Rep. Dan Goldman and challenger Brad Lander sparred over Israel during a WNYC forum. Both said they would have voted against a boycott of Israeli products passed by the Park Slope Food Coop, but they gave different explanations. Goldman linked the boycott debate to antisemitic tropes, citing a coop member’s remark about “Jewish supremacy” and warning that such language distracts from opposing the Israeli government. Lander said the boycott vote was not antisemitic, while arguing that many members oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank and feel complicit through U.S. military aid. Both candidates presented themselves as progressive Zionists supporting a two-state solution.
"Both Goldman and Lander said they would have voted against a boycott of Israeli products that was passed by the Park Slope Food Coop on Tuesday. But they cited different reasons for opposing a boycott, with Goldman describing antisemitism among advocates for the boycott and Lander rejecting that characterization."
"Goldman referenced a coop member who lamented “Jewish supremacy” during a recent coop meeting. “When you start hearing in the debate about this kind of thing, the concept of 'Jewish supremacism,' which is an old, antisemitic trope used by David Duke and the Klan, then we are getting away from whatever the objective is to oppose the Israeli government,” he said."
"Lander said the vote for a boycott was not antisemitic, even though he did not support it. “Most members abhor what Israel is doing in Gaza and the West Bank, and as U.S. taxpayers, they feel complicit in genocide because Dan Goldman keeps voting to send billions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Israel,” he said."
"Meanwhile, Goldman said during the forum that they were not all that different. “We are both progressive Zionists who believe in Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and we both support a two-state solution to bring peace to the region,” he said."
#israel-palestine #democratic-primary #antisemitism #boycott-of-israeli-products #two-state-solution
Read at Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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