By Bruce S. Ticker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The expanding war against Jews was fought on so many fronts in the past week that I could not keep up: Two Jewish men were stabbed in north London; swastikas were etched on walls as part of a vandalism spree in Queens, New York; a Holocaust denier was proposed to join New Hampshire’s Holocaust commission; a student senate voted to eliminate funding for the New School’s Hillel, also in New York; and pro-Arab members of a Brooklyn food co-op called out so-called Jewish supremacy.
I’m sure I missed a few.
What worries me most touched an adjacent congressional district in Philadelphia and the Senate election in my favorite state, Maine. Two so-called friends of the Palestinians are making both Democratic primaries disgusting – state Rep. Chris Rabb in Philly and Graham Platner in Maine. Rabb and his opponents even squabbled over the Bondi Beach massacre, nearly 10,000 miles away.
In political circles, Philadelphia has been spared much of the ugliness of the Middle East debate both before and after Hamas’ pillage of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which was followed by Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza. The Democratic Socialists of America tried to recruit pro-Arab sympathizers in emails when it intervened on behalf of tenants facing skyrocketing rents. The right-leaning Zionist Organization of America could not get an audience with Mayor Cherelle Parker to review its proposals to fight antisemitism.
The Middle East as it applies to Philly rates minimal attention in local media. However, The Philadelphia Inquirer published front-page stories over the weekend about Rabb’s involvement with the issue. He is seeking the Democratic nomination on May 19 to replace departing U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers most of the city’s western side.
When two gunmen murdered 15 people during a Hannukah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach last December, a video was reposted on Rabb’s Instagram account reading, “We all know the (gunmen) were likely Zionists themselves. “The news is calling this (an) antisemitic attack, no mention of the Muslim hero.”
The “Muslim hero” was a reference to Ahmed Al Ahmad, a Syrian-born man who disarmed one of the gunmen.
A spokesperson for Rabb’s campaign blamed the repost on a former staffer that Rabb had “no knowledge” of, and that Rabb “has never and would never say anything like this abhorrent comment.” The campaign said in a statement, “The attack was a terrible tragedy targeting Jewish people based on their faith. Rep. Rabb has and does condemn antisemitism in the strongest terms.”
We should appreciate his explanation, but Rabb needs to identify the former staffer. Future candidates will be able to root out the person’s background so they will not contend with a similar situation. How about it, Rabb?
He has demanded that his opponents use the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s attacks on Gaza. During a debate last week, he said, “If you can’t name the beast, you can’t kill it, and that’s injustice.”
Rabb already has it wrong. “Genocide” is a technical term which means one country is intentionally attempting to destroy a particular ethnic group. Israel’s intention has not been determined. We must wonder what “beast” he seeks to kill. To kill more Jews beyond the 1,200 “beasts” who were already killed on Oct. 7?
There are certainly legitimate concerns about Israel’s attacks that have killed thousands of Gazans. Why did Israel go so far?
Rabb and his backers also condemned primary rival Dr. Ala Stanford for receiving campaign donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The Inquirer reports that AIPAC has not directly contributed to her campaign. The Washington-based 314 Action Fund has donated to Stanford’s campaign, but they said it has not taken “a dime” from AIPAC or its affiliates during this election period, though it did receive funds from an AIPAC-related group two years ago.
Another adversary, state Sen. Sharif Street, has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he supports Israel’s right to exist as part of relatively moderate views. Neither Street nor Stanford call Israel’s actions “genocide.”
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner spits out the “genocide” word like a German machine gun in his frequent travels throughout Maine, according to The Algemeiner publication. Algemeiner reports that he pledges to vote against further military aid to Israel and recently accused Israel of “exterminating” Gazans. He refused to clarify whether Israel should remain a Jewish state.
To highlight his one-sided approach, he hardly breathes a word of Hamas’ savagery against Israelis.
Platner lucked out last week when his main competition, Gov. Janet Mills, withdrew from the race. He still faces opposition in the primary.
If he is nominated, he will be pitted against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who was a staunch supporter of Israel since she was first elected 30 years ago.
Center-left Jews like myself would normally hope that Collins is denied a sixth term because it would help Democrats return to the majority. They need to flip four seats. Many of us want a political party in power that will take domestic issues seriously.
However, Platner cannot accomplish much for our most vulnerable Americans. He will be so divisive that people will not care what he wants to do after he bashes Israel. That is what happened with anti-Israel members of the House of Representatives.
It is sad to witness such an awful situation in a state where I vacationed a half-dozen times. Platner’s campaign is as ugly as Maine’s scenery is spectacular.
I would not be going out on a limb to predict the Philly and Maine races. I believe Rabb will lose because his Street and Stanford are stronger candidates, but Platner will oust Collins in a head-to-head contest because of anger toward Republicans. Who knows? It would be great if some candidate ran an independent campaign in the general election.
If we have a one-on-one race between Collins and Platner, I’ll donate to Collins’ reelection. Perhaps Democrats will flip four seats elsewhere to compensate, which is entirely possible. Even so, I would rather retain the Republican majority in the Senate than elect a candidate who means no good for the Jewish people.
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Bruce S. Ticker is a Philadelphia-based columnist