Villaraigosa defends his support of Israel

At a rally outside the Israeli Consulate earlier this week, Villaraigosa said Israel had the "right and responsibility to defend itself" from the rocket attacks being launched from the Gaza Strip.

Muslim organizations argued that the mayor should have spoken just as strongly on behalf of innocent Palestinians killed and wounded by the Israeli attacks.

The uproar, while expected to be short-lived, again revealed how events elsewhere in the world can cause political tremors in a city as diverse as Los Angeles, home to some of the nation's largest Jewish and Arab populations.

But Villaraigosa's strong and vocal support for Israel, a country he has visited three times, including a trip last summer, has helped solidify his support among the Jewish voters who helped elect him mayor in 2005.

At the same time, Jewish interest groups have been careful to cultivate ties to Latino politicians as their political influence and the number of new Latino voters grows. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca this week said he would soon travel to the Middle East to observe the situation.

"It's occurring on a variety of political plateaus," said Steven Windmueller, professor of Jewish Communal Studies at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. "And the expectation exists the candidates that they support . . . will embrace the causes they believe in."

Villaraigosa spent part of his childhood in Boyle Heights, which was once predominantly Jewish, and he often visits synagogues on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley. The mayor also has been a fixture at some of the city's biggest Jewish events and pro-Israel rallies.

Local Muslim leaders worry that those strong ties, and his travels to Israel, have clouded Villaraigosa's perspective on the latest conflict and the plight of the Palestinians. They urged him to be just as active in the Muslim community.

"There's no objection to the mayor having his personal views, but as the mayor of one of the most diverse cities in the nation, he has the responsibility to engage in activities that bring all Angelenos together," said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of California based in Anaheim. "His role is not to be a cheerleader for one side . . . He ought to be on the side of justice and peace."