.
"You'll see a shift in U.S. policy in a
month"
By Shmuel Rosner
07/11/03: (Haaretz)
The coalition that brought U.S.
President George W. Bush to power consists mostly of devout white
Protestants, Christian evangelicals and slightly less devout white
Protestants. Together, these
three groups made up three-quarters of Bush's voters in 2000. One of
their prominent representatives, Gary Bauer, attended an intelligence
briefing yesterday on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict at Defense
Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv.
When he returns home,
following meetings with MKs Limor Livnat,
Uzi Landau, Benny Elon and
others (requests to meet
left-wing politicians went
unanswered), he will be able to
present facts supporting his
claims against what he calls
"the widening gap" between
Bush's vision from his speech on June 24 last year and U.S.
policy as
reflected in the road map, at the Aqaba summit,
and in trips to the region by Colin Powell,
Condoleezza Rice and John Wolf.
"Politely but firmly, we shall see to it that
the president corrects the flaws in American
policy," says Bauer. On the eve of an election
year, he is "counting on the smart Karl Rove,"
Bush's political adviser, to understand the
first message. The groups which Bush can count
on for political support consist of "active
believers" (66 percent), whites (64 percent)
and married (64 percent). In the 2000
elections, 84 percent of evangelical Christians
supported Bush, constituting 32 percent of the
president's voters. All these are Bauer's
natural audience. Therefore, he should be
listened to when he predicts ("I'm optimistic")
that "in a month you'll be able to see the
difference" in the U.S. policy. Bauer wants to
stop the custom of officials "sitting in their
comfortable offices in Washington [who] think
they have a right to tell Israel what it should
do." He will not tolerate even a hint of
coercion or American pressure on Israel.
Bauer served as the domestic policy adviser for
former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, and
contended for the 2000 Republican Party
presidential nomination against Bush. He tried
to make use of his power as the representative
of the evangelicals, who make up about a
quarter of the American population. Although he
did not come close to victory, he proved he can
raise funds and give an interesting performance
on TV talk shows.
Bauer was dragged to Israel by Michael Landau, a
rosy-cheeked, kippa-wearing, energetic New York
Jew. Landau is the president of an organization
called the West Side Council of Orthodox Jewish
Organizations and the initiator of a new
organization called the Jerusalem Coalition.
His coalition has brought together a group of
Orthodox Republican Jews and joined them to
"our natural allies in internal affairs," as he
puts it, for a joint foreign affairs cause -
preserving the safety and security of Israel.
Those allies are the devout Christians - a
community that has become in recent years one
of the most determined, active and influential
in its uncompromising support for Israel and
its government.
Orthodox Jews like Landau and his friends are
comfortable with Bauer, but that's not the case
for for all American Jews (or Israelis). Most
American Jews support Democratic Party
candidates (79 percent for Gore, only 19
percent for Bush in 2000) and tend toward
liberal positions. Bauer is a staunch
conservative who objects to abortions, is a
prophet of family values, opposes gun control,
supports prayers in schools and in choosing
schools, objects to "excessive rights" to gays,
and does not believe women should be allowed to
serve in military combat positions.
He backs Israel for "theological and political"
reasons. As would be expected among
conservative Christians, he believes the Holy
Land was promised to the Jews, but does not
hesitate to add to this arguments from the
neo-conservative school - a desire to
strengthen and fortify "the only democracy in
the Middle East" and an aversion to regimes
around Israel that are "greenhouses for
terrorism and hatred."
No, he says, he has no religious aspirations
with destructive consequences to the Jewish
people. He is tired of hearing suspicions that
the evangelicals want to help the Jews when
their real purpose is to bring closer to
reality a catastrophe after which the messiah
will come.
Bauer heads a body called American values. This
and another he initiated, The Campaign for
Working Families, is the strongest political
lever at his disposal. The campaign assists,
via large contributions and other means,
politicians willing to commit themselves to his
causes, and when they win, Bauer expands his
influence. He gives money to Jim Talent of
Missouri, for example. Talent was elected to
the Senate and, in turn, will vote in the
Senate and in the Armed forces Committee, to
which he belongs, to promote Bauer's
ideological causes. The lobbyists for Israel
can also mark a "V" for one more sure vote.
"Developing the road map without consulting
Israel was a grave mistake," Bauer says.
"Israel is an ally, and we should have sat with
it and decided together what the best plan for
it was." But then, he is asked, won't you lose
your position as an "honest broker?"
Bauer laughs. This does not matter to him.
"Terror is a joint enemy of Israel's and the
U.S.'s." He believes the United States must
stand by its allies, and not mediate between
them and the enemy.
© Copyright
2003 Haaretz
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