It depends on interpretation but there are roughly 193 countries in the world. For most people there is little more interest in Tajikistan than there is in Liechtenstein. There are Americans from all over the world and we have large Armenian, Polish, Vietnamese, and other expatriot communities. But of all the countries of the world Israel has the biggest impact on our nation.
We’re all familiar with the reasons why this is the case. Israel is interesting as the setting for both the Old and New Testaments, we have a very large and influential Jewish community (and a growing Muslim one), and an enormous evangelical Christian community. Israel is and has been a major ally of the United States. For all these reasons, Israel is both more interesting and more controversial than Myanmar or Mozambique.
No one is more aware of and interested in Israel than American Jews. The most pro and the most anti-Israel people I know are Jewish. You cannot accurately prejudge someone’s attitude toward Israel merely by knowing that they are Jewish. And even if someone is very concerned about Israel’s welfare, they may have diametrically opposed ideas about what will best secure Israel’s welfare. Even political party is a poor indicator. Russ Feingold and Edward Koch are both Jewish, they are both Democrats, they both want a safe and prosperous Israel, but they have tremendous differences on how to accomplish that goal.
So, I want everyone to take the following information with a grain of salt. Just because someone is Jewish doesn’t mean they agree with William Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, and Joe Lieberman about what is best for Israel and what is best for the United States. But, I find it extremely interesting to look at the religious makeup of new House International Relations Committee. There are 23 Democrats on the committee. I will list their them by seniority and I will indicate their faith and place of birth.
CHAIRMAN Rep. Tom Lantos (DEM-CA-12th) Jewish, Budapest, Hungary
Rep. Howard Berman (DEM-CA-28th) Jewish, Los Angeles, CA
Rep. Gary Ackerman (DEM-NY-5th) Jewish, Brooklyn, NY
Del. Eni Faleomavaega (DEM-AS-At-Large) Mormon, Vailoatai Village, American Samoa
Rep. Donald Payne (DEM-NJ-10th) Baptist, Newark, NJ
Rep. Brad Sherman (DEM-CA-27th) Jewish, Los Angeles, CA
Rep. Robert Wexler (DEM-FL-19th) Jewish, Queens, NY
Rep. Eliot Engel (DEM-NY-17th) Jewish, Bronx, NY
Rep. William Delahunt (DEM-MA-10th) Catholic, Quincy, MA
Rep. Gregory Meeks (DEM-NY-6th) Baptist, East Harlem, NY
Rep. Barbara Lee (DEM-CA-9th) Not stated, El Paso, TX
Rep. Joseph Crowley (DEM-NY-7th) Catholic, New York, NY
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (DEM-OR-3rd) Not stated, Portland, OR
Rep. Shelley Berkley (DEM-NV-1st) Jewish, New York, NY
Rep. Grace Napolitano (DEM-CA-38th) Catholic, Brownsville, TX
Rep. Adam Schiff (DEM-CA-29th) Jewish, Framingham, MA
Rep. Diane Watson (DEM-CA-33rd) Catholic, Los Angeles, CA
Rep. Adam Smith (DEM-WA-9th) Christian, Washington, DC
Rep. Betty McCollum (DEM-MN-4th)Catholic, Minneapolis, MN
Rep. Ben Chandler (DEM-KY-6th)Presbyterian, Versailles, KY
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (DEM-CA-18th) Catholic, Merced, CA
Rep. Russ Carnahan (DEM-MO-3rd) Methodist, Colombia, MO
The top three Democrats on the committee are Jewish and six of the top eight Democrats on the committee are Jewish. I don’t want anyone to draw overly broad conclusions from these facts. I just want people to understand that Jewish-Americans have tremendous influence over our foreign policy even, or especially, with Democrats in control of the House of Representatives.
This is not some kind of anomaly. This is one of many ways that Jewish-Americans work to assure the continued good relations between America and Israel. And, in itself, this is not a bad thing. However, I think we would find extremely odd if six of the top ranking members of this committee were Mormons. According to the Jewish Virtual Library there is not that much difference in the Jewish and Mormon populations. As of 2000, they report that Jews made up 2.2% of the population compared to 1.5% for Mormons.
I don’t want this information to be misinterpreted. Whether someone is interested in Israel because they a Jew, a Muslim, or a Christian biblical scholar, the more they know the more informed their opinions about policy are likely to be.
But, we must be aware that our abilities to forge an independent policy on Israel are distorted if any one interested party has undue influence. It appears that, in the House anyway, the policy setters are heavily weighted toward a pro-Israel view. I hope that their expertise can help us find solutions. I hope they understand that we can best help secure Israel’s future by rejecting neo-conservatism and returning to the hard work of diplomacy favored by Bill Clinton.