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Hilliard ousted in Alabama for being too pro-Arab
By Barbara Ferguson, Arab News Correspondent
Published on 27 June 2002
WASHINGTON, 27 June — Democratic congressional runoff in Alabama yesterday
made national news. It was viewed as a power struggle between black leaders
and Jewish politicians - and their differences on the war in the Middle
East.
“This election is being watched all over the world,” said the Rev. Walter
Fauntroy, a longtime civil rights leader.
Rev. Fauntroy and other black leaders organized a last-minute defense for
five-term incumbent Rep. Earl F. Hilliard, a black politician who
infuriated Jewish lobbies by voting against pro-Israel resolutions.
But Hilliard lost to his opponent, Artur Davis, who was heavily backed by
out-of-state supporters of Israel. They vehemently opposed his criticism of
American policies in the Middle East and his support for Palestinian rights.
According to a recent analysis by the Council of American-Islamic
Relations, CAIR, a recent Davis donor list revealed that 81 percent of his
campaign contributions came from outside Alabama, mostly from New York. The
donations from the pro-Israel lobby began to flow after Davis traveled to
Washington, DC, to meet with representatives of AIPAC, the American-Israel
Public Affairs Committee. Rev. Al Sharpton was among those who campaigned
for Hilliard in the final days. He told an audience that the challenger,
black lawyer Artur Davis, is a “Yankee-financed outsider.”
“Everyone who is our color is not our kind,” said Rev. Sharpton, himself a
New Yorker.
Davis received more than $300,000 from pro-Israel lobbies in his effort to
defeat Rep. Hilliard, who had voted against a House resolution condemning
Palestinian suicide bombers and visited Libya in 1997 despite its
designation as a terrorist state.
Rev. Fauntroy told journalists blacks “feel betrayed by people who have
been our allies. They are turning the clock back to a time when people
outside of the African-American community chose our leaders.”
In an attempt to smooth out misunderstandings, black and Jewish politicians
met last week during a three-hour closed meeting, called by black caucus
chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas. The meeting was reportedly
rancorous.
Among the participants were two of the most powerful House Democrats: Reps.
Henry A. Waxman of California, who is Jewish, and black caucus member
Charles B. Rangel of New York, ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means
Committee.
“The black caucus members are very sensitive to outsiders’ attempting to
influence election of its members, and Jews were sensitive to the fact that
they wanted to make certain that the (black) caucus members were sensitive
to the survival of Israel,” Rangel said. “Sometimes we don’t take the time
to find out how sensitive issues are to each other.”
The Middle East has also become a key issue in the re-election of another
black lawmaker, Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, Georgia Democrat.
McKinney suggested earlier this year that President Bush knew in advance
about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and did not stop them in order to
profit monetarily. She also criticized then-Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of
New York for rejecting $10 million from Saudi Prince Al-Waleed ibn Talal,
after he suggested the US needed a more even-handed policy in the Middle
East.
McKinney also voted against a pro-Israel resolution, but sensibly describes
herself as a supporter of Israel.
Nonetheless, her opponent in the Democratic primary, Denise Majette, has
received contributions from Jewish Democrats.
Rep. Rangel said of his black caucus colleagues, “Certainly nobody expected
that the Jewish members could do anything to stop people from making
contributions.”
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, said
he donated $1,000 to incumbent Hilliard and that Arab-Americans volunteered
to work on his campaign.
“We don’t pick fights,” Zogby said, but added this is a race in which “Arab-
Americans feel strongly about the fact that somebody shouldn’t be targeted
this way.”
“Rep. Hilliard’s loss shows that the domestic lobby for a foreign
government is willing to use its considerable financial resources to force
hand-picked ‘leaders’ on the African-American community. This is a defeat
for democracy and a victory for those who would institute a pro-Israel
litmus test for American political candidates,” said CAIR Board Chairman
Omar Ahmad.
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