Politics

Earl change

Middle East met Deep South on June 25 as Alabama primary voters defeated a five-term lawmaker who was a vocal critic of Israel. Rep. Earl Hilliard, the first black congressman from Alabama since Reconstruction, lost the runoff by 12 points against Artur Davis, a 34-year-old, Harvard-educated lawyer. Mr. Davis also is African-American, but the two men differed sharply on other questions of ethnicity. Mr. Hilliard, the incumbent, supported a variety of Arab causes during his tenure, even visiting Libya in 1997 over the objections of the Clinton State Department. Earlier this spring, he was one of just a handful of lawmakers who refused to support a resolution backing Israel in its war against terrorism. That stance vaulted the little-known Mr. Davis into national prominence. Jewish groups across the country poured money into his campaign, and by election day he had raised almost $100,000 more than the incumbent. Mr. Hilliard tried to portray his opponent as a Republican in disguise, and black leaders nationwide—from the Rev. Al Sharpton to the Congressional Black Caucus—rushed to his aid. But voters didn't buy it, as Mr. Davis noted in his victory speech: "Racial division and religious bigotry have no place in the 7th district. We are one people. We are one community, and anyone who comes into this city to divide us is going to be sent back home." —Bob Jones