Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a Democratic presidential candidate, said she won’t attend the upcoming AIPAC policy conference after an IfNotNow activist said the group is allied with white nationalists
During a Feb. 6 town hall, IfNotNow member Sarah O’Connor told Warren she’s “terrified by the unholy alliance that AIPAC is forming with Islamophobes and anti-Semites and white nationalists, and no Democrat should legitimize that kind of bigotry by attending their annual policy conference.”
O’Connor added that she was thankful that Warren didn’t attend the 2019 AIPAC conference and asked if Warren would commit to skipping AIPAC’s conference on March 1-3 in Washington, D.C. AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is a bipartisan pro-Israel lobby group.
“Yes,” Warren responded, prompting laughs and clapping from the audience.
O’Connor then asked Warren what she would say to other Democratic presidential candidates who are considering attending the conference. Warren’s reply focused on United States policy toward the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“For America to be a good ally to Israel and of the Palestinians, we need to encourage both parties to come to the negotiating table and we’re not doing that if we keep standing with one party and saying, ‘We’re on your side. We’re going to give you all the things you ask for, for all kinds of political reasons domestically here and domestically in Israel,’ ” Warren said.
IfNotNow tweeted that O’Connor’s question to Warren is part of its #SkipAIPAC campaign urging the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to skip the conference.
NEW: Progressive coalition of IfNotNow, @MoveOn, @IndivisibleTeam, & @WorkingFamilies announces #SkipAIPAC Campaign to pressure 2020 Democratic candidates to not attend @AIPAC’s conference.
Our first move: asking @ewarren to #SkipAIPAC. She gave a firm commitment to join us! pic.twitter.com/xQ8HOB3HF4
— IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) February 7, 2020
The American Jewish Committee tweeted to Warren, “@aipac is a pro-Israel voice that agrees with you (and us) about the need for a two-state solution negotiated by both sides. We hope you find an opportunity to clarify that you do not agree with the questioner’s baseless and offensive characterization of the [organization].”
.@ewarren, @aipac is a pro-Israel voice that agrees with you (and us) about the need for a two-state solution negotiated by both sides. We hope you find an opportunity to clarify that you do not agree with the questioner’s baseless and offensive characterization of the org. https://t.co/GEdCvKUaxp
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) February 7, 2020
Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the Journal in a phone interview that the fact that Warren didn’t push back against O’Connor’s “unholy alliance” remarks about AIPAC is “an insult to every Jew in America, and this is music to the ears of people who hate Israel and hate Jews.”
Cooper urged progressive Jews to spearhead pushback against Warren on this, and encouraged Warren to put forward a statement clarifying that she doesn’t believe in O’Connor’s characterization of AIPAC.
“If she allows this to stand, this is a stain on Elizabeth Warren that won’t wash off in four years,” Cooper said.
George Mason University Scalia Law School Professor David Bernstein tweeted, “AIPAC has around 100K Jewish members and its agenda has the general support of the broad, mainstream Jewish community. Which Warren has just libeled.”
https://twitter.com/ProfDBernstein/status/1225771897603993600
AIPAC declined to comment on the matter. Warren’s campaign did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
