Bernie Sanders would be first front runner to skip AIPAC conference
Which candidate can we expect Jewish voters to back in 2020? Republican Jewish Coalition executive director Matthew Brooks speaks out.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the first 2020 Democratic candidate to be scheduled to speak at this year's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference after the pro-Israel group faced vocal opposition from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
AIPAC confirmed Tuesday that he will attend the conference in March as one of several keynote speakers.
Other scheduled attendees this year include Vice President Mike Pence, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
On Sunday, Sanders sounded off against AIPAC in defense of "Palestinian rights."
"The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people. I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. For that reason I will not attend their conference," Sanders tweeted.
Earlier this month, Warren vowed to skip AIPAC while appearing to agree with a supporter at a campaign event that pro-Israel group is an "unholy alliance" of "Islamophobes, anti-Semites, and white nationalists."
It is unclear if former Vice President Joe Biden, who previously spoke at the AIPAC conference in 2016, as well as billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer, or Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, had planned on attending the event.
The Buttigieg campaign told Fox News that the former mayor would not be attending AIPAC due to a traveling conflict surrounding Super Tuesday. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., similarly confirmed to the Jewish News Syndicate that she would not be attending due to the upcoming primaries.
In 2016, both party's front-runners at the time, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, spoke at the conference.
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