Candidates' Representatives Discuss Jewish Vote,

Candidates' Representatives Discuss Jewish Vote, Middle East

Representatives for seven of the nine Democratic presidential candidates squared off this week on issues of importance to the Jewish community, ranging from health care and abortion to Israel and the war on terrorism.

The "Democratic Presidential Insider Roundtable," sponsored by the New York chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council, was held on Tuesday evening at the Makor/Steinhardt Center Lecture Hall in Manhattan, and was moderated by the Forward's political reporter, E. J. Kessler.

With a slew of undecided Jewish democratic voters facing them, and with New York State's Democratic presidential primary less than four months away, each liaison made the case for why his candidate represented what is best for the Jewish community. Noting that the New York Jewish vote constitutes about 20% of the turnout statewide, and can constitute a full quarter of the vote in New York City, Kessler began by asking the candidate representatives how they would appeal to Jewish voters.

In reactions, the liaisons batted around candidate positions on the various aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the West Bank security fence currently under construction to the Geneva Accords led by former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and former Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. [more]

Posted by at December 5, 2003 09:56 AM