Mideast politics have hand in U.S. races

Yahoo ^ | 8/15/02 | Tom Squitieri

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

WASHINGTON -- When he was speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill used to say that all politics is local. But in Georgia, a second member of Congress faces possible defeat over an international issue.

Rep. Cynthia McKinney, an outspoken supporter of Arab causes, is in a tight Democratic primary battle against former state judge Denise Majette. Pro-Israel contributions from outside Georgia have flowed to Majette, while the bulk of McKinney's contributions came from donors who have given to pro-Arab causes.

It's unusual for a challenger to outraise an incumbent, yet Majette has raised $1.2 million, almost double McKinney's $618,166. And at least 18 donors to McKinney's campaign belong to groups under investigation by the FBI ( news - web sites) or that have voiced support for Arab terrorist groups.

McKinney, 47, is in her fifth term. If she loses Tuesday's primary in the state's 4th Congressional District, she will be the second incumbent Democrat to be ousted in a race in which Mideast politics -- and money from pro-Israel and pro-Arab sides -- played a high role.

Donations from people who were on record as having given to pro-Israel causes flowed to Artur Davis, a businessman who in June defeated Rep. Earl Hilliard, an Alabama Democrat. Hilliard had Arab backing and expressed support for Arab causes.

The pro-Arab candidates have had other controversies:

* Hilliard had taken a 1997 trip to Libya despite a State Department ban on travel to that nation. He was also accused of improper campaign activities.

* McKinney suggested in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in April that the Bush family may have known in advance of the Sept. 11 attacks and profited by them. ''It is known that President Bush ( news - web sites)'s father, through the Carlyle Group, had at the time of the attacks joint business interests with the bin Laden construction company and many defense industry holdings, the stocks of which have soared since Sept. 11,'' she wrote.

She claimed partial vindication after reports surfaced that Bush had received intelligence briefings before Sept. 11 about a possible al-Qaeda strike in the future.

The attacks on the USA and the rash of suicide bombings in the Middle East, coupled with the traditional U.S. support for Israel, have intensified pressures on lawmakers who voice support for Arab or Muslim positions.

McKinney and Hilliard are two of 21 House members who voted in May against a resolution that condemned Palestinian suicide bombings and supported Israel's military response. McKinney says the pro-Israel lobby in Washington is targeting members like her who have ''principled stands'' on the Middle East.

''I need your help,'' she said at the Islamic Foundation in Chicago recently. ''It's just not about a congressional district. It's about the members of Congress who have the courage to come to the Muslim community.''

Several controversial donors to McKinney's campaign were first reported Aug. 3 by the Journal-Constitution. Among them:

* Abduraham Alamoudi of the American Muslim Council. At an October 2000 rally outside the White House, he said, ''We are all supporters of Hamas,'' a group that organizes suicide bombings against Israeli citizens.

* Sami Al-Arian, whose Islamic think tank was raided in 1995 by the FBI in search of evidence of links to terrorist groups. In tapes of campus conferences, Al-Arian states, ''Let us damn America. Let us damn Israel.''

Wendell Muhamad, McKinney's campaign coordinator, said the FBI's probe of some of the donors is ''stuff like they did in the 1960s to Dr. (Martin Luther) King. . . . These are American citizens learning to use their money like the very small population which sways a lot of opinion with their money, the Jewish community.''

Majette, 46, makes no apologies for the support she receives from pro-Israel groups. She says the district's Jewish voters ''feel as if they're not being represented. That community is excited about having someone who will listen to them and take a more balanced approach to issues that concern them.''

Israel benefits from widespread public support in this country. In a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll June 21-23, 49% said they sympathized more with the Israelis; 14% sympathized more with the Palestinians.

''Congress plays an invaluable role in the decision-making process when it comes to America's Middle East policy, and understanding the importance of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship is a central component of that policy,'' says Rebecca Needler, a spokeswoman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

James Zogby, head of the Arab American Institute, says lawmakers who support Palestinian and Arab causes have long been subjected to threats. ''There is this perception of an overriding power that can take you down, especially if the congressman is vulnerable,'' hesays. ''If the (pro- Israel) groups help defeat a candidate, to make an example of him, it perpetuates this myth.''

Bill Shipp, a longtime Georgia political observer and newsletter publisher, says Majette has ''a real shot'' to defeat McKinney. Shipp says the big influx of money has allowed Majette to go on television and get high visibility, though a bit of a backlash may be developing to Majette's outside-the-district money.