Shelly Silver calls Ed Koch 'out of line' for urging Jews to put GOP in Anthony Weiner seat

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver urges Jewish voters to fill Anthony Weiner's vacant seat with a democrat and not to protest Obama's Israel policy with a turncoat vote


















ALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver conceded Sunday that President Obama has a problem among Jewish New Yorkers, but said electing a Republican to fill ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner's seat is not the answer.

Former Mayor Ed Koch is urging voters in Weiner's old district to vote against Democrat David Weprin in the special election as a way to protest Obama's call to use Israel's 1967 borders as a starting point in Mideast peace talks.

Silver, an Orthodox Jew, branded Koch's call "totally inappropriate."

"Ed Koch is totally out of line," said Silver, a Manhattan Democrat. "What we need is more Democrats who will go to bat for Israel, notwithstanding what a President may think.

"In order to change the perceptions, it's important to elect more staunch Democrats who are supporters of Israel."

Silver said Weprin, a Queens assemblyman who is also an Orthodox Jew, fits the bill.

Koch has said electing Republican Bob Turner in the Sept. 13 special election would be equivalent to the message sent when Massachusetts voters tapped Republican Scott Brown to fill the late Se n. Edward Kennedy's seat. Obama, he has argued, became more of a centrist as a result.

While Silver differs with Koch's approach, he doesn't dispute that Obama's standing among Jewish voters is weak, particularly after Obama proposed "1967 lines with mutually agreed [land] swaps" in settlement talks with the Palestinians.

"The perceptions aren't great right now," Silver said.

A Siena College poll last week showed 51% of Jewish voters in New York have an unfavorable view of Obama compared with 41% with a favorable one. Even worse, just 29% rated Obama's performance excellent or good, while a whopping 71% said he's doing a poor or bad job.

"There are a lot of people who disagree with him [on his Israeli policies] or don't think he's been dealing fairly," Silver said.

He noted that "nothing is happening" right now in the peace talks and that perhaps the Obama administration is "beginning to see that dealing with the Palestinian side is more difficult."

Either way, Silver said, he believes Obama's poll numbers in New York can improve.

"No one knows who the opponent is," Silver said. "When an opponent is identified, they may find out that, 'I disagree with incumbent 10% of the time, and [the] challenger 50% of time.' The numbers change, and it's a whole different ballgame."