SAN DIEGO — Two veteran members of Congress, who also are members of our Jewish community, deserve reelection to Congress. They are Bob Filner and Susan Davis, both Democrats.
Filner currently serves as chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, and has campaigned tirelessly for recognizing the rights and needs of veterans. He is particularly beloved in the Filipino-American community for his tireless advocacy for providing Filipino veterans who fought in World War II the same benefits as their American counterparts.
During World War II, the Philippines was an American commonwealth, and these Filipino soldiers were fighting for the U.S.A. – risking their lives alongside U.S. soldiers. Simply because the Philippines subsequently became independent was not a valid reason to deprive them of compensation for their service.
Complementing Filner’s service on the Veteran Affairs Committee is Davis’s tenure on the House Armed Services Committee. Between these two members of Congress, our Armed Forces personnel have friends both while they are in the service and after they leave it.
Interestingly, both Filner and Davis are former board members of the San Diego Unified School District.
Between his school board service and his election to Congress, Filner served on the San Diego City Council. Davis similarly had an interim elected office – she was a member of the California State Assembly.
While both have brought nachas to our local Jewish community, and have been friends to Jewish institutions in San Diego County, the two members of Congress have taken different approaches to U.S. – Israel relations.
Davis tends to join with the overwhelming majority of Jewish Senators and members of Congress in her support for Israel in its conflict with its Arab neighbors, whereas Filner had sided on occasion with “pro-peace” positions advocated by the J Street organization – a group that critics describe as too ready to embrace Palestinian positions.
We have no doubt that both Davis and Filner have the best interests of Israel at heart, even though they occasionally take quite different positions on Middle Eastern issues. On the theory that our community is big enough and strong enough to include representatives espousing different philosophies – even as in Israel itself there are disagreements about the best way to negotiate with Israel’s Arab neighbors – we endorse both these veteran members of Congress.
– Donald H. Harrison, editor, San Diego Jewish World