Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
All gifts matched up t0 $36,000SUPPORT OUR WORK!
Fast Forward

Koch May Take Israel Message to National Stage

Ex-New York Mayor Ed Koch says he may take his critique of President Obama’s Israel policy to a national stage.

Flush from helping Republican Ed Turner score an upset in Anthony Weiner’s old district, Koch says he wants to keep a fire under the White House about Israel.

“I’m hopeful the president will read the tea leaves, will get the message. You’d have to be deaf not to,” he told The New York Times, adding, “I’m hopeful that he will change his position.”

Koch, 82. told the paper he might rally Jewish voters in Florida, a key swing state.

“I might,” Mr. Koch said. “In fact, if it doesn’t work out that the president changes his position, I certainly will.”

Koch is unhappy at Obama’s perceived soft support of Israel. That message could resonate with Jewish voters, especially as the Palestinians make their bid for statehood at the United Nations.

Here is why I'm matching up to $36,000 in gifts to the Forward:

Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.

I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.

The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.

That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.