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August 6, 2010

Emergency Committee for Israel's new TV ad focuses on Ohio Rep. Kilroy's record

By Ed Lasky

A new organization has emerged that seeks to publicize the record of various candidates running for office on the issue of U.S. policy in the Middle East.

The first ads created and run on cable focused on the checkered record of Pennsylvania's Democrat Senatorial candidate Joe Sestak who praised the work of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) while attending a fundraising dinner there. CAIR is a group with links to terrorism and was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror trial.

Sestak also, as a Representative, signed a letter with 53 other Congressman calling on President Obama to pressure Israel to drop the security measures preventing Hamas from bringing into Gaza items that could be used to terrorize and kill Israelis.

A new ad has been created the highlights Representative Mary Jo Kilroy's record regarding the conflict between Israel and its neighbors. The ad started running on August 5th in her Ohio district and can be seen on YouTube. Kilroy was also a signatory on the Gaza letter that, among other charges, claimed Israel was imposing "collective punishment". In reality, Hamas is a terror group that launched thousands of missiles into Israel after Israel voluntarily uprooted its people and left Gaza.

The Hamas Charter pledges to not only destroy Israel but to kill Christians and Israelis wherever they may live. The Israeli blockade of Gaza (Egypt also blockaded Hamas-controlled Gaza; Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that threatens Egypt) allows humanitarian goods (food, medical supplies and equipment, etc.) into Gaza but seeks to control the importation of goods that can be used to kill people and certainly does not amount to "collective punishment" - a charge that is absurd when one considers that the dictatorial Hamas is the one responsible for imposing collective punishment on Gazans.

The Emergency Committee for Israel has a " just the facts, ma'am" approach towards candidates and is devoted to enlightening citizens regarding the records of people seeking to represent them.

 

Richard Baehr adds:

Odd choice of race to get involved.  The district is a very good pickup opportunity -- Kilroy won by only 2,000 votes in 2008, a very good year for Democrats. But the Columbus area has only 20,000 Jews and that is divided among several Congressional districts. 

However Obama's least popular policy is related to Israel, and that is not simply Jewish sentiment (2% of country). But Columbus is not a big evangelical area either, and evangelicals are the most enthusiastic supporters of Isarel.  

This may be  test to see if they can move the numbers a bit in a close race with these kinds of  arguments. Columbus, after all, is one of the top test markets in the country for new product introductions.

More than anything, it may put Kilroy on defense on an issue she might have thought would not play at all in the race. I think the economy will be the main issue this year, along with the size of government. This district includes OSU and has lots of state employees, so there are many fans of federal and state spending.

The district is rated Dem +1.  If the GOP cannot turn this district, they will not win back the House. This should be one of the easier switches. The country has moved maybe ten points overall since 2008 towards GOP. Kilroy won this race by less than 1% in 2008. 
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