Republican congressional hopeful Mazi Pilip called on his Democratic opponent Tom Suozzi to denounce the fundraiser and boycott the upcoming event on Friday after the man shared an anti-Israel video on social media days after the October 7 Hamas terror attack on the Jewish state. that.
Footage posted to Facebook Oct 16. by Ahnaf Alam, which raised money for Suozzi, features a spokesperson for a fringe Orthodox Jewish group, Neturei Karta, who rejects the existence of Israel and supports “peaceful dissolution.”
The video was originally shared Oct. 13 by Canadian Muslim news outlet “Let the Quran Speak” and shows Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss saying “the establishment of the state of Israel before the coming of the Messiah is sinful and an act of rebellion against God.”
Philip, an Israel Defense Forces veteran, blasted Alam for uploading the video and called on Suozzi to reject it.
“There is no place in Congress for an unrepentant antisemite,” he said.
Mazi Philip made the call during a campaign stop at the Glen Cove train station on Friday. Dennis A. Clark
Alam, who is listed as the executive director of the New American Democratic Club on his Facebook page, is one of 12 hosts listed for Suozzi’s Feb. 3 fundraiser in Jamaica, Queens, with donations starting at $250 and exceeding $1,500.
“Join us in supporting Tom Suazzi [sic] for NY congressional district-3,” Alam wrote on his page Tuesday in promoting the event.
The controversial post was shared on October 16 on Facebook. X/Ahnaf Alam
“It’s time for Tom Suozzi to boycott his fundraiser and join me in reprimanding this hateful member of his campaign team and donating any proceeds from the event to non-profit organizations that support Israel,” Philip said Friday.
“I have vivid memories of living in fear of antisemitism as a child,” he said, “and the kind of hateful themes shared on social media by official members of his fundraising team hurt all Jews and anyone who cares about Israel.”
The Suozzi camp quickly responded, saying Alam was not a campaign staffer and charged that Philip’s accusations were merely an attempt to distract from his campaign “where he refuses to present himself to the press or the public.”
Ahnaf Alam is one of the hosts of next weekend’s fundraiser for Suozzi.
The former lawmaker’s team also said Philip’s attack was “cheap and demeaning to our common cause of fighting anti-Semitism. [sic] and support Israel.”
“I condemn all anti-Semitism [sic]. I am clearly pro-Israel. My voting record reflects both,” Suozzi said, though he did not say whether he would skip the fundraiser, which coincides with the start of early voting in the Feb. 13 special election to replace Rep. George Santos who was fired.
“I don’t know the comments my opponent is referring to, but if I do find them anti-Semitic [sic]I will condemn them as I have throughout my public life,” the Democrat added.
Suozzi called Philip’s actions an attempt to distract from his campaign. James Keivom
Alam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Friday’s brawl came a day after the candidates held dueling press conferences, trying to use New York City’s escalating immigration crisis to rally support for their campaigns.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
