MCAULIFFE ‘HONORED’ BY ENDORSEMENT FROM ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP
MCAULIFFE ‘HONORED’ BY ENDORSEMENT FROM ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP
In June, just days after Hamas rockets stopped raining down on Israel due to a ceasefire, Two-Faced Terry McAuliffe tweeted an endorsement from the United States’ largest Muslim-American political action committee, Emgage Action.
The cornerstone of Emgage’s policy platform is its support for “BDS” or “the right to boycott, divest, and sanction” in an attempt to isolate and weaken Israel.
McAuliffe was “honored” and “tremendously grateful” for Emgage’s endorsement.
But this seems to be at odds with a 2017 Governors United Against BDS pledge that Terry McAuliffe signed, stating, “The goals of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement are antithetical to our values and the values of our respective states.”
Two-Faced Terry McAuliffe will flip, flop, and lie about anything to get elected.
Who is going to hold him accountable?
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe welcomed an endorsement from an activist group that staunchly defends the anti-Israel boycott movement, calling into question his past opposition to the campaign.
In a June tweet, McAuliffe said he was “tremendously grateful” to have “the support and endorsement” of Emgage Action, a Muslim-American advocacy group that has described Israel as an “apartheid” state and routinely lobbies in favor of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS).
The endorsement could signal a flip-flop on Israel policy for McAuliffe. In 2017, the Democrat joined a “Governors United Against BDS” initiative, which condemned the boycott movement as “incompatible with the values of our states and our country.” The Virginia General Assembly also passed a resolution condemning BDS during McAuliffe’s tenure, and the Democrat in 2016 joined the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board on a trade mission to Tel Aviv in an attempt to attract Israeli companies to the state.
Neither McAuliffe nor Emgage responded to requests for comment on whether the Democrat made concessions regarding Israel and BDS to land the group’s endorsement.
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Zionist Organization of America president Mort Klein called McAuliffe’s “embrace” of Emgage “intolerable.”
“At a time of a frightening increase in anti-Semitism and attacks on Jews, to accept the endorsement of and praise a group that promotes hatred and boycotts against the Jewish state is to legitimize hatred against [Israel],” Klein said. “Every Jewish leader must condemn McAuliffe for taking this stance.”
Emgage’s endorsement came days before McAuliffe won Virginia’s June primary and weeks after every other candidate in the race endorsed BDS during a debate the former governor did not attend. Given his history as a pro-Israel Democrat, the group’s decision to endorse McAuliffe over his slew of anti-Israel opponents suggests he may have changed his tune on the boycott movement.
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