Trump slams 'anti-Jewish' Democrats for skipping AIPAC, calls Russia probe a 'big hoax'
President Trump answers questions from reporters before departing the White House for Mar-a-Lago.
In an astonishing display of the left’s radicalism and growing anti-Israel sentiment, MoveOn – a prominent liberal organization – has issued a call for all 2020 Democratic presidential contenders to boycott the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual policy conference. Even more astonishing, the Democratic candidates are observing the boycott.
“Not appearing at AIPAC – at least at official events – are any 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, with some openly announcing they are skipping the event amid pressure from left-wing activists,” The Washington Post reported Thursday.
President Trump criticized the decision by the Democrats who want to run against him in 2020 when he spoke to reporters Friday morning as he departed the White House.
FAR-LEFT MOVEON.ORG ASKS 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO SKIP PRO-ISRAEL AIPAC CONFERENCE
“The Democrats have proven to be anti-Israel, and it’s a disgrace,” the president said. “Frankly, I think they are anti-Jewish.”
“You cannot be a progressive and support AIPAC,” MoveOn campaign director Iram Ali argued when he demanded that all 2020 Democratic presidential contenders fall in line and shun AIPAC, the nation’s most prominent voice for the U.S.-Israel alliance.
“The Democrats have proven to be anti-Israel, and it’s a disgrace,” the president said. “Frankly, I think they are anti-Jewish.”
An estimated 18,000 people are expected to attend the AIPAC conference in Washington next week. Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are scheduled to be among the speakers, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
AIPAC has long enjoyed bipartisan support and previously hosted prominent Democratic officials as speakers – including Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, and Sen. Kamala Harris of California. The boycott of the AIPAC conference this year by Democratic presidential contenders is little more than a pathetic effort to cater to an extreme left base hostile to Israel.
But the AIPAC boycott should not be viewed in isolation. It comes at a time when Democratic presidential contenders have been largely silent in the face of anti-Semitic comments from Democratic elected officials.
Indeed, it was little more than two weeks ago that House Democrats failed to rebuke Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for her blatantly anti-Semitic slur alleging that supporters of Israel have dual loyalties, along with her false claim that the only reason politicians support Israel is because they want big campaign contributions from Jews.
Omar has a long history of anti-Semitic tropes, dating back years before she became a member of Congress in January.
So egregious were Omar’s remarks that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., broke from Democratic ranks in demanding an apology and accurately describing Omar’s remarks as a “vile anti-Semitic slur.”
But despite public outrage, House Democrats simply could not muster enough votes to pass a simple resolution with the sole aim of condemning anti-Semitism, forgoing the plan after “a backlash from rank-and-file (Democratic) lawmakers,” as described by The New York Times.
Nor were there any efforts to remove Omar from the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee on which she sits. The committee has jurisdiction over aid to Israel.
The anti-Semitism problem of Democrats goes far beyond just one sitting congresswoman rattling off anti-Jewish remarks. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., likewise accused supporters of Israel of having dual loyalties shortly after taking office.
Tlaib’s comments follow a long line of horrendous activity, like writing for Louis Farrakhan’s publication, Final Call. Farrakhan, a notorious anti-Semite, has labeled Hitler “a very great man” and has called Jews “satanic” among a long litany of other anti-Semitic remarks. But those vile comments did not deter Tlaib from writing for Farrakhan’s publication.
Moreover, one of Tlaib’s top fundraisers, Maher Abdel-qader, runs a Facebook page where he shared a video that called Jews “satanic” and questioned the scale of the Holocaust.
Tlaib herself was a member of this Facebook page and also followed an Instagram account littered with anti-Semitism before she “quietly and without official comment unfollowed” the page, according to the Daily Wire.
Shameful.
But while the Democrats continue to cave to their left flank, President Trump has been an unmistakable voice for Israel and the Jewish people.
The president has: moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; demanded that Israel be respected at the United Nations; torn up the Iran deal that threatened Israel; and announced Thursday that the United States will fully recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. With these actions, President Trump has clearly demonstrated his commitment to the Jewish people and Israel.
And President Trump will host Netanyahu at the White House next week for a meeting and a dinner, a sure sign of friendship and respect for the leader of the Jewish state and its citizens.
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By contrast, the boycott of AIPAC by 2020 presidential contenders, the anti-Semitic remarks of Democratic elected officials, and the complete failure of Democratic leadership to condemn them tell you all that you need to know about the state of the Democratic Party.
Democrats have left Israel behind; they have left Jewish Americans behind. Radicalism and hostility to Israel have overtaken a party obsessed with taking back power at the expense of all that is right and just.