Former New York mayor Ed Koch predicts that the Democratic party will face a 'tsunami' in the November mid-term elections, in an interview with Israel National Radio's Yishai Fleisher.
The legendary three-term mayor said that President Barack Obama had “betrayed” the Jews who voted for him en masse. “I must say,” he added, “that Jewish support – according to the polls here in America – for President Obama has gone down about 20 percent, from 78 to 58. I'm going to try to make it lower.”
"I believe that there is going to be a tsunami in November and that the Democratic party is going to suffer enormous defeats,” he said.
He said that Jews need to rethink their unwavering support for liberal candidates like Obama. “Jews are liberals, we want people to have their rights,” he explained, “and regrettably too often they forget about their own rights and the rights of their brothers and sisters in Israel.”
Throwing Israel under the bus
In a commentary piece, Koch had written: “I believe Obama’s policy is to create a whole new relationship with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq as a counter to Iran, which we are now prepared to see in possession of a nuclear weapon. If throwing Israel under the bus is needed to accomplish this alliance, so be it.”
“I am shocked by the lack of outrage on the part of Israel’s supporters. The members of AIPAC, the chief pro-Israel lobbying organization in Washington, gave Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a standing ovation after she had carried out Obama’s instructions and, in a 43-minute phone call, angrily hectored Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
“Members of both the House and Senate have made pitifully weak statements against Obama’s mistreatment of Israel, if they made any at all. The Democratic members, in particular, are simply afraid to criticize him.
“What bothers me most is the shameful silence by community leaders – Jew and Christian. Where are they?”