* First, a bit of background from a few weeks ago…

Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) is facing an onslaught of criticism for a contract she signed with a political rival, in which—according to congressional investigators—she likely agreed to hand Professor Iymen Chehade a six-figure salary in exchange for him not running against her in a Democratic primary. But documents appear to show that a cozy job and big title weren’t the only things Newman negotiated.

In an Oct. 2018 email to Newman, Chehade memorialized that he and Newman had met earlier in the week and discussed a proposal where Newman would not only pledge to hiring Chehade, but would also “commit” to a number of anti-Israel policy positions.

Among the positions Chehade laid out were “opposing any legislation that entails ADDITIONAL military sales or aid to Israel,” supporting legislation that achieves “justice and self-determination” for Palestinians, and organizing “fact-finding” delegations to Palestine and other Middle East countries. Chehade even said he wanted “complete discretion” over the itinerary for such a trip.

“At no point will Newman accept partial or complete funding for congressional delegations from the [Jewish National Fund], any organization affiliated with the Israeli government, or any organization that embraces Israeli’s Zionist or colonial project,” Chehade said.

* More…

This is from the email Iymen Chehade sent Marie Newman about what he wanted in a contract.

Marie Newman’s response was not outrage, or shock, or disgust. It was this:

“Most of it looks good. Couple of concerns -mostly phraseology.”https://t.co/BRzzSoMCiB pic.twitter.com/xCQIkNpqSW

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) February 3, 2022

* However, there are some very important caveats…

A Palestinian professor said that he was denied a job because of his views on Israel and has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Illinois Congresswoman Marie Newman. Iymen Chehade is Professor of Middle Eastern History at Columbia College Chicago.

Chehade claims that he had a signed agreement with the progressive Democrat Congresswomen for him to take a senior position in her team in return for dropping out of the 2020 US election in order to give the 57 year old a better chance to oust a pro-Israel candidate. He was denied the job, he claims, because of his strong sympathy with the Palestinian cause. […]

The two began to fall out over a statement from Newman on Palestine. Chehade says he worked with the Congresswomen to draft “a powerful statement in support of Palestinian rights.” Disagreements arose over the content, though, including the position Newman should take on the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. In the final draft, Newman says she supported people’s right to boycott, though she did not back the BDS movement herself.

Ultimately, Chehade was disappointed. The Palestine Statement on Newman’s website deleted any reference to the possibility of a single state solution, which Chehade says they agreed on; deleted reference to UN General Assembly Resolution 194 on the right of return and replaced it with a vague reference to the return of refugees; and recognised Israel as a “democratic and Jewish” state.

* More…

Newman didn’t hire Chehade as her congressional adviser, a job that is paid for with government funds, and he sued her last year. They settled for undisclosed terms, and he subsequently signed onto her campaign as a foreign affairs adviser. Campaign advisers are paid out of donations to candidates.

Newman has denied any improprieties. Chehade will not comment, citing the non-disclosure component of his settlement with Newman. He is currently running for Congress in Illinois’ redrawn third district.

Newman notably has embraced some of the policies Chehade outlined in his 2018 email: She was one of just nine members of the US House of Representatives who voted last year against $1 billion in additional funds for Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile system. She is also backing a bill by Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., that would withhold funds from Israel based on the number of Palestinian minors in detention.

* And now, this…

In a closely watched Chicago-area primary between two incumbent House Democrats, liberal pro-Israel group J Street is throwing its weight behind Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. Casten is participating in a J Street delegation of House members visiting Israel this week.

J Street had previously endorsed both Casten and his opponent, Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL), prior to a redistricting process that changed the borders of the legislators’ districts. The organization stood by Newman in September when she was one of just eight Democrats to vote against a $1 billion supplemental funding package for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system — legislation that J Street supported. The group held a fundraiser for Newman days after the vote.

J Street spokesperson Logan Bayroff issued a statement of support for Newman in early October, saying J Street PAC was “proud to endorse Rep. Newman, who throughout her time in Congress has been a vocal and principled advocate for diplomacy-first American leadership and Israeli-Palestinian peace.” At the time, Illinois’ new maps had not yet been approved.

“After redistricting placed them both in a race for Illinois’ 6th District,” Bayroff told JI on Tuesday, “we reviewed the race based on a number of factors and ultimately have made the decision this month to endorse Rep. Casten alone in this new head-to-head matchup.”

* More…

Bayroff said that the ethics investigation factored into the decision. “We endorsed both of them in 2020 in different districts, but once it became clear it was head to head we have to make a choice,” Bayroff said in an interview. “We have to look at everything going on in the race, and investigation into one candidate is one of the factors one looks into in a race.”

Newman is under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics for allegedly promising Iymen Chehade, a Palestinian-American academic, a job on her congressional staff if he agreed not to run against her in a primary. One of his alleged conditions was that Newman adopt pro-Palestinian stances.