Is This NJ Dem Candidate Too Cowardly to Take a Stand on the Simplest Issue Out There?
Progressive policy ambitions meet practical realities as Americans weigh costs and consequences.
Rebecca Bennett wants to represent New Jersey in Congress, and so far she can't manage a yes or no on whether she supports Israel. That's not a gotcha question. It's the kind of thing a candidate for federal office should be able to answer before breakfast, especially with a war raging and American Jews watching closely how their own representatives talk about it.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
It’s time for New Jersey Democratic congressional candidate Rebecca Bennett to answer a straightforward question: Do you support Israel? It’s a simple question, and one that shouldn’t be controversial, but Democrats have developed a touch of Nazi-like rhetoric, which has spread like COVID in some parts of the country.
About one-third of House Democrats recently voted to cut aid to the only true democracy in the Middle East, or at least one that we don’t have to worry about slipping into the hands of radical Islamic terrorists.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
Rebecca Bennett wants to represent New Jersey in Congress, and so far she can't manage a yes or no on whether she supports Israel. That's not a gotcha question. It's the kind of thing a candidate for federal office should be able to answer before breakfast, especially with a war raging and American Jews watching closely how their own representatives talk about it. Silence isn't neutrality here. It's a strategy, and voters should recognize it as one.
The backdrop makes the dodge worse. Roughly a third of House Democrats recently voted to cut aid to Israel, a country that remains the only functioning democracy in a region where the alternative to American allies is rarely anything better. That's not a fringe faction anymore. It's a real and growing bloc inside the party, and it puts candidates like Bennett in an awkward spot: say something clear and risk alienating that wing, or say nothing and hope nobody notices. So far she's picked door number two.
Voters deserve better than a candidate who treats a foreign policy question as something to be managed rather than answered. This isn't an obscure trade dispute or a wonky regulatory fight where nuance is earned. It's about whether you back an ally under attack. If Bennett has a real position, she should say it plainly. If she doesn't, that tells New Jersey voters something too, and they should take note before November.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.