July 4, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 22,1423

NEW YORK, July 3: Black legislators in the United States are deeply disturbed over the immense influence that the pro-Israel Jewish lobby is exerting over the body politic of the Congress.

In a report on Tuesday, the Washington Times said the defeat in elections of a black Democrat Congressman who opposed pro-Israel resolutions has sent shock waves through the party and raised concerns about a widening rift between blacks and Jews.

“It’s going to have other implications in other races,” says Rep. Earl F. Hilliard, Alabama Democrat, whose opponent raised more than 300,000 dollars from Jewish donors outside the state. “I just don’t think that the black community is going to sit still and let it happen.”

Hilliard, a five-term incumbent who is regarded as sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, lost to Artur Davis by 12 percentage points in a Democratic runoff last week. Davis, a lawyer who also is black, is regarded as all but certain to win the seat in November in the safely Democratic district.

Although Democrats will retain the seat in Congress, Hilliard’s loss was troublesome for party leaders, who donated nearly 50,000 dollars to the incumbent in the campaign.

His defeat did little to smooth over complaints within the party that supporters of Israel are interfering in black politics and that some black politicians do not support Israel, as the great majority of white Democrats in Congress do, the WT said.

Hilliard told the WT that at least three other black House Democrats will be “targeted” for defeat this year by Jewish campaign contributors who rank support for Israel as a top priority.

“They have targeted Cynthia Mckinney in Georgia; they have targeted Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Chicago and Donald Payne of Newark (NJ),” Hilliard told the WT. “Many African-Americans were not pleased with the manner of Jewish influence in the African- American district. I don’t think that they’re going to be pleased with that influence in Cynthia McKinley’s district, or Jesse Jackson, or Don Payne or anybody else that represents a predominantly African-American district.”