The Day After - What May It Bring In The Next Two Years?

After watching President Obamas press conference, one can wonder if he really understands what happened yesterday in this mid-term election. As the question was asked of him by one reporter, "do you really get it?"

And could the way that this administration has handled the "Middle East" conflict, be the reason our country is in the mess it is in right now?

As in the words of Fox News, "We report, you decide!"

And than the Republican's victory in the House of Representatives seems to leaves many in Israel (according to the news headlines today) wondering whether President Barack Obama's stymied domestic agenda will encourage him to concentrate more on foreign policy, including the Middle East peace process.

So than where does this election leave us today?

The Republicans are expected to take a tougher stance on Iran and put pressure on the Obama administration to be easier on Israel. Eric Cantor (R-Virginia), who is expected to become House Majority Leader and thus the highest ranking Jewish member of the House, told Haaretz last week that a “[Republican] Congress would have a tangible impact on improving the U.S.-Israel relationship."

The system of checks and balances which seemed to be non-existence in the past two years, will most likely permit congress to apply oversight to the administration’s foreign policy. If they can regain the majority, they will use the larger platform to make the case that a strong Israel is firmly in the strategic and moral interests of the United States. We could very well see the administration, in the next two years backing down from pressuring Israel into making concessions that will compromise Israel’s already tenuous security.

America's largest pro-Israel lobby group, AIPAC, today hailed the results of midterm elections in the U.S. which saw staunch supporters re-elected to Congress on both sides of the party political divide.

Here is I think what we see:

Many of the strongest friends and supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship were reelected on Tuesday.

These included Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Reps. John Boehner (R-OH), widely tipped to be named Republican majority leader in the lower House of Representatives, which his party seized from Democratic control.

Other pro-Israel successes cited by AIPAC included outgoing House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as well as Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

"It is abundantly clear that the 112th Congress will continue America's long tradition of staunch support for a strong, safe and secure Israel and an abiding friendship between the United States and our most reliable ally in the Middle East," AIPAC said.

Israel's Washington embassy also expressed satisfaction with the results.

"Support for Israel at the Congress is strong and bipartisan,” an embassy spokesman told Haaretz.

AIPAC also welcomed the election of three new Jewish members of Congress: Senator-elect Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Congressman-elect David Cicilline (D-RI), and Congresswoman-elect Nan Hayworth (R-NY).

Cicilline becomes the fourth openly gay member of Congress – and third Jewish gay member of Congress.

Some Jewish incumbents lost out, however – among them Florida Democrat Alan Grayson, who ran a controversial campaign in which he labeled his opponent, Daniel Webster, “Taliban Dan”. Another incumbent, Ron Klein lost to the republican Allen West, in Florida.

In Wisconsin, Republicans picked up two seats, ousting Jewish Democratic incumbent, Steve Kagen, who lost to Reid Ribble. Another Jewish Congressman to leave the House is John Adler of New Jersey.

Jewish vote

According to an election day poll by J Street, another lobby group that sees itself as AIPAC's more liberal rival, 66 percent of U.S. Jews voted Democrat.

Only 7 percent of Jews polled identified Israel as a decisive issue, with 62 percent citing the economy and 31 percent mentioning healthcare as a major concern.

Sixty percent of U.S. Jews approved of the way President Barack Obama is handling his job, while 53 percent approved of the way he is handling the Arab-Israeli conflict.

A decisive 83 percent of American Jews supported an active U.S. role in resolving the conflict. Seventy-one percent supported a U.S. policy involving “publicly stating disagreements with” Israel and the Palestinians, while 65 percent said they were prepared to see America "exert pressure” on the sides to push them toward peace.

The poll, conducted by conducted by Gerstein Agne Strategic Communications, surveyed 1000 Jewish voters across the U.S. and 600 Jewish voters in Pennsylvania on the evening of November 2nd. A separate poll, conducted before the election from October 20-24, surveyed 400 voters in Illinois’ Ninth Congressional District. 

John Boehner (R-Ohio), expected to be the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, is considered to be pro-Israel, despite recent criticism by Jewish Democrats for his support of Tea Party candidate Rich Iott who used to participate in reenactions of World War II battles wearing a Nazi officer uniform.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) is expected to replace Howard Berman (D-California) as the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ros-Lehtinen is one of the most active House members on the issues related to Israel.