Liberal US Jews recruit Democrats from all sides in anti-Trump fight
Seeking to capitalize on growing partisan backlash to President Donald Trump’s Middle East policies, the liberal Jewish lobbying group J Street has formed a surprising alliance with one of the Senate’s fiercest pro-Israel advocates.
The increasingly partisan nature of US policy toward Israel was on full display when the liberal Jewish lobby J Street for the first time offered a prime speaking slot to one of the Jewish state’s most hawkish defenders during the organization's 10th annual conference today.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., a staunch ally of Israel who was until recently the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations panel, stood out in a crowd of critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies, including the Palestinian envoy to the United States, Husam Zomlot. But like his fellow Jewish Senate speakers Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Cardin shared his disdain for some of the Donald Trump administration’s policies, including its threats to unilaterally withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran and ban refugees from several Muslim-majority nations.
