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In Bid for Congress, De Blasio Says He No Longer Supports AIPAC

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Former NY Mayor says Pro-Israel lobby group has “changed,” he would not seek or accept their endorsement in run for Congress.

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is currently in the midst of a Congressional campaign in the city’s newly redrawn District 10. According to a recent JTA report, the former mayor has said he does not support AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group.

During a dialogue pertaining to campaign spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in a  virtual candidate forum last Wednesday, De Blasio was directly questioned about his previous support of the influential organization, as was reported by JTA.

“No, I don’t,” de Blasio said. JTA reported that DeBlasio admitted that he had in the past engaged with AIPAC but claimed that the organization has “changed” in a way that he deems “unacceptable.”

“I am not seeking their endorsement and would not accept it even if it were offered,” DeBlasio said.

Offering an illustration of why he has severed any connection with AIPAC, JTA reported that the former New York City mayor made a specific mention of Nina Turner, a staunch Bernie Sanders acolyte. The report indicated that Turner is a progressive candidate who sought a seat in the House of Representatives. DeBlasio claims that Turner lost a primary election in Cleveland after AIPAC’s affiliated PAC and other pro-Israel political action committees contributed heavily to her opponent’s campaign, according to the JTA report. Turner had expressed solidarity with a Jewish group that accuses Israel of “apartheid” in its treatment of the Palestinian Arabs.

Of Turner and her defeat, DeBlasio said, “She’s an incredibly important progressive leader. I thought the attack on her was not only horribly unjustified, it deprived our nation of someone who could have been a huge difference maker in terms of our progressive movement,” according to the JTA report.

Nina Turner’s name has been repeatedly mentioned by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and during the 2020 presidential primaries, Sanders lavished praises on her and touted her accomplishments for the radical left wing political agenda.

Adding that he believes in a two-state solution in the Middle East, DeBlasio said that this hot button issue “needs to be put back on the agenda.”

“It’s the only path forward to peace in the region for both Israeli and Palestinian people to have their own states,” he said, according to the JTA report.  “I would fight for that, and I would certainly fight against any organization that attacks my fellow progressives.”

Despite its name, AIPAC did not directly raise money for candidates until launching its own affiliated PAC in 2020. Liberals criticized the AIPAC PAC in March when its list of congressional endorsees included Republicans who voted against certifying Joe Biden as president, as was reported by JTA.

De Blasio spoke at one of AIPAC’s annual policy conferences as recently as 2019.

Emphasizing that he has “a tremendous sense of personal loyalty to the State of Israel and to the Jewish community,” DeBlasio said during an interview with Jewish Insider that while he considers Nina Turner to be a friend of his, that  “doesn’t mean I agree with every statement that she’s made.”

De Blasio seems to be walking a thin line on Israel in a race in which he hopes to gain both the progressive vote and endorsements from haredi Orthodox leaders in a district that now includes Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. He met with the latter last week and apologized for a tweet he wrote as mayor in 2020, criticizing the Jewish community for flouting COVID-19 restrictions, as was reported by JTA.

“It was a mistake and I shouldn’t have done it,” de Blasio said in the video, according to the JTA report. “It was a moment of passion and pain over what was happening in the city.”

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