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Opinion: The fall of the ‘first Jewish president’?

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This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

In a nation like Israel that’s still consumed by last week’s bloody shooting spree that killed eight young students in a Jerusalem yeshiva, the fate of one more scandal-plagued U.S. politician normally wouldn’t even register.

But New York’s Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who was forced to resign this week, isn’t just any politician. The former crime-busting attorney general was also well known in Israel as the fastest-rising Jewish politician in America.

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As far back as 2003, Spitzer was courting Israeli decision makers with an eye on the statehouse and perhaps more. In his run for governor, Spitzer relied on close ties with New York City’s Orthodox Jewish community to rally voter and financial support.

Widely tabbed in Israel as a solid contender to be America’s first Jewish president, Spitzer hasn’t evoked much sympathy following revelations of his involvement with high-priced call girls as the alleged Client #9 on FBI tapes. The nature of his transgressions — infidelity, public hypocrisy — have most Israeli commentators concluding that he had it coming. The tone has been one of disappointment in a wayward son gone wrong.

— Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem

This item is also appearing in a slightly different form on the Babylon & Beyond blog.

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