Van Hollen Makes Haaretz

Junior members of the minority party don't usually get much foreign press coverage but the minor fracas over Rep. Van Hollen's letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seems to have caused a columnist for Haaretz, a major Israeli daily, to make an exception:

Congressman Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, ran into a problem - he unintentionally found himself in the camp of Israel's enemies. All he wanted was an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon. A few weeks ago, as the war raged, he sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and asked her to do something. He was trying to take aim at the Bush administration - which is what a Democrat is expected to do on the eve of elections - but it turned out that this is not how Israel's friends saw things. Van Hollen was called in for a little chat with officials from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Some accepted his explanations - he did not apologize, just clarified his statements - but others thought that was not enough and that Van Hollen had crossed the red line.

At the root of the American administration's support for Israel lies the assumption that this is not a subject of controversy. One can attack George W. Bush, but not at Israel's expense. Van Hollen's district in Maryland is very pro-Democrat, and is also populated by many Jews. Some of them may reconsider their congressional choice.

I suspect neither AIPAC nor Van Hollen appreciate this sort of press coverage which is more blunt than the average op-ed in an American newspaper but about par for the course in Israel. However, Van Hollen can at least take comfort in the fact that the author thinks he will be a member of the majority party when the next Congress convenes.