Rahm Emanuel had an excellent pro-Israel voting record as a member of the House of Representatives, according to AIPAC. But he is also highly regarded by voices on the Jewish left, including American for Peace Now and Jeffrey Goldberg, as here:
Americans for Peace Now assessment of Rahm Emanuel
APN Legislative Round-Up Recess Edition - November 14, 2008
excerpts: … here is a quick summary of [Rahm Emanuel’s] record on [Middle East] issues since he first came to Congress in January 2003....
Point 1: He has stayed off the really bad stuff ...During his 5 years in Congress, Emanuel has not sponsored or co-sponsored any of the truly gratuitous, marginal, anti-peace legislation that is constantly popping up. ... While Emanuel has joined with the majority of his colleagues in signing on or voting for most of the major AIPAC-supported initiatives opposed by APN and other pro-peace groups (including, for example, the House version of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act), he has not spoken out prominently in support of such measures or engaged in grandstanding during floor debate over them. This includes with respect to Jerusalem.
Point 2: He has supported a number of pro-peace initiatives. During his time in Congress, Emanuel has signed on to a number of pro-peace initiatives, including some where he was one of the only Jewish members to do so.
The Roadmap letter (May 2003): In May 2003, Emanuel was one of 4 Jewish members of Congress to sign a Dear Colleague to President Bush in support of the President’s Road Map for Middle East peace. …The other Jewish signers were Barney Frank (D-MA), Bob Filner (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The letter was especially significant because it came as a counterpoint to a letter (strongly supported by AIPAC, which Emanuel and many of the 44 also signed) circulated immediately after the publication of the Roadmap, which implied that Congress did not support the Roadmap....
…Geneva Resolution (November 2003): In November 2003 Emanuel signed on as a cosponsor to H. Res. 462, “Supporting the vision of Israelis and Palestinians who are working together to conceive pragmatic, serious plans for achieving peace, and for other purposes.” This resolution, introduced in support of the Geneva Initiative and other track II efforts to make progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace, was supported strongly by APN and other pro-peace groups. Emanuel was one of only two Jewish members to cosponsor it; the other was Rep. Filner (D-CA)....
Rahm Emanuel and Israel By Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic online 06 Nov 2008
… Peace-processors take heart: Rahm, precisely because he’s a lover of Israel, will not have much patience with Israeli excuse-making, so when the next Prime Minister tells President Obama that as much as he’d love to, he can’t dismantle the Neve Manyak settlement outpost, or whichever outpost needs dismantling, because of a) domestic politics; b) security concerns, or c) the Bible, Rahm will call out such nonsense, and it will be very hard for right-wing Israelis to come back and accuse him of being a self-hating Jew. This is not to say that he’s unaware of Palestinian dysfunction, or Iranian extremism, but that he has a good grasp of some of Israel’s foibles as well…
See also “Emanuel’s Record On Israel Is More Dovish Than the Headlines Suggest,” By Nathan Guttman, The Forward Nov 20, 2008
