March 16, 2012
Ackerman won’t run again
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Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), right, greets Ilan Grapel, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who had been a former Ackerman intern, on Oct. 27, 2011, following the latter's release from imprisonment in Egypt. Photo by U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv
Gary Ackerman, one of the veteran Jewish members of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced he would not run again.
Ackerman, who has served 29 years as a Democrat from Queens/Long Island, said he was stepping down at a time that his reelction was reassured.
“During my years in Congress, it has been my pleasure to address the needs of thousands of individual constituents and to influence domestic and global policy while serving on the Financial and Foreign Affairs Committees in the House.” Ackerman said in a statement Thursday. “I am most thankful for the opportunity I’ve had to serve my country and my community.”
Ackerman, 69, leaves as the ranking Democrat on the Middle East subcommittee. Known for a white carnation he has sported since his days as a schoolteacher, the dapper Ackerman was close to the pro-Israel lobby but willing to speak out when he saw Israel as missing chances for peace.
He was a leader in 2007 in seeking increased funding for the Palestinian Authority, but also inveighed against anti-Semitism in the Arab world and among Palestinians.
He was the most prominent stalwart of allies of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to accept the endorsement of its dovish rival, J Street, in the 2010 election, but later broke with the group when it did not distance itself without qualification from Richard Goldstone, the U.N. investigator who said Israel had committed war crimes.
Recently, he made headlines when he helped free Ilan Grapel, a constituent who was arrested in the chaos following the Egyptian revolution a year ago.
