The National Jewish Democrat Council has this to say: Last summer, a group called the Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI) made a splash on the political scene by touting themselves as Americans solely concerned for Israel’s security. But a quick rundown of their leadership—Republican luminaries Gary Bauer, William Kristol, and Rachel Abrams—made it clear that ECI was something other than a group of concerned ordinary Americans.
Their subsequent malfeasance included narrowing the definition of “pro-Israel,” lying in campaign ads against Democrats, and engaging in McCarthyite tactics against those who they deem as “merely pay[ing] Israel lip service,” among other actions. ECI’s behavior made it crystal clear that the organization is nothing more than a Republican front group bent on turning Israel into a partisan wedge issue.
During the 2010 election, Pennsylvanians had a choice between Democratic Representative and retired Admiral Joe Sestak (D-Pa.)—who had personally contributed to the strengthening of the U.S.-Israel relationship during his service in the Navy—and former Republican Representative Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)—who consistently put partisan politics above supporting aid packages to Israel.
ECI made it its mission to destroy Sestak’s credibility by spending millions of dollars to run television ads that contained blatant falsehoods. The ads were so out of line that Comcast was approached to cease running them. In New Jersey, ECI did the same thing against Representative Rush Holt (D-N.J.) with an ad that was so poorly researched that ECI was accused of lying.
But their 2010 behavior pales in comparison to ECI’s stunts in 2011. In May, the organization intentionally spread falsehoods about President Barack Obama’s Middle East speech, even though its leadership knew they were untrue. On the eve of President Obama’s passionate defense of Israel in front of the United Nations’ General Assembly, ECI ran an ad campaign that listed five steps for a “pro-Israel presidency”—criteria that President George W. Bush may not even have met. The timing of their campaign was so out of bounds that the non-partisan American Jewish Committee rebuked ECI for attacking Israel’s most powerful advocate mere days before he firmly defended Israel in front of the entire world.
If ECI’s past behavior doesn’t scream Republican front group loud enough, then their silence over multiple Republican Presidential candidates pledging to zero out all foreign aid—including aid to Israel— should.
