Letter to the editor from username: pundit02@yahoo.com
Sent at: Jul 10 2012 at 06:46 pm EDT
RE: http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/07/10/3100306/berkley-faces-ethics-review
To the Editor:
As the agents of record for so many Jewish publications all over the world I would think that it would behoove the JTA to give all the facts of interest pertinent to a story that will probably be carried by most of them.
While it is true that U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) has been a stalwart of pro-Israel policy in the U.S. Congress, and would most definitely be the same on the Senate side, I find it difficult that the JTA fails to note in this story that her opponent in this year's senate race, incumbent U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), is equally strong on issues regarding the US-Israel bond and was in fact the senator chosen by the co-sponsors to introduce the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2011, legislation that serves to strip the president of his/her "waiver power" and finally relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel's capital city of Jerusalem where it belongs.
I am a staunch independent and in any race I choose to look at the person running, their record their policy and their character, not at their particular party affiliation. In this case, I believe the JTA should have done the same - acknowledge in the body of the story that both candidates seeking to represent Nevada would be a strong vote for a strong and everlasting US-Israel alliance.
The sin of omission is sometimes graver yet.
Dr. Mike Cohen
Zionism, Post-Zionism & The Arab Problem
http://www.drmikecohen.info
Pro-Israel lawmaker Shelley Berkley facing ethics review
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The House Ethics Committee has launched an investigation into U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, a pro-Israel lawmaker, potentially complicating the Nevada Democrat's bid for the U.S. Senate .
The investigation announced Monday, and backed by Democrats and Republicans on the committee, will focus on allegations that Berkley's championing of kidney care benefited her husband, a leading kidney specialist in Nevada.
"The Committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an investigative subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred," said a statement from the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives.
Berkley's office said she was "pleased with the committee’s decision to conduct a full and fair investigation, which will ensure all the facts are reviewed."
Her successful efforts to block a federal bid to close a kidney transplant center saved part of a practice co-owned by her husband.
Berkley, widely considered as among the most pro-Israel members of the House, was seen as one of a handful of chances for the Democrats to pick up a Senate seat in a year when they are defending most of their seats. She faces incumbent Sen. Dean Heller, who was named to the seat after fellow Republican John Ensign resigned in a scandal.
