October 29, 2006

In keeping with Judaism's long tradition of debate and discourse, American Jews have often expressed a plurality of opinions on how best to support Israel-- never more so than in recent years. As such, many of us in the seventh congressional district feel lucky to be represented by Rep. Jim McDermott, a man firmly committed to Israel's well-being and security, and passionate about the pursuit of peace.

McDermott has visited Israel frequently in recent years, routinely consults with specialists on Israel and the Middle East, and attends many educational forums discussing the conflict. As a doctor and psychiatrist, he understands the toll of violence on both bodies and minds, and he was quick to contact community leadership to offer condolences and assistance following the deadly Seattle Federation attack. In this spirit, McDermott has been an instrumental supporter and facilitator for programming -- developed in Seattle -- that provides long-term psychiatric support to bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families and training to doctors of both nationalities. He is highly regarded among a wide range of Israeli and Palestinian experts and prominent American Jewish scholars.

The general pattern of the congressman's votes on Israel -- including those during the recent war in Lebanon and following the election of Hamas in the Palestinian territories -- are firmly in keeping with this knowledge and sensitivity.

Like McDermott, many members of Congress expressed reservations about H.R. 921 (July, 2006) on Lebanon and Israel, citing the bill's failure to mention civilian casualties or call for U.S. intervention. Ultimately, McDermott was one of only eight with the courage of his convictions to vote against it.

He was also one of 37 who voted against H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, saying, "It is not very often that Jim McDermott rises to support this president, but that is precisely what I am doing now. The President does not want his hands tied by H.R. 4681.

"[This bill] will not make Israel safer,...will not meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people, and will not give our diplomats the tools they need to help find a path to peace in the Mideast."

Like McDermott, the State Department actively opposed H.R. 4681. The bill forfeited any U.S. role in bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, weakened pro-peace Palestinians and emboldened extremists, hamstrung the president in dealing with emergency security crises, and drastically cut critical U.S. assistance to the Palestinian people. It targeted any and all activity by the Palestinian Authority, rather than only a Hamas-led Authority, made no distinction between the Palestinian Authority and the PLO (Hamas is not a member of the PLO) and contained no review or "sunset" clauses -- effectively forbidding any future U.S. assistance, even if Hamas was no longer in leadership or moderated its policies. The State Department called the bill "unnecessary," pointing out that the executive branch "already has ample authority to impose all its restrictions and it constrains the Executive's flexibility."
It's interesting to note also that McDermott's disagreement with the legislation was reflected in the language of nearly 400 rabbis from across the country (including a dozen from the Seattle area) in a March 2006 letter to President Bush, urging him to pursue constructive engagement with moderate Palestinians and sustained humanitarian aid. The rabbis called on the president to "maintain a cautious approach to the new Palestinian government, so as to preserve the future possibility of bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, which is the only path to achieve true peace and security for both peoples."

Moreover, in December 2005, McDermott was one of 108 representatives to sign the Hyde-Capps congressional letter praising Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her efforts in achieving a transportation deal between Israel and the pre-Hamas Palestinian government. The letter received the active support of Jerome Epstein, Executive Vice President, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President, Union for Reform Judaism, who wrote, "As members and leaders of the American Jewish community we write to urge you to... [commend] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's efforts ....[The agreement] is an important step in building a vibrant economy that will provide jobs and hope for Palestinians and that will ultimately contribute to greater security for the State of Israel and a more stable Middle East."

Seen in this light, it's hard to view the congressman as hostile to Israel or isolated from the Jewish community, as was recently suggested in these pages.

Israel's most recent war underscored the fact that it is made more vulnerable by policies derived from reliance on military tactics, in contrast to a robust, pragmatic and long-term diplomatic strategy. Loss of life on both sides did nothing to secure Israel in the long or short term -- the soldiers whose kidnappings sparked the hostilities are still captive, Hezbollah's position has grown stronger, and the will and ability of the Lebanese government to rein them in has been weakened. We saw a nearly identical trend during Israel's war against the PLO in Lebanon in the early '80s. Those who support a strong and secure Israel must now ask themselves: how can this cycle be broken, once and for all?

We believe that the first step is to oppose those measures, which, while ostensibly "pro-Israel," actually threaten Israel's well-being by maintaining a destructive and untenable status quo. As American citizens, we believe we all deserve thoughtful policies from our elected representatives, positions that promote a reasonable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- the kinds of positions consistently taken by Rep. Jim McDermott.

If everyone in government were as well-informed about Israel and her neighbors, and as sensitive to the dynamics of foreign policy issues as the Congressman from the seventh district, the State of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world could be a much safer place.

Rainer Waldman Adkins is chairperson of the Greater Seattle Chapter of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace. Marcia Freedman is Brit Tzedek v’Shalom’s national president.