Press Release
BIGOTS AT AIPAC ARE KEEPING DEMOCRATS AWAY, INCLUDING FAR-RIGHT PASTOR WHO SUGGESTED OBAMA IS MUSLIM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 28, 2020
CONTACT:
Yonah Lieberman, press@ifnotnowmovement.org
Democrats are increasingly fleeing the upcoming AIPAC conference as the right-wing lobby’s politics become even more extreme, a development that will be on display at their conference this year, when they will host a number of controversial bigots, including far-right pastor Myles Holmes, Nazi-sympathizer Sebastian Kurtz, and Bosnian genocide denier Aleksander Vucic. As the Republican Party and Benyamin Netanyahu have moved further and further toward the right over the past few years, Democrats have become much more comfortable with criticizing the Israeli government.
“AIPAC’s sole purpose has been to shield the Israeli government from any criticism or consequence -- at any cost,” said IfNotNow spokesperson, Morriah Kaplan. “That’s driven them to such extremes that they’re now honoring a far-right pastor who said President Obama was a Muslim. It is encouraging that the overwhelming majority of Democratic presidential candidates see through AIPAC’s lies and are willing to buck the status quo.”
On Wednesday, the number of Democratic presidential candidates that are choosing to skip the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual conference next week reached four, with Senator Amy Klobuchar and then former-Mayor Pete Buttigieg saying they do not have plans to attend. They join Elizabeth Warren, who gave the commitment when asked by an IfNotNow member at a town hall on February 6 and Bernie Sanders who sent a series of tweets announcing his decision on February 23.
Bernie Sanders gave the clearest reason for why he is skipping AIPAC. In his statement, he wrote, “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.”
AIPAC 2020 Wall of Shame:
Pastor Myles Holmes
Spreads conspiracies about the US becoming "sharia compliant" (source)
Spread racist and Islamophobic conspiracies about Obama's need to "prove he isn't a Muslim” (source)
Is opposed to abortion, same-sex marriage, and Islam, naming all those bigoted views alongside the need to support Israel (source)
Runs a homophobic, transphobic radio show called "Manhood Matters" (source)
Sebastian Kurtz, Chancellor of Austria
Formed his coalition government with the neo-Nazi Freedom Party (source), which was started by Anton Reinthaller, a former Nazi functionary and SS officer (source).
Has closed mosques and used anti-Muslim rhetoric, including, “Political Islam’s parallel societies and radicalizing tendencies have no place in our country.” (source)
“Austria's Young Chancellor Sebastian Kurz Is Bringing the Far-Right Into the Mainstream” (TIME Magazine)
Aleksander Vučić, President of Serbia
A genocide denier, most famously denying the 1999 Recak massacre (source)
Worked as Minister of Information for Slobodan Milosevic, the brutal dictator of Serbia
Vučić worked to stifle freedom of speech and implicated in the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija, a journalist (source)
Joel C. Rosenberg
Pushes radical, antisemitic Christian evangelical views in the public. (source)
“No, there will not be peace in the Middle East before the second coming of Christ.”
“In fact, more Muslims and more Jews and people from all backgrounds will be coming to faith in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace as we get closer to the second coming.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Denies the murder of Matthew Shephard was a hate crime; called characterization of it as such "a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing hate crimes bills." (source)
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY)
Held a fundraiser headlined by white nationalist Steve Bannon (source)
Held a campaign rally headlined by white nationalist Sebastian Gorka, who has ties to neo-Nazis (source)
“I think in many respects, Steve Bannon has been given a very bad rap.” (source)
Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, Senior Advisor to Ambassador David Friedman
Was in charge of dark money nonprofit that donated over $1 million to the controversial Israeli right-wing organization Im Tirtzu in 2015, while Im Tirtzu in the midst of a campaign to brand artists and human rights organizations as foreign agents. (source)
Was the officiant at Stephen Miller’s wedding (source), in the midst of a campaign by Jewish groups against Miller for his white supremacist views (source)
Chloé Valdary, Zioness Board Member
Christian philosemite with a history of antisemitic comments about diaspora Jews (source)
History of anti-Palestinian racism (source)
Chris Brose, Anduril Industries
Anduril Industries is one of the vendors for Trump's racist, unpopular border wall (source)
Benjamin Weinthal, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
History of Islamophobic comments, including, "Many Europeans seek to cleanse their guilt about the Holocaust. Bashing the Jewish state — and tolerating those who seek to obliterate Israel — creates a catharsis effect. The addition of Islamic-animated anti-Semitism by Muslims in Europe has created a pathologically violent climate for Jews." (source)
Janae Stracke, Heritage Action for America
Heritage Action for America is a right-wing group that opposes a women’s right to choose and the Equality Act; they have advocated for faith-based adoption agencies to be able to discriminate against Jews and Muslims (source)
David Friedman, US Ambassador to Israel
Holds radical religious views, including believing that Israel is “on the side of God” (source)
Called Jews who support peace in Israel/Palestine “Kapos”, the term used for Jews who collaborated with the Nazis (source)
Was in charge of an organization that raised millions of dollars for a radical West Bank settlement (source)
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
Promoted an antisemitic conspiracy theory about Jews buying elections to win reelection in 2018 (source). He never apologized for it, but was one of the first in GOP leadership to pounce on Ilhan Omar.
Vice President Mike Pence