Members of Congress and their aides met with the more than 1,000 people who joined NORPAC’s annual Mission to Washington on May 17. Participants armed with talking points provided by the organization met in small groups with 94 Senate
offices and 330 House offices to ask for their support on upcoming bills to enhance Israel’s safety and security. A political action committee that advocates for a strong U.S. relationship with Israel, NORPAC began in North Jersey and has expanded. This year, buses came from Englewood/Teaneck, Fair Lawn, Long Branch, West Orange, Edison/Highland Park, East Brunswick, Manhattan, Riverdale, Queens, Brooklyn, New Rochelle and the Five Towns in Long Island.
President Dr. Ben Chouake, Englewood, known more informally as Dr. Ben, said planning the meetings was a Herculean effort; half the Senate meetings were arranged within the two weeks prior to the mission and then the assignments for the groups had to be made. “Legislators meet with NORPAC because we get the facts straight and we talk from the heart,” he said. “When you’re a member of Congress, you hear a thousand things. What do you pay attention to? If you don’t get a phone call in six years, they think you don’t care about the relationship. A thousand people including kids coming down, learning the material, talking from the heart—that’s inspiring. It’s a push from the bottom to the top.” Dr. Chouake said the annual mission also educates new legislators. He said there is generally a 10 percent turnover in the House of Representatives every two years, with more longevity in the Senate.
Dr. Laurie Baumel, Teaneck, a co-chair of the Mission, along with Dr. Richard Schlussel, Englewood, and David Steinberg, Queens, said they made choices about which legislation to advocate for “based on the most important security risks for Israel.” Topping the list was legislation to reign in Iran. Bill S722 in the Senate and H.R. 1698 in the House would impose sanctions on anyone that facilitates Iran’s development or acquisition of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
Dr. Chouake said he thinks that, by and large, both Democratic and Republican legislators want to ensure that Iran lives up to its commitment to halt development of nuclear weapons, although passage of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) still stings. He said some legislators wanted to make sure the legislation NORPAC is advocating is consistent with the JCPOA before committing; Dr. Chouake said he confirmed it with the office of Senator Menendez, one of the bill’s authors. And then there is Ron DeSantis, a Republican Congressman from Florida, who in his address to the plenary session before the meetings began said he is leading an investigation into why weapons traffickers who had been indicted for supplying Iran with technology for its nuclear and ballistic missile program had their indictments dropped by the Obama administration in order to get the Iran deal done.
Legislation to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel movement (BDS) was a close second to the threat of Iran in importance. Representative DeSantis, who introduced legislation to fight BDS last year, was clear about the danger in his opening remarks. “BDS is a veneer for anti-Semitism. On campus, virulent anti-Israel and anti-Semitism is fashionable in certain quarters and will affect politics going forward,” he said. “When I held a town hall meeting, the number-one ‘boo’ was my support for Israel.”
NORPAC, founded in 1992 by Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of Kashrus for the Orthodox Union and rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah of Englewood, is a staunchly bipartisan advocacy group. Rabbi Genack and Dr. Chouake said Israel has strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate. But in varying degrees, legislators who addressed the plenary session, and those who met with NORPAC in their offices, said bipartisan support for Israel is beginning to waver.
Among the general population, a recent report by the PEW Research Center shows support for Israel is solid on the Republican side, but younger, liberal Democrats are shifting left. Rabbi Genack, who led the group I was in, expressed concern that Representative Keith Ellison, who voted against Iron Dome funding, almost became the head of the Democratic National Party. “The Democratic Party is not the party of Truman anymore,” he said. “Hillary Clinton would have been the anchor to center the DNC (Democratic National Committee) but she lost.” He noted that freshman representative Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey, a solidly pro-Israel Democrat who met with us, said he is trying to work with new members of Congress to encourage their support for Israel. Gottheimer has stated unequivocally that he advocates for strong bipartisan support for Israel. Rabbi Genack underscored that view. “Support for Israel must always be bipartisan. If that changes, it will be strategically bad for the U.S. and Israel.”
Although not on the NORPAC agenda, several legislators brought up support for the Taylor Force Act to withhold funds from the Palestinian Authority until it stops paying attackers of Jews imprisoned in Israel, or their families if the terrorist is killed. Taylor Force was an American Army veteran murdered in Israel last year. Rabbi Genack said Israel initially was concerned that the Taylor Force Act would hamper the Palestinian Authority’s willingness to cooperate on security with Israel but is now behind the Act. “They see that a higher standard of living for terrorists is precipitating more murders.”
By Bracha Schwartz
Dr. Chouake said NORPAC 2017 was another successful mission and fulfilled its goal of encouraging legislative support for Israel. “Generally, I found in my meetings and the feedback I got that there is a very positive outlook on the legislative initiative,” said Dr. Chouake. “The meetings were good, and relationships were reinforced. All in all, it was a good day and I expect that legislation will move forward.”
