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McKinney blamed the Jewish lobby and the Democratic Party for her Aug. The five-termer had sparked the ire of the Jewish community with her outreach to Arabs, particularly after the Sept. She received ample financial support in her campaign from Arab groups. Hilliard, too, is a fervent supporter of Palestinians, and lost in June 56-44 percent to opponent Artur Davis, who is also black and was supported heavily by Jewish special interest dollars. Walters said their defeats were payback from the wealthy Jewish lobby. It took black candidates by surprise, and it's made them very angry," he said. She alienated the Democratic Jewish community after Sept. McKinney wrote the prince a letter criticizing Giuliani and asking for the money back to give to poor black communities. Others say McKinney just didn't speak to black voters in her district anymore, while Republican voters who could vote in the primary crossed lines en masse to help defeat her. The president's support of Israel, combined with his "compassionate conservatism," has done a lot to soften their attitudes against Republicans in the last year. Jesse Jackson, and the fact there was no clear support for Israel by black members on recent resolutions in Congress, have exacerbated this growing rift between the two traditional allies. He says if black voters follow through with plans to retaliate against the party for not doing more to save McKinney and Hilliard's seats, it could be disastrous. At the same time, he said, Democratic Jews may be wondering where the party was when black lawmakers were making statements against Israel. Walters said the party has gone on double duty to quell the anger among blacks, who are by a vast majority Democrats. He doesn't buy that McKinney had lost support among the black voters in her district, but blames Republicans and Jewish outsiders, and a lack of support from the party. A handful of CBC members have approached the leadership, not to blame them for their members' losses, but to request meetings, even a retreat, to help ease the growing tensions between the Jewish and black factions within the party, staff members said Tuesday. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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