No political support for Israel?

From The Hill: Lieberman, Cantor drop out of Beck's Israel rally; House members barred

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a stalwart pro-Israel voice in the Senate, on Friday dropped out of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Courage" rally in Israel, set for next week. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va) also said on Friday that he won't be able to attend the event.

According to his office, Lieberman had to drop out of the event due to "a family commitment." [If you're going to drop out because you're being pressured to do so, say it. How cowardly is it to say, "Oh, a family commitment came up."]

A statement from his office said, "Sen. Lieberman supports this event and wishes he could be there in person to express his support."

Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, had been expected to attend the rally on Aug. 24. In June, Lieberman called the rally an "important idea and a very constructive one" on Beck's former Fox News show. Beck now broadcasts online through Glenn Beck TV (GBTV).

Cantor's office told Washington Jewish Week that Cantor, currently in Israel with a delegation of lawmakers, won't be able to make it.

Political support for the rally has been losing steam, despite Beck's best efforts and the interest of some members of Congress.


Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) complained Thursday on GBTV that the House Ethics Committee had barred House members from attending the rally because it appeared to be a political event. The committee does not release information regarding its judgments on congressional travel to the public.

"I think there was just concern, and I think it's misguided, that Glenn's events are political in nature. I don't think they are, I think they're educational," Walsh said Friday in a follow-up interview with GBTV.

On Thursday, Beck blasted House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for not showing more support for Israel.

"Boehner, you should be ashamed of yourself," Beck said on GBTV. "The Republican Party should be ashamed of themselves. They don’t have to attend my event. Let them come to our biggest ally and the only friend we still have in the Middle East in their hour of need."

Although they may not be attending Beck's rally, members of Congress are visiting Israel in large numbers during the August recess through the nonprofit American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), which is affiliated with the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and a group of 26 Democrats visited Israel earlier this month, while Cantor and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) participated in two groups totaling 55 Republicans Aug. 13-21 and 21-28.

AIEF has been sponsoring educational trips for members of Congress during August recess for the past two decades and organize what an AIPAC official called an "extremely rigorous" schedule that usually doubles the amount of substantive educational content required by the House Ethics Committee to qualify as an educational trip.






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