Pro-Israel lobby targeting NH Senate race

By Max Heuer

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2002--Pro-Israel lobbyists in Washington are paying close attention to the New Hampshire Senate race, preparing to lend support to Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen while at the same time working quietly behind the scenes to salvage relations with her Republican rival, Rep. John E. Sununu, according to a Jewish newspaper.

In a story last Friday in The Forward, a weekly Jewish newspaper headquartered in New York City, an unnamed source whom the newspaper described as a "prominent pro-Israel activist in Washington" said the Granite State race would be "the focal point of the pro-Israel activity" in the November elections.

But a Republican pro-Israel activist who declined to be identified said such attention is simply "not happening."

"The community is not united on this," the activist said Wednesday. "Pro-Israel Democrats will support Shaheen, and pro-Israel Republicans will support Sununu."

The Forward story quoted one source who said openly that supporters of Israel are opposing the Republican candidate.

Sununu "hasn't been outrageous" in his Israel policy, but "he's definitely not the preferable candidate," Morris Amitay, director of the Washington PAC - a pro-Israel political action committee that supports candidates in federal elections - told The Forward.

This sentiment in the pro-Israel lobby stems from Sununu's votes against several pro-Israel resolutions, Forward reporter Ori Nir wrote in the article. He also wrote that Sununu is said to have supported direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, which many pro-Israel activists consider a terrorist organization.

But Sununu's campaign staff doesn't think the charges are warranted.

"Congressman Sununu has always voted to protect America's national security interests around the world, and that includes support for Israel, our most important strategic ally in the Middle East," said Sununu's press secretary, Barbara Riley.

The article's "assessment of [Sununu's] record is not accurate, nor balanced," the GOP pro-Israel activist said, emphasizing Sununu's vote for the DeLay-Lantos resolution supporting Israel's right to defend itself. The House passed the measure in May by a vote of 351-21.

The resolution, which also condemned Palestinian terrorism, was the main reason for Jewish lobbying against Reps. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Earl Hilliard (D-AL) after both voted against it, the activist said. McKinney and Hilliard lost their primary elections earlier this year.

But according to the article in The Forward, Shaheen is the more attractive choice for supporters of Israel and should be the one to receive significant backing from pro-Israel PACs.

Pro-Israel PACs already have donated at least $14,000 to Shaheen's campaign and $29,700 to Sen. Bob Smith, who lost his bid for reelection in last week's Republican primary campaign to Sununu, according to a report by the Center for Responsive Politics based on Federal Election Commission (FEC) data for the first six months of this year.

Sununu did not receive any donations from those PACs in that period.

The GOP activist said this was because incumbent candidates like Smith, "if they have been friendly" toward Israel, as Smith clearly was, typically get support from pro-Israel groups during the primary. The activist said pro-Israel support for Sununu would show up "now that this is an open race."

Data on pro-Israel groups' donations to Sununu and Shaheen after the primary will not be available until Oct. 15, when the first general election financial disclosure report is released by the FEC.

Calls to Washington PAC and National PAC - another pro-Israel group that directly supports House and Senate candidates - were not returned.

The Forward article noted that some Jewish leaders are cautious about coming out too strongly against Sununu. The congressman's national backing - his father was White House chief of staff for the first President Bush - and his solid position in the fall election mean that "an all-out Jewish effort against Sununu may alienate him and make him more of an adversary than he actually is" if he gets elected, according to the article.

The story also reported that a spokesperson at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) confirmed that "Israel supporters" had contacted Sununu but that the spokesperson denied any attempt to "co-opt him" toward Israel. The supporters also reportedly "distanced themselves" from Smith's comments during his campaign that "made reference to Sununu's Lebanese-Palestinian origin while accusing him of being soft on terrorism."

Instead the supporters were "suggesting that" Sununu "make a public statement supporting Israel" before the Sept. 10 primary - which he did not do.

According to the article, Sununu is considering making such a statement in his general election campaign. In fact, his campaign released a statement today on the issue and Sununu has made statements of support in the past.

Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.