One of the Jewish Dems Hoping for a Bump: Paul Aronsohn
Paul Aronsohn, a former Clinton staffer who is challenging conservative Republican Scott Garrett in New Jersey’s fifth congressional district, is one of a dozen Jewish Dems challenging for Republican-held seats in the House.
Although his race isn’t seen as among the highly competitive cohort, Aronsohn has gained 9 percentage points on Garrett since last March, according to internal polling. And the conservatism of Garrett on a host of social issues puts him far to the right of many district residents, who were long loyal to moderate Republican Marge Roukema. With Foleygate blowing over D.C. like a ton of bricks, who knows?
A Ridgewood resident who attends the Reform Temple Sholom in River Edge, Aronsohn recently took the plunge on Colbert Report, the video of which is on his Web site.
During a twenty-minute phone conversation yesterday, I asked Aronsohn – who calls himself an “ardent supporter” of Israel – what he makes of polling that shows that self-identified Republicans are far more supportive of Israel than self-identified Democrats.
Like most Democratic leaders, he didn’t seem to have much of an answer: “I think Americans should be educated more about a lot of issues, particularly on Israel,” he told me.
Wherever the hearts and minds of average Democrats may be, Aronsohn, like many of the Jewish candidates, is decidedly pro-Israel and hawkish on Iran:
On Israel: “I’m an ardent and firm supporter of the State of Israel … in the wake of the Hezbollah attacks … I did not only believe fervently that Israel has a right to repsond, [I said] it has a responsibility to respond. Then people would say, ‘But don’t you think the response was not proportional?’ I’m not going to second-guess the Israeli generals.”
On Iran: “A nuclear equipped Iran is beyond dangerous. We cannot allow it to happen.” Aronsohn said he favored keeping military options on the table.
What will this disconnect mean long-term?
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
