For someone who’s the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Eliot Engel sure talks about Israel and the Middle East a lot.
Engel is Jewish, but that’s not the only reason he’s one of Congress’ strongest proponents of Israel. His district is among the most heavily Jewish in the United States. Rockland has the highest percentage of Jews of any county in the country. Westchester has the 11th highest percentage, and the Bronx is in the top thirty.
Consider his last few days:
- Engel participated in a conference on recognition for displaced Jews in Arab countries at the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem
- At the conference, Engel said…
“The US – Israel relationship remains strong. It doesn’t mean that from time to time there won’t be differences of opinion. It doesn’t mean that the relationship is ruptured. Israel and the US share so may common interests. I know that the Obama administration is doing a lot of positive things toward Israel.”
- Engel also “said repeatedly, ‘we cannot allow Iran to go nuclear.'”
- Let’s not forget that he regularly checks out Jewish delis all over the country, but has never found a better one than Liebman’s in the Bronx.
None of this is particularly groundbreaking. Israel and the U.S. do have a strong relationship. The Obama administration certainly would prefer that Iran not have nuclear weapons, and yes, New York does have the best Jewish delis (take that Connecticut). So why is someone who’s most important congressional job has nothing to do with the Middle East, always talking about it? It could be that he just feels really strongly about it, but I think the more likely reason is that he wants his Jewish constituents to know he is with them on Middle East policy.