Candidates, organizers clash over Israel forum

Organizers of a forum about Israel say are they are stunned that two Democratic candidates backed out at the last minute.

Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias and 10th Congressional candidate Dan Seals both sent word last week that they would not be attending Sunday's forum in Northbrook, though organizers say they had agreed back in March to attend.

Republican opponents Mark Kirk and Robert Dold, both of whom plan to attend the forum, criticized their opponents' decision not to attend the forum, organized by To Protect Our Heritage Political Action Committee and 14 local Jewish synagogues.

But the Democratic candidates say the deck is stacked against them.

Pointing out donations that the PAC has made to Kirk, Giannoulias' campaign said the event is partisan.

Seals, who has participated in two prior committee forums, said that without Giannoulias, the forum would heavily favor Republicans.

Organizer and committee co-chair Peggy Shapiro, of Lincolnwood, said hundreds of people have already registered for the "Israel, its neighbors, and the U.S." event, to be held at Temple Beth-El in Northbrook. Seals and Giannoulias have been advertised as appearing for the past few months, she said.

To Protect our Heritage, which bills itself as bipartisan, has held these forums for 25 years. Shapiro said organizers "pay scrupulous attention to fairness" by inviting equal numbers of Republican and Democratic candidates.

Only constituents are able to ask questions of the candidates participating. Only Jewish organizations that are also bipartisan can sign on as hosts, she said.

But on Aug. 9, To Protect Our Heritage announced that Giannoulias pulled out of the forum. While organizers said he had cited a "previous commitment," Giannoulias' campaign later said he'd never accepted the invitation. Campaign manager David Spielfogel said Giannoulias doesn't attend forums hosted by partisan groups and that Protect Our Heritage PAC is one such partisan group.

A day later, Seals followed suit, after having initially agreed to attend. Seals has participated in two past forums, Shapiro said.

Seals said in a statement from his campaign that while he "greatly respects" the group and its commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Israeli relationship, "unfortunately, the nature of the forum changed significantly from our original agreement, leading us to decline to participate in a situation that had become inherently unfair and uniquely weighted against Dan."

To Protect our Heritage has, in the past, donated to Kirk's Senate and congressional campaigns, most recently contributing $5,000 in April 2009. The committee also has donated smaller amounts to a number of other candidates, both Republican and Democratic, including Evanston Democrat and 9th District Rep. Jan Schakowsky and 14th District Rep. Bill Foster, a Batavia Democrat.

Shapiro acknowledged the earlier contributions to Kirk's campaign but insisted they did not indicate favoritism in the Senate race.

"This is a different ballgame," Shapiro said of the Senate race, and of the committee's support of Kirk. "We have different candidates running and for different offices. It is not the same thing. We will not even accept a co-sponsor that's endorsed any candidate because of the appearance of bias. We would not do that."

Shapiro pointed out that "a majority of Jewish voters are still Democrats. In 2008, Obama carried the 10th District by a very strong margin. And in fact Jewish voters voted for Seals last time."

Giannoulias and Seals say they both plan to attend other upcoming Jewish forums as the election nears.

Since the Seals' announcement, Shapiro said other former Democratic legislators, whom she declined to identify, have been in discussions with Seals' and Giannoulias' campaigns "in an effort to convince both Democratic candidates of the public value and fairness of the forums."

Neither candidate has yet changed his mind.