Democratic U.S. Rep Joe Courtney and Republican challenger Justin Anderson discussed issues facing the 2nd Congressional District during a candidate forum Wednesday night. 

The forum, hosted by the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut, included questions from viewers in a chat box. Viewers had to register beforehand to watch the event on Zoom, though CT-N also streamed the proceedings.

Anderson and Courtney were each given a half-hour to answer questions chiefly from JFACT Executive Director Michael Bloom. The forum covered local and international issues, some of which related specifically to the Jewish community and some of which were broader.

Anderson took questions first. He emphasized his military experience and positioned himself as an ardent supporter of the U.S.’s diplomatic and military relationship with Israel. When asked about his priorities if elected, he focused on foreign policy and praised President Donald Trump’s efforts at peacekeeping in the Middle East. The recent formalization of ties between Bahrain and Israel as well as the United Arab Emirates and Israel, brokered by the U.S., served as an example. He said since the President is business-oriented, trade relations can help ward off “hatred.” Instead, the Middle East can “focus on working together on the economy.” 

Anderson was critical of the Iran-Nuclear Deal, which allowed international inspectors to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. It was engineered by President Barack Obama and later left by Trump in 2018. Anderson took exception to the sunset of the deal, as it was supposed to expire in 2025.

“They’re never going to let people go in there and supervise what they’re doing. It’s on faith, and on faith alone, from a country that decided that westerners must die, that’s kind of ridiculous,” Anderson said. “If you look at the sunset … we take away the sanctions, and suddenly you have a thriving economy in Iran. What do they do with their business? They fund world terrorism.”

The discussion came to a clear contrast on this subject, with Courtney in support of the Iran-Nuclear Deal. He said he hoped Joe Biden would reenter the accord if elected president, though that would necessitate fence-mending with foreign allies, especially European allies. 

“The nuclear deal, having been in Congress when that was coming to fruition, was a nine-country negotiation,” Courtney said. “When Iran was caught developing nuclear weapons, you were able to get Russia, China and our European allies to impose sanctions, which was the pressure to make negotiations take place.”

Courtney did admit “the 15-year timeline was problematic for many of my colleagues and me, too,” but getting a weapons inspector on the ground and dismantling centrifuges through surveillance was more important.

Both Courtney and Anderson addressed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which “works to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law,” according to its website. They both opposed BDS, forcing Courtney to distance himself from progressive Congressional colleagues who support it. Many Israelis believe BDS aims to put an end to Israel as a Jewish state.

Bloom asked Anderson to address rising anti-Semitism throughout the country. He said the American education system needs to do a better job of educating people on the Holocaust, and that the media has to play a role in calling out public figures who speak against the Jewish community. An audience member later asked Anderson to speak on Trump’s Charlottesville comments and his hesitance to condemn white supremacists. He said Charlottesville was “taken out of context” by the media and that groups who went to stop Confederate monuments from being taken down weren’t white supremacists.

Anderson equated the KKK and white supremacists to anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter groups, calling them “antagonist groups.”

“There were people who meant well who started that rally, and it turned bad,” Anderson said while explaining why Trump’s “good people on both sides” comment was exaggerated by the news media. “President Trump within minutes condemned the KKK and white supremacy in the same speech.”

He went on to say liberals and Muslims perpetuate more anti-Semitic violence than extreme right-wing groups.

"When you look at anti-Semitic violence, believe it or not, a very small amount of that comes from the right wing. The majority, believe it or not, comes from Muslims and also liberals," Anderson said. "Liberals actually commit more violence against the Jewish community than extreme right-wing people do."

Courtney and Anderson alike expressed support for a nonprofit security grant program that allows all nonprofits to get grants in order to improve security.

The candidates were also in agreement about the need for a new COVID-19 stimulus package, though Anderson said the bill would have to be focused on those who needed it most and not “pet projects.”

Asked about the ongoing drought in Eastern Connecticut and what he would do for food insecurity, Anderson responded, “When I go to the supermarket, it looks like we’re doing pretty good. I didn’t know there was a food insecurity problem because everywhere I go, food is plentiful.” He added that he would seek to protect local farmers and the fishing industry if elected. On a similar subject, Courtney pointed to Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act assistance now available for shellfish growers.

Courtney thanked Anderson for his military service and extolled the civility of their race thus far. He highlighted Congress’s COVID-19 response as an immediate priority.

“The foot-dragging by Senator McConnell is the height of irresponsibility in terms of what’s needed right now,” Courtney said, adding that while people’s stock prices and 401Ks are fine, “only Congress can direct money to schools, small businesses, food producers and people struggling out there.”

Another priority of Courtney's is health care, he said, bringing up an impending Supreme Court case that takes aim at the Affordable Care Act. Courtney said he is a co-sponsor of legislation to open up a public option to give people another choice to save money.

Courtney said he was generally supportive of any progress integrating Israel into normal diplomatic status, though he expressed concern about sending U.S. military equipment to the Middle East, noting, “Congressional pushback against having that kind of technology proliferate in the region.”

Courtney is seeking his eighth term in Congress. He is chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee in the House, which has oversight of Navy shipbuilding, and is a senior member on the House Education and Workforce Committee, among other roles.

Anderson is lieutenant colonel in the Connecticut National Guard and a retired correctional officer. He's also a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission in East Haddam.

Anderson defeated GOP-endorsed candidate Tom Gilmer in a tight race that led to a recount. On the evening of the primary election, Gilmer was arrested on charges of second-degree strangulation and first-degree unlawful restraint stemming from a 2017 assault on a former girlfriend.

s.spinella@theday.com