GOP Win a Mixed Bag for Israel

Election results could be good ... or not
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 26, 2010 8:33 AM CST
GOP Win a Mixed Bag for Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens during a press conference in Jerusalem, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010.   (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

The midterm elections brought both good news and bad for Israel, and both come from the GOP. While rising Republican stars like incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor are eager to show their support for Israel, many Tea Party candidates entering Congress aren't so likely to do the same, thanks to their preference for isolationism and cutting America's foreign aid. Rand Paul went so far as to tell an influential pro-Israel lobbying group that he disagreed with them on the topic of foreign aid and the discussion should be tabled, a source tells the New York Times.

Some in Congress fear that Israel will become a partisan issue, especially as some Republicans are making it a point to criticize the administration's treatment of Israel. John Boehner's criticism, used in fund-raising literature, "was the first time I had seen Israel used in a partisan political way,” says one Democrat. Despite the Tea Party, analysts believe the Republican-controlled House will ultimately be a boon to Israel. “The administration has to take into account that Israel now has a friendlier forum,” says the director of a Jewish advocacy organization.
(More Israel stories.)

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