Mystery over donation says much about fight for Jewish vote in Florida

By Marc Caputo

Nelson chats with Obama

Senator Bill Nelson in Islamic-donor whodunit

JewishWorldReview.com

IAMI— (MCT) In a sign of the fight for the Jewish vote, Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign is embroiled in a whodunit over a political contribution made by an Islamic activist who has branded Israel a “terrorist state.”

The Florida Democrat’s campaign says it rejected a $500 donation made at an Oct. 22 fundraiser by activist Ahmed Bedier due to his strident criticisms of Israel.
But Bedier said he never gave the contribution in the first place. So nothing was rejected. The host of the event, Ocala pharmacist Manal Fakhoury, said Bedier is telling the truth.

“He did not give money,” said Fakhoury, who held the fundraiser for 60 people at her home. “I saw the list” of donors.

Regardless of who’s telling the truth, the controversy exposes the tightrope politicians walk when they even appear with Islamic activists in a state with a strong and influential Jewish population, which leans heavily Democratic.

Republicans have been feverishly trying to turn more Jewish support to the GOP, claiming Democrats are too soft on Israel.

At the same time the Nelson-Bedier dispute surfaced last week on a conservative-leaning website dedicated to monitoring Islamic radicalism, President Obama drew fire from Israel hawks and conservatives for not rebuking French President Nikolas Sarkozy when he was accidentally overheard telling the Democrat that Israel’s leader is a “liar.”