Why would Chuck Hagel, a former Republican Senator from Nebraska, endorse Joe Sestak, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania?
They both share one thing in common: a record on Israel that is deeply troubling to anyone who cares about a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and the clarity of American leadership in the Middle East.
Chuck Hagel’s record in the Senate is unique in its hostility to Israel. He repeatedly refused to join large majorities in supporting Israel’s right of self-defense and he repeatedly obstructed efforts to sanction Iran and hold terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah, accountable. Hagel’s record on Israel is so poor that the Republican Jewish Coalition refused to support his campaign and the National Jewish Democratic Council publicly warned the Obama administration that it may criticize any attempt to appoint Hagel to a policy or leadership position in government.
There is another commonality between the two men: they are both admired by the anti-Israel group CAIR. Sestak headlined a CAIR fundraiser in 2007. The year before, CAIR lavishly praised Senator Hagel, saying: “Potential presidential candidates for 2008, like Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Joe Biden and Newt Gingrich, were falling all over themselves to express their support for Israel. The only exception to that rule was Senator Chuck Hagel.”
Today’s endorsement of Joe Sestak by one of the leading anti-Israel politicians in the United States again exposes the danger a Senator Sestak would pose to the U.S.-Israel alliance. He claims to be pro-Israel, but his actions – whether fundraising for CAIR, or signing a letter that criticizes Israel for defending herself from Hamas, or seeking the endorsement of a former Senator who is notorious for his hostility to Israel – tells voters all they need to know about the kind of Senator Joe Sestak would be.
See video below of Joe Sestak explaining that Chuck Hagel is “the guy I most admired in the Senate.”
