US Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called him a racist just days before the Israeli general election.
In a campaign speech at the University of Iowa, the former Texas congressman said:
“The US-Israel relationship is one of the most important relationships that we have on the planet.”
Beto O'Rourke: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "racist" and doesn't represent the "true will of the Israeli people" https://t.co/8DRNP4Abxk pic.twitter.com/SOgSLjmzPt
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 8, 2019
He added:
“And that relationship, if it is to be successful, must transcend partisanship in the United States, and it must be able to transcend a prime minister who is racist, as he warns about Arabs coming to the polls. Who wants to defy any prospects for peace, as he threatens to annex the West Bank and who has sided with a far-right racist party in order to maintain his hold on power.”
In 2014, O’Rourke was one of eight representatives to vote against funding Israel’s Iron Dome missile system, saying:
“I think our unequivocal support at times has been damaging to Israel.”
Benjamin Netanyahu is racist, says Democratic hopeful Beto O’Rourke https://t.co/xiPQkCBqy5
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 8, 2019
His opponent and former Republican presidential primaries candidate referred to him as “rabidly anti-Israel” for his connections to J Street, an advocacy group which refers to itself as “the political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans.”
This comes as Netanyahu vowed to annex illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and prevent the existence of a Palestinian state by controlling the entire area, in a last-minute push to retain his throne as prime minister.
Beto: “The U.S.-Israel relationship… must be able to transcend a Prime Minister who is racist… I don’t think that Benjamin Netanyahu represents the true will of the Israeli people or the best interest of the U.S.-Israel relationship.” pic.twitter.com/jFQ9lpD0TN h/t @AlonPinkas
— They call me Mr. Kornbluh ✍️ (@jacobkornbluh) April 7, 2019
Netanyahu also went on to say that killing 300 Palestinian protestors was “wise”, adding that he wanted to occupy Gaza and that division between the besieged enclave and the occupied West Bank was not something that’s bad for Israel.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
