ELECTIONS CONGRESSIONAL RACES : Levine, Opponent Differ Sharply Over Israel

Voters in California’s 27th Congressional District do not have to look long or hard for a major difference between the Democrat currently representing them and the Republican seeking to replace him.

The two candidates, both of whom are Jewish, are sharply divided on the subject of Israel.

Incumbent Mel Levine is one of Israel’s most outspoken supporters on Capitol Hill.

David Barrett Cohen, meanwhile, says the United States should work for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The two lawyers are running for the seat that Levine has held for four terms, representing a largely coastal district that stretches from the South Bay to Santa Monica.

Levine, often spoken of as a possible candidate for Alan Cranston’s U.S. Senate seat in 1992, may well be running his last race for the House of Representatives.

But he insisted in an interview that any other ambitions are on hold.

“I love being in the House and I’m focused on getting reelected in ’90 and serving in ’91 and ‘92,” Levine said. He had built a massive $1.6-million war chest by the middle of May.

A strong environmentalist, Levine has been a leader in the fight to protect Santa Monica Bay and resist offshore oil drilling.

He has introduced legislation to create a federally chartered corporation to assist American high-tech industries in their competitive battle with Japanese companies.

In Cohen, Levine faces an opponent who changed his party registration from Democrat to Republican in January of last year. Cohen said he made the switch after becoming disenchanted with the Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Michael S. Dukakis.

Cohen said he has raised more than $40,000 in contributions, and has also loaned his campaign $33,000 of his own money.

He has not been shy in his quest for money. At a recent fund-raiser in Carson, Cohen, who is half-Samoan, put on a Samoan reed skirt and danced bare-chested for his supporters.

The challenger has been attacking Levine in commercials on cable television, accusing the lawmaker of being a top recipient of contributions from savings and loans, citing a report from the public interest group Common Cause.

The GOP candidate also contends that Levine has not moved swiftly enough to protect aerospace jobs in the South Bay, including those provided by the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo.

It is the subject of Israel, though, that perhaps most clearly defines the differences between the two men.

Cohen advocates a “two-state solution” that would lead to creation of an independent Palestine on land now held by Israel, which he accuses of “trying to forcibly occupy a population of 1.7 million people against its will.”

Arguing against Israel’s refusal to negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization, he maintained that “Palestinians have a right to choose their own leaders, and it is not for the Israelis or Americans to dictate who their leaders will be.”

Cohen acknowledges that this is an unorthodox position. “Unique. I’m the only mainstream American candidate for Congress who has called for a two-state solution,” he said.

For his part, Levine charges that PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat has been Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s proxy since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait inflamed passions in the occupied territories.

Calling him the “least responsible actor” in the region, Levine said that Arafat has been “trying to increase the level of violence and incite violent behavior in the region, despite promises to contain himself over the last several years.”

Responding to a request from the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council to comment on the recent clash between Israeli police and a crowd of Arab demonstrators in Jerusalem, Cohen said he supported the Bush Administration’s denunciation of the use of excessive force.

Levine said: “Passing a U.N. (Security Council) resolution condemning Israel before we know what the facts are, and then sending a fact-finding mission, is like rendering a verdict before you have the trial.

“I have always felt that the United States should and does support Israel’s survival within secure borders on one hand, and legitimate rights for the Palestinians on the other hand,” he added.

In an unusual move, Cohen sent a mailer to Inglewood--the portion of the district containing the largest concentration of black voters--accusing Levine and his political allies of taking black voters for granted and treating the city “like a voting plantation for Mel Levine.”

Levine brands the mailer “an unfortunate effort by a desperate political candidate.”

“The fact is, my track record on civil rights and civil liberties is quite solid,” he said. “For a candidate to dream up some wild charges that have no basis whatsoever in fact is offensive both to me and to the voters of the city of Inglewood.”

So far, Levine has refused to debate his challenger, although he said he would be willing to meet him, if Cohen apologizes to Levine and to Inglewood voters for the brochure.

Peace and Freedom Party candidate Edward F. Errer is also on the ballot.

Times staff writer George Hatch contributed to this story.

27TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Candidate: Party

Mel Levine (inc.): Democrat

David Barrett Cohen: Republican

Edward E. Ferrer: Peace and Freedom

Voter Registration Registered Percent Democrat 153,524 53.6% Republican 98,229 34.3 Independent 28,187 9.8 Minor parties* 6,508 2.3 Total 286,448

* American Independent, Peace and Freedom, Libertarian and miscellaneous

1988 Results Votes Percent Mel Levine (D) 148,814 67.5% Dennis Galbraith (R) 65,307 29.7 William Fulco (L) 6,214 2.8