After five months of struggling her way out of Rodney-Dangerfield status, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren could lose much of the voters’ respect through a crisis of her own making – hiring a campaign staffer assailed for a long history of harsh, one-sided opposition to Israeli policies.
It is no stretch to project President Trump’s attacks against her if Democrats nominate Warren to challenge him in 2020 – even if Max Berger leaves the campaign long before the election. Her Democratic rivals can take her apart for it during the primaries.
Republicans and right-leaning forces are raging against Warren for hiring Berger as a member of her campaign staff.
Berger’s appointment comes at a watershed moment. Warren spent the past five months on the margins despite being a known quantity in national politics, if not quite a household name. She polled low much of the time, and she finally moved into the top rungs after the first round of Democratic debates.
Warren is on a parallel course with IfNotNow, an activist group co-founded by Berger that seeks “to end American Jewish support for the occupation,” as IfNotNow states in its principles. The Washington Post reports that a group supporting Warren, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, is trying to peel off backers of other Democratic candidates, particularly liberals favoring Bernie Sanders. IfNotNow members are gallivanting around campaign stops to press candidates to support their mission, and Warren pledged her backing during an appearance in New Hampshire, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
In a 2:10 a.m. tweet on June 22, Berger announced his new job as the Warren campaign’s director for progressive partnerships and invited those in “movements or progressive politics” to reach out to him, according to some media reports.
Berger’s critics dredged up this tweet from 2013: “I would totally be friends with Hamas.” It was among a long list of anti-Israel statements from Berger produced by the Zionist Organization of America. Urging Warren to fire Berger, ZOA’s headline for a long news release states: “Hiring Berger Can Only Mean Sen. Warren Supports Berger’s Ugly Anti-Semitic Israelophobic Views.”
Stop Anti-Semitism declared Berger “Anti-Semite of the Week.” Berger is Jewish.
In an article for ThinkProgress, Berger charged Israel with “apartheid,” writing, “American politicians of both parties have been afraid to criticize apartheid in Israel and occupation in Palestine for fear of angering pro-Israel lobbying groups and right-wing Evangelical supporters of Israel.”
The “apartheid” accusation is especially repugnant, worse than describing Israel’s presence as an “occupation” and referring to a fictitious place named “Palestine.” Israel has attempted to end the “occupation” for a long time. Israel offered the Palestinians an independent state 19 years ago during a summit at Camp David hosted by President Clinton. Then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat rejected the offer, and subsequently commenced or facilitated military action against Israel.
IfNotNow’s opposition to the “occupation” makes the organization irrelevant at best. Right off the bat, “occupation” is a loaded word. True, the West Bank is under Israel’s military occupation, and that is the outcome of a war that Israel’s Arab neighbors started more than a half-century ago. As mentioned above, Israel has sought to end the “occupation” long before IfNotNow was formed.
The term “Palestine” has yet to be defined. There is no sovereign nation known as “Palestine.”
Berger does make points in the ThinkProgress article that merit serious consideration in the Jewish community, as there is yet much room for criticism of Israeli policies.
Warren’s camp has remained silent since Berger’s hiring came to light early last week. I also e-mailed the Warren campaign on Thursday seeking more information and inviting a response to these concerns. At this writing on Sunday, I have not received a reply except for an automated e-mail saying they would attempt to reply.
But with Berger’s hiring, Warren’s chief problem would be facing Jewish voters who fear she will sell out Israel if she is elected. The Jewish vote can bring her down in swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, and even Georgia and Arizona, since Jews comprise sizeable numbers in those states.
No doubt that the burgeoning Jewish population helped topple the House Republican incumbent in Atlanta’s northern suburbs last November. The GOP incumbent representing Bucks County, above Philadelphia, barely survived when his Democratic rival proved to be a weak candidate, which included having an anti-Israel image.
If Warren keeps Berger on the payroll, Jews might believe that Warren will be influenced by pro-Palestinian factions. If Berger is fired outright or offers a lame excuse for quitting, Warren will antagonize advocates for the Palestinians. Whichever course of action she takes, Warren could still create an atmosphere of distrust with either side.
This situation sheds a disturbing light on her judgment. She placed herself in the middle of two vehement, fanatical-seeming forces.
I like Warren for her sensible domestic policies, her so-far even-handed approach to Israel and her down-to-earth personality. Of course, I felt compelled to reconsider my preference for her candidacy when I learned of Berger’s addition to her campaign staff.
Warren may well win the nomination with help from people like Berger and even survive Trump’s attacks during the general election, but if as president she enacts policies seen as harmful to Israel then Jews and other supporters of Israel will need to choose whether to stay with or abandon the Democratic Party. Not a pleasant outcome.
Republished from San Diego Jewish World