In an opinion piece posted this morning on the website of the Greater Phoenix Jewish News, the editors, at least one of which has contributed to the Jim Pederson campaign, point out that U.S. policy in the Middle East has hurt American credibility in the region, and thus hurt Israel.
If the only issue for the American Jewish voter is what's truly best for Israel, then an absolute priority must be a strong U.S., with the diplomatic capital to promote change in the Middle East and help protect Israel from the hostile governments that surround her. Given that priority, the current administration is failing Israel, and Republican Jon Kyl, as one of the staunchest Bush supporters in the Senate, is a contributing factor.
The editorial continues stating that clearly, Israel is not and cannot be the only priority, even for American Jews. There are too many other important issues such as stem-cell research, the environment and immigration reform. On all of these and other issues, the paper’s editors state that Kyl’s positions are wrong for Arizona and the U.S.A, and thus, wrong for Israel.
Jews have a long, proud history in the U.S., grounded in our values and traditions, that has helped shape the nation's character. Are we really to turn our backs on that history and vote as if in some kind of myopic haze? Whatever happened to the rational approach that allows us to consider all the factors at work?
Whether you're choosing a U.S. senator based on what's best for Israel or what's best for the U.S., the answer is the same: Jim Pederson.
It is good to see the editors of the Greater Phoenix Jewish News come out strong in favor of Jim Pederson even at this late date. Of course, a good portion of the Jewish community in Arizona is made up of senior citizens, those who are most likely to have voted early, so I am unsure of how much affect this editorial will have, but I have to agree with the analysis completely; what is good for America is good for Israel, and Jim Pederson is good for America.
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“Misleading,” “specious,” “bogus,” and “disingenuous” are all terms used by the Media, such as USA Today, New York Times and NBC to describe the political ads by George Bush about John Kerry. The latest ad about the Patriot Act is no different. It is a total distortion of the facts! John Kerry is not trying to repeal the Patriot Act but to strengthen it. Kerry along with Republicans Larry Craig and Arlen Specter and others have recognized the need to fix the Patriot Act to improve its effectiveness as an anti-terrorism tool and prevent abuses that violate civil liberties. They have co-sponsored legislation to achieve this goal (S.1709).
Under the Craig-Specter-Kerry approach, the government will have more power to go after terrorists than before the Patriot Act, not less. They do not eliminate a single government power. Instead, their approach creates new checks on abuses that still leave the government with far more power to attack terrorists.
Bush says at the beginning of his ad: “I’m George W. Bush and I approved this message.” This proves that Bush is so afraid of his own record that his only chance in this election is to blatantly lie about his opponent.
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