Perdue Brought Back More Than Memories

By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service

JERUSALEM, Israel -- During the week that Gov. Sonny Perdue spent leading a trade mission in Israel, he spent one hurried afternoon touring the picturesque market of Old Jerusalem where most tourists pick up souvenirs.

The former veterinarian made his companions pose for a photo in front of the hanging meat at a butcher's stall. And he joked around with a water pipe in another stall while his press aide jostled a photographer so there'd be no incriminating shot for next year's campaign.

But Perdue was never seen buying a curio or even a T-shirt reading "Shalom Y'all."

Instead, he came away from his only visit to the Jewish state of Israel with something he may cherish more dearly than a hand-carved olivewood cross. He picked up much of the Jewish vote for next year's gubernatorial race.

On the day he hit it off with Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- trading stories from their youths on the farm, Perdue capped the day at a dinner at the Israel Museum addressing 450 members of the Jewish Federation of Atlanta. The group had journeyed to the Holy Land for the federation's annual dinner. They were in a festive mood celebrating the organization's centennial, but they were also proud to have the governor join them.
It wasn't a group normally expected to warm up to a rural Christian politician, whose devotion kept him from joining his hosts in a glass of wine or cocktails and whose son is a preacher. It especially isn't a group typically partial to conservative Republicans.

Nevertheless, the federation members gave him a standing ovation when he was hailed as the first Georgia governor to authorize investing state funds in Israeli government bonds. They gave him a second standing ovation when he was introduced. And he received loud, hearty cheers when he quipped, "Most of you know that I'm not Jewish, but I know a good investment when I see it."

Perhaps they all do, too.

Before the dinner, a steady stream of federation members stood in line to shake his hand and capture snapshots on cameras they had brought themselves. Many pulled his aides aside to promise campaign contributions, some unknowingly offering donations far in excess of the legal limit.

Yet, there could be more than a few reasons for Jews to keep their distance.

He wore a baseball cap to the Wailing Wall instead of the yarmulkes politely offered to other gentile tourists. Perdue clearly isn't Jewish or even the polished cosmopolitan sophisticate who can recite scripture in Hebrew.

He isn't even the first Georgia governor to visit Israel; Zell Miller and Roy Barnes beat him to it. And he supposedly had to be talked out of cutting the funding to the state's trade office in Israel.

But he did come. He did charm Sharon. He did get to announce that a couple of Israeli businesses would set up sales offices in Georgia. And he is the only Georgia governor to OK purchasing Israeli bonds.

Jews showed their appreciation at the dinner, giving it the feel of a fund-raising dinner for the Republican Party stalwarts instead of a formal affairs in a foreign country.

He won them over.

He had a similar effect on the self-made businessmen who accompanied him on the trade mission. The general consensus of the executives, those who are Jewish and those who aren't, is that the governor is a sincere man worthy of re-election.

His sincerity showed to them in simple ways. He wasn't the center of attention on the tour bus, cracking jokes or trying to show how smart he was with the guides assigned by the Israel Foreign Ministry. When others in the delegation were nodding off during some dreary lectures, he was attentive.

On the streets of Israel, there was no mistaking the chubby, fair-skinned Perdue for anything but an American. Yet, Israeli children on the street in Jerusalem gravitated to him and huddled around for pictures with a man they could not have recognized.

He would like to return to view more leisurely the historical sites he briefly visited. Perdue knows the Bible well enough to recognize their significance.

Despite the trip's shortcomings as a sightseeing excursion, it was a smashing success for Perdue.

Georgia's Jewish population isn't a large voting bloc in itself. On the other hand, many of the successful Jewish business people applauding Perdue at the dinner are influential and wealthy.

As a consequence, this small-town Republican conservative may not get the votes of those wanting the Confederate battle emblem back on the state flag, but he could have the state's Jewish vote all sewn up.

Walter Jones is the bureau chief for Morris News Service and has been covering Georgia politics since 1998. He can be reached at walter.jones@morris.com or (404) 589-8424.