week as his campaign's top Middle East adviser.
Levine, 62, served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California from 1983-1993, earning a reputation as one of Israel's closest friends on Capitol Hill.
For Kerry, bringing Levine on board is "a brilliant move," said Steven Spiegel, a scholar with the Israel Policy Forum, a dovish group that promotes U.S. engagement in the region.
"You want someone in that kind of a position who has impeccable pro-Israel cre-dentials, who is not con-troversial, who has broad respect from a variety of figures - that's hard to get these days. It shows the campaign is in close touch with the com-munity."
Levine, who is Jewish, will play a key role in a close election in which both cam-paigns are chasing Jewish votes in swing states.
Nonetheless, he downplayed his role in the Kerry campaign's "Middle East policy working group."
"One of the things that is unique about this presi-dential campaign, the principal foreign policy person for Kerry is Kerry," he said. "He's steeped in knowledge of these issues, so no foreign policy adviser should overestimate the role he or she would play."
That may be the case, but many in the Jewish com-munity were relieved at Levine's hiring by a candidate who still is not particularly well known outside his home state of Massachusetts, and who - despite a 100 percent pro-Israel voting record during 19 years in the U.S. Senate - still is seen as an unknown quantity on Israel.
"Mel Levine is highly respected in the American Jewish community, and his appointment is a strong addition to the Kerry campaign foreign policy team," said Josh Block, spokesman of the American Israel Public Affairs Com-mittee, where Levine until recently served as a board member.
Kerry's campaign has been trying hard to close a perceived gap on the Israel issue with President Bush, who current Israeli leaders believe is the friendliest American president ever toward the Jewish state.
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