On 19 May, 15:47, Gaijouw <gaijouw...@kriocoucke.mailexpire.com>
wrote:

   "Abramski", wonder how many Ukrainians great granpappy got through
on
a 'good' day and how she manages to stagger through each day under the
burden of  guilt.
   Doubtless she'll want to know what's buzzing in the underground
today.
The Poor Jews: 3% of US population, owning 60% of the Democrats!
    Praise the L*rd and pass the information.

"Republicans have seized on the assertion of Rep. James P. Moran (D-
Va.)
that Jews are determining American policy toward Iraq as a new weapon
in the GOP's long-term effort to attract traditionally Democratic
Jewish voters and donors.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) told a group of more than 150
Orthodox Jewish leaders from around the country yesterday that the
Democratic Party 'appears to countenance remarks like those made by
Representative Moran in the past few weeks.'
DeLay has been the driving force in the Republican effort to
capitalize
on President Bush's strong support of Israel and his leadership in the
war on terrorism to weaken Democratic support and financial backing
from Jews.

'There are only a few key pillars left holding up the Democratic
coalition, especially financial pillars, and if we can fracture one of
them, they [Democrats] are going to go into 2004 in big trouble,' a
GOP
strategist said.

In states such as Florida and New York, Jewish voters are a large
enough percentage of voters to play a crucial role in election
outcomes. In presidential elections, Democratic candidates depend on
Jewish supporters to supply as much as 60 percent of the money raised
from private sources. Any significant reduction in the financial
support will weaken Democratic candidates and the Democratic Party
organizations.

While Bill Clinton was president, he received strong support from
Jewish voters, many of whom backed his efforts to negotiate a peace
settlement in the Middle East. But with the collapse of the peace
process and the outbreak of violence between Israelis and
Palestinians,
the GOP has sought to win support from more right-leaning Jews who no
longer view the Palestinian Authority as a legitimate negotiating
partner.

Joining DeLay yesterday in his meeting with representatives of the
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America was another key
figure in the Republican effort, Rep. Eric I. Cantor (R-Va.). Cantor
said Moran's comments were "reminiscent of the accusations contained
in
the Protocols of the Elders of Zion," a notorious Czarist forgery that
fomented pogroms against Jews in 19th-century Russia.

Cantor, the chief deputy whip and the only Jewish Republican in the
House, said in an interview, "Jews in this country may not be able to
afford to be Democrats. . . . One party [the GOP] is absolutely
resolute in its commitment to Israel."

The remarks by Cantor and DeLay drew sustained applause and a standing
ovation from the Orthodox Jewish leaders.

"On many issues that are very important to the Jewish community, and
especially the Orthodox community that I represent, the Republicans
are
striking chords that ring very true, and that's going to be reflected
in future elections," said Harvey Blitz of New York, president of the
Orthodox Union.

There is evidence that Republicans are winning defections among some
moderate and liberal Jews, as well. Late last year, two prominent
Jewish leaders who strongly supported Democrats in the past -- Jack
Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, and Michael
Sonnenfeldt, former chairman of the moderate Israel Policy Forum --
gave $100,000 and $10,000, respectively, to the Republican National
Committee. Dawn Arnall of California, who has donated primarily to
Democrats, gave the RNC $1 million on Oct. 24, 2002.

Polling data are more ambiguous.

Steven M. Cohen of the Hebrew University's Melton Centre for Jewish
Education said a survey he oversaw in late 2002 suggests that
"American
Jews may be poised on the edge of a historic shift to the right in
their political views. . . . Younger Jews are far more willing than
their elders to identify as Republicans and to approve of President
Bush, suggesting that the Democrats' advantage among Jews will shrink
during the coming decades."

But annual surveys conduced by the American Jewish Committee dispute
this finding, and show very little shift away from either liberalism
or
the Democratic Party.

Rosen said that as long as the political agenda is dominated by
terrorism and threats to the survival of Israel, Republicans will have
a strong chance to make gains in the Jewish community. But if the
agenda returns to domestic issues, including abortion, prayer in
school
and minority rights, Democratic strength among Jews will revive, he
said.

At a church forum in Reston earlier this month, Moran said, "if it
were
not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with
Iraq, we would not be doing this." His comments were more ammunition
for the GOP's contention that Democrats who oppose a war in Iraq are
insufficiently concerned about Israel's security.

For the past three days, Democrats have put on a full-court press to
try to limit the damage from Moran's comments, with a parade of
Democratic congressional leaders and presidential candidates
denouncing
his comments.

Six Jewish Democrats in the House, including Henry A. Waxman (Calif.),
Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.) and Sander M. Levin (Mich.), yesterday called
on Moran to retire in 2004, and if he runs again, "we cannot and will
not support his candidacy." They warned that Moran's "inflammatory"
comments "can unleash unintended and dangerous consequences."

For Republican strategists, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war
on terrorism and the prospect of war with Iraq have been key to
building an alliance with Jews. In the main, Jews have been suspicious
of the GOP's ties to the religious right, have opposed the GOP's stand
against abortion and have criticized the Republican Party's
willingness
to weaken the separation of church and state through such policies as
Bush's "faith-based" initiative. Matthew Brooks, executive director of
the Republican Jewish Coalition, calls the changed environment the
"perfect storm" that could lead to a historic political shift.

DeLay has perhaps the strongest ties to the Christian right of any
Republican in the House. He has repeatedly stressed his commitment to
Israel, and helped foster a growing bond between American Jewish
leaders and evangelical Christians who support the Israeli cause.

"The path to security and stability lies down the road that Israel has
already traveled," DeLay told the Orthodox group yesterday. "The
Israelis don't need to change their course. They don't need to travel
the path of weakness as defined by the neo-appeasers."

DeLay's adamant backing of Israel played a key role in a successful
fundraiser he held last summer in Englewood, N.J., at which Jewish
donors gave his Americans for a Republican Majority PAC about
$100,000."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A17878-2003M
ar12&notFound=true

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