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Nebraska Jews Refute Hagel Anti-Semitism Charge

Elliott Abrams Made Incendiary Claim About Pentagon Pick

By Nathan Guttman

With Chuck Hagel’s nomination as Secretary of Defense heading for tough confirmation hearings, the most explosive charge against the former Nebraska is that he displayed anti-Semitism in his relationship with Jews in his home state.

Former deputy national security adviser Elliott Abrams has sought to make Hagel’s supposed “problem with the Jews” a centerpiece of the fight to deny him the Senate votes needed to be confirmed as Pentagon chief.

Trouble is, Jews in Nebraska on both sides of Hagel’s confirmation fight emphatically refute the charge. “To make such an accusation you need to be very careful,” said Gary Javitch, an activist in Omaha, Nebraska’s biggest city, which has a community of about 6,500 Jews. “He never demonstrated anything like that in all the meetings I had with him.”

Javitch’s views may hold particular weight because he is no fan of Hagel. A lay leader in several Jewish organizations, he is considered by locals to an expert on the local Jewish political scene.

Javitch harshly criticized Hagel’s expressed views on Israel and the Middle East and did not appreciate his demeanor. “Every time we’d raise something about Israel, he’d filibuster us,” said Javitch, who met with Hagel both in Washington and in Omaha. The former Senator attended a B’nai Brith International “bread breaker” meeting at Javitch’s invitation, but gave the impression he thought Israel “should always do more” for the Palestinians.

Still, when asked if he thought the claims of Hagel’s bias against Jews had any merit, he responded flatly “No.”

Hagel’s home state Jewish newspaper is calling for a “wait and see” attitude on the controversial Pentagon pick, saying it hasn’t been convinced by either supporters or opponents.

Annette van de Kamp-Wright, editor of The Jewish Press of Omaha, wrote that Jews should “give the man a chance,” even as she pointed out that Hagel has occasionally made “clumsy” statements about Israel and Jews.

Abrams, in a January 7 interview with NPR, based much of his claims regarding Hagel’s “problem” with the Jews on a report quoting members of the local Jewish community expressing their dislike to Hagel and describing him as not accessible to the community.