August 19, 2022

As we are getting close to the end of the primary season, New York offers some key races that have attracted national interest. Such is the race for the newly redrawn 12th district, which is pitting two longstanding supporters of Israel: Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Rep. Jerry Nadler. Rep. Maloney has been the representative of the old 12th district, while Rep. Nadler is currently serving as the representative for the 10th congressional district. The pair is joined by a third candidate, attorney Suraj Patel.

As we approach the end of a long and intensive primary campaign, let’s revisit the positions of the three contenders vis-à-vis Jewish-related issues.

Rep. Jerry Nadler

Congressman Nadler, who serves as the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is currently the only Jewish member of New York’s House delegation. As the most senior Jewish member in the House of Representatives, he is considered the “Dean” of the unofficial Jewish Caucus in the House of Representatives. Rep. Nadler describes himself as a “lifelong, ardent supporter of the State of Israel, a passionate fighter against antisemitism, a vigorous defender of first amendment religious protections, and a leading advocate for an entire range of other issues of concern to the Jewish community.”

Rep. Nadler opposes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has supported resolutions objecting to the movement and efforts to delegitimize Israel in the international arena. Rep. Nadler supported the nuclear deal with Iran, arguing that “for all its flaws, gave us the best chance to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.” He has supported unconditional U.S. security aid to Israel, including last year’s legislation to provide Israel with funding for the replenishment of its Iron Dome air-defense system.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney

Congresswoman Maloney is currently the Chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. She is considered a longtime friend of the Jewish community and strongly emphasizes her support for Israel and Jewish issues on her website. In order to promote Holocaust education and to combat antisemitism, Rep. Maloney introduced and advocated for the successful passing of the “Never Again Education Act,” bolstering educational resources at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Similarly to Rep. Nadler, she opposes BDS and has supported resolutions to reject the bigoted movement. She has supported unconditional U.S. security aid to Israel, including last year’s legislation to provide Israel with funding for the replenishment of its Iron Dome air-defense system. One of the major policy differences between Rep. Maloney and Rep. Nadler is on how to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. While Rep. Nadler supported the JCPOA in 2015, Rep. Maloney opposed the nuclear deal with Tehran. As the Biden administration is negotiating a return to the agreement, she has stated that the U.S. “needs a real tough nuclear arms treaty without sunsets and enforceable limitations on [Iran’s] ability to develop a nuclear weapon.” 

Suraj Patel

Suraj Patel is an attorney, business leader, and lecturer at New York University, who worked on both of President Obama’s campaigns. This is the third time that he is running to represent the 12th district in Congress, having run and lost in 2018 and 2020 to Rep. Maloney. While he has been outspoken on some of the issues important to Jewish voters, differently from the other two candidates he has not held any elected office before and has no existing voting record.

Patel has stated that the U.S. “must continue to support Israel with military and non-military aid,” adding that the U.S. must also “continue to provide humanitarian aid to peaceful organizations in Palestine and support a diplomatically negotiated two-state solution.” He said that he does not believe in placing any conditions on U.S. military and non-military aid to Israel. Moreover, he has vocally expressed his opposition to the BDS movement, saying that he opposed it since college. He is a supporter of the JCPOA and has defended the current efforts of the Biden administration to reenter the nuclear agreement with Iran.