Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who is widely seen as a potential 2020 presidential candidate, took a picture with an anti-Israel organization’s sign. He later claimed he didn’t read the sign.
Booker took the picture at the yearly progressive Netroots Nation conference and held a sign that read, “From Palestine to Mexico, All the Walls Have Got to Go”:
Excited to be here at Netroots Nation talking with progressives like Sen. Cory Booker about our shared commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for all people. #NN18 pic.twitter.com/ljswLmv32w
— #DefendMasaferYatta USCPR (@USCPR_) August 3, 2018
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights invented the aforementioned pro-Palestinian slogan; standing next to Booker on his left is Leah Muskin-Pirret, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights’ government associate.
Jeff Giertz, a spokesperson for Booker, told Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) that Booker didn’t know the sign was anti-Israel in nature.
“He didn’t have time to read the sign, and from his cursory glance he thought it was talking about Mexico and didn’t realize it had anything to do with Israel,” Giertz said. “He hopes for a day when there will be no need for security barriers in the State of Israel, but while active terrorist organizations threaten the safety of the people living in Israel, security barriers are unfortunate but necessary to protect human lives.”
Booker has previously spoken at pro-Israel groups, however his support for the Iran nuclear deal and his vote against the Taylor Force Act in 2017 have put him at odds with some in the pro-Israel community.
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, according to a Tablet exposé, is the “American umbrella group of the BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement” and has funneled its money toward Islamic terror groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights has also celebrated convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh:
.@CoryBooker @SenBooker it's not funny when you hang out with a group dedicated to Israel's destruction and carry a sign that is part of the "intersectional" attempt to delegitimize Israel pic.twitter.com/9dv7pU9tlv
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) August 3, 2018
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