Many people responded to my criticisms of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) who decided to oppose the Iran deal. The crux of my argument is that in public and in response to messages to him, he and his staff have adopted the reasoning of the Israeli government and the GOP. Doing so is a betrayal of his loyalty to President Obama, the leader of the party in which he is prominent, and support for Israel's interest at the expense of US interests. I have never mentioned that he is Jewish except in response to people assuming I am criticizing him for making his decision based on his religion. His accurate portrayal as a strident supporter of Israel probably is related to his religion, but it is even more related to the fact that about nine percent of New Yorkers are Jewish and vote for Democrats en mass unless the candidate strays from supporting Israel too much.
This view is underscored by the fact that the three Democratic senators who have said they will vote against the Iran deal, Schumer, Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Ben Cardin (D-MD), represent states with the largest proportions of Jewish residents. New Jersey has six percent and Maryland has four. Massachusetts has four percent as well. California, Connecticut, and Florida have a bit over three percent. Of the four undecided Democratic senators, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is the only one from any of these states and he referenced that he is running for re-election when he issued a statement.
What ties this all together is the extent to which AIPAC, the vociferous and usually successful group that lobbies for Israeli interests, has been incredibly active in trying to convince members of Congress to vote against the Iran deal. They even staged a rally at Cardin's synagogue. AIPAC and Prime Minister Netanyahu in his speech to Congress have made it quite clear that the deal is not in Israel's interests. That is the choice Democrats are making: support Israeli interests or support US interests. Thankfully, only three so far have chosen the former.
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