Dear Friends,

As someone who has spent his entire life working on causes important to us in the Jewish community, both in Florida and nationwide, I am honored that my close friend of the last twenty years, Senator Joe Biden, is joining Senator Obama on the Democratic ticket. He will make an excellent Vice President and a perfect partner to help bring about the change we need in this country. Senator Biden has a strong record of support for Israel in the U.S. Senate for almost 36 years, and he has received much acclaim and many honors for his steadfast support of US-Israel relationship and for his consistent efforts to strengthen the security interests of both nations in the Middle East.

His first trip to Israel was in 1973, where he met with Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin. Since then, Senator Biden has met with nine Israeli prime ministers in his countless visits. Senator Biden was the original lead sponsor of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, which was passed into law that December and banned direct U.S. assistance to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. A strong supporter of continued military and economic assistance to Israel, Senator Biden was a leading opponent of the proposed sale of advanced weapons systems, including F-15 fighters and AWACS radar aircraft, to Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in the 1970s and 1980s.

Senator Biden was an outspoken advocate of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt and has called on Arab states to end their belligerency with Israel and economic boycott. Along with Senator Obama, he voiced strong support for Israel during its 2006 war against Hezbollah. Senator Biden has also authored legislative provisions to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In 2002, he spoke out against anti-Semitism in the Arab media and in Europe, and he delivered speeches that year denouncing the false portrayal of Israeli military operations against terrorists in Jenin as a “massacre.”

As a young Senator in the 1970s, Joe Biden hired future Congressman Tom Lantos as an advisor. Their relationship over the last thirty years was close, and Lantos, the only Holocaust-survivor to serve in Congress, remained a mentor to Senator Biden on the issues of Israel, genocide-prevention, and human rights. Senator Biden has been at the forefront of the fight to stop the genocide in Darfur, and his work in this area has been influenced by what he has learned from his close relationship with the Jewish community.

With a strong pro-choice record, Senator Biden has been a champion for American women. In 1994, he wrote and passed the instrumental Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). He has declared: “I strongly support Roe v. Wade.”

Senator Biden voted to make an additional 2-4 million additional children eligible for SCHIP, and he supports the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. He also voted to include prescription drug coverage in Medicare, and he shares Senator Obama’s view that comprehensive health care reform in America must emphasize prevention. Senator Biden has a strong record of support for America’s seniors, and he is opposed to privatizing Social Security.

Believing that the Bush Administration’s policies have strengthened Iran, Senator Biden supports tough and urgent diplomacy and economic pressure to prevent an Iranian nuclear threat. Despite this, a new attack has been launched against Senator Biden in recent days, using unconfirmed reports that he once indicated his ambivalence toward a nuclear Iran. This alleged “statement” of his was never uttered. Please help to debunk this myth and prevent it from taking hold in our community and maligning Senator Biden, who has always been a staunch supporter of Israel and a fierce opponent of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Senator Biden’s Press Secretary, David Wade, issued the following statement:

This is a lie peddled by partisan opponents of Senators Obama and Biden and we will not tolerate anyone questioning Senator Biden’s 35-year record of standing up for the security of Israel.  Joe Biden’s first trip as a Senator was to Israel, he has worked with every Israeli leader from Golda Meir to Prime Minister Olmert, and he takes a back seat to no one when it comes to protecting the relationship between Israel and the US. Senator Biden has consistently stated – publicly and privately —  that a nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat to Israel and the United States and that we must prevent a nuclear Iran.

As recently as July 2008 in a Foreign Relations hearing, Senator Biden reiterated his long-held view on this subject and stated that: “Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon would dramatically destabilize an already unstable region and probably fuel a nuclear arms race in the region. It is profoundly in our interest to prevent that from happening.” [Biden statement, 7/9/08]

ABC News’ Jake Tapper also has a piece rejecting this false attack. It can be read here: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/biden-camp-call.html

ABC News- Biden Camp Calls Israeli Army Radio Report a ‘Lie’

By Jake Tapper

September 1, 2008

The respected Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz today repeated an Israeli Army Radio report http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1017129.html that Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, told “senior Israeli officials behind closed doors that the Jewish state will have to reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran.”

“Israel will have to reconcile itself with the nuclearization of Iran,” Army Radio said that Biden told the unnamed officials. “It’s doubtful if the economic sanctions will be effective, and I am against opening an additional military and diplomatic front.”

Biden spokesman David Wade said the unsourced report is simply false.

“This is a lie peddled by partisan opponents of Senators Obama and Biden,” said Wade, “and we will not tolerate anyone questioning Senator Biden’s 35-year record of standing up for the security of Israel.  Joe Biden’s first trip as a Senator was to Israel, he has worked with every Israeli leader from Golda Meir to Prime Minister Olmert, and he takes a back seat to no one when it comes to protecting the relationship between Israel and the US.”

Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is a long-standing supporter of Israel and considered a key pro-Israel voice in the Senate by pro-Israel organizations.

“Senator Biden has consistently stated – publicly and privately –  that a nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat to Israel and the United States and that we must prevent a nuclear Iran,” Wade said.

Israeli Army Radio also said that Biden told Israeli officials that he opposed “opening a additional military and diplomatic front.” Army Radio said Israeli officials expressed “amazement” over the remarks.

The Obama-Biden campaign pointed out that just a few weeks ago, at a July 9 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Biden said that “Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon would dramatically destabilize an already unstable region and probably fuel a nuclear arms race in the region. It is profoundly in our interest to prevent that from happening.”

On the American cable TV channel Shalom TV last year, Biden said, “I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.” He added that “Israel is the single greatest strength that America has in the Middle East.”

In addition, Senator Biden has been falsely attacked for an alleged incident in the 1980s involving a verbal dispute with former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin over American aid to Israel. This is never happened. Senator Biden has never threatened to cut off foreign aid, and he has, in fact, opposed proposals to reduce U.S. assistance to Israel. His commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad, and he has stood up for Israel’s security and the United States’ moral obligation to ensure it, time and again.

Please forward this statement and article to any in the community. For more information about combating the attacks targeted at the Jewish community, please visit the Jewish Americans for Obama homepage at http://JewishAmericans.barackobama.com and click on “Learn the Truth” on the right side of the page.

Regards,

Michael Adler
Former President, National Jewish Democratic Council
Former President, Greater Miami Jewish Federation

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