Warren, he added, “has a really strong and engaged relationship with the JCRC and the Boston Jewish community leadership. Going back to when she was running for the Senate, she met with the Jewish leadership a number of times, and just this past year she has met with us at least three times on a wide range of issues, including on Israel.”
Last summer U.S. legislators stood by Israel during Operation Protective Edge. Senate Resolution 498 expressed “support for the State of Israel as it defends itself against unprovoked rocket attacks” by Hamas, and the Senate also passed emergency funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
Some liberals expressed their disappointment in Warren for not voicing objection to Resolution 498 and voting in favor of the Iron Dome funds.
“When Hamas puts its rocket-launchers next to hospitals, next to schools, they’re using their civilian population to protect their military assets,” said Waren. “And I believe Israel has a right, at that point, to defend itself,” Warren said.
Warren was also a co-sponsor on the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014, which was passed by the Senate in September and elevates the status of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
But Warren has made remarks that irk supporters of Israel. Last September, she came under fire for comments during a talk she gave at Tufts University in which she called it “fair” when an audience member compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to the Holocaust.
Johns Hopkins University’s Muravchik argues that Warren, through her mixed record on Israel, is seeking to bridge a gap between different camps in the Democratic Party.
“She is walking a tightrope between, on the one hand, her leftist and left-liberal base, which is militantly anti-Israel, and on the other, the mainstream of Democratic voters who remain pro-Israel.”
(JNS)