Crockett announced in December that she would run for US Senate instead of being re-elected to her seat in the House of Representatives.
Heinz – from He campaigned on Medicare for All, repealing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and raising the minimum wage — were endorsed by Crockett (D-TX), who lost a hotly contested Senate primary to state Rep. James Tallarico (D-50) on Tuesday.
But where’s Crockett? I faced the heat From the democratic base on it Statements and votes To support Israel amid the genocide it is committing in Gaza and to be supported by pro-Israel supporters The big donorHaines’ credibility has been boosted by his willingness to denounce Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians when few other Democrats would do so.
On October 8, 2023, while Israel had just begun what would become a two-year campaign to destroy Gaza in response to Hamas’ killing of some 1,200 Israelis the day before, Heinz delivered a speech in which he questioned what was then a bipartisan consensus on unwavering military and diplomatic support for Israel.
“I realize we have to be pro-Israel…or we’re going to get in trouble,” he said, echoing the views of a small number of progressive members of Congress at the time. “Well, I’m coming to get in trouble.”
Quoting former President Jimmy Carter, he said: “Israel practices apartheid with the Palestinians.”
The Palestinians…do not have Israeli weapons, and the Palestinians do not have the financial support from the United States that Israel has. They throw stones at them and shoot arrows, and Israel can bomb and kill them. See in the news the disparity between killing Palestinians and killing Israelis. This is completely unfair. But this country will stand by apartheid because that is its track record.
It was a speech that would prove prescient, since the Israeli military campaign would lead to the deaths of some 73,000 Palestinians in the coming years, according to official statistics from the Gaza Ministry of Health. nearly 70% Among them are women and children, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Independent estimates indicate that the actual death toll is much higher.
During that period, neither former Democratic President Joe Biden nor current Republican President Donald Trump cut arms sales despite the massive collapse in popular support for Israel.
Hines began running for Congress just a few months ago. After testifying against Republican racial gerrymandering efforts in Texas in July, he waited until the federal filing deadline in December to announce his candidacy for Crockett’s seat.
I carried him He didn’t do that Focusing too much on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — rather than on issues closer to home like the rising cost of living, voting rights, and Trump’s use of ICE to attack immigrant and minority communities.
But the spread of his past comments and his campaign demanding that the Biden administration cut off weapons to Israel in 2024 has strengthened his image as a fighter for Palestinian rights, earning him the nickname. support From Justice Democrats and $72,000 supports From the American Priorities Political Action Committee, a newly formed group aimed at supporting progressive candidates and countering the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
His victory on Tuesday comes at a time when Palestinian rights have become considerably more prominent among Democratic voters and the public at large. Less than a week ago, a Gallup poll showed that for the first time, a larger percentage of Americans sympathized with the Palestinians than with the Israelis.
While support for Israel was also not top of mind in the Senate primary, both Tallarico and Crockett avoided joining the bulk of the party’s base in calling Israel’s US-backed attack on Gaza “genocide.” However, Tallarico Referred to He called the destruction of Gaza a “moral and spiritual emergency” and condemned Israel’s “war crimes.”
Hines’ district is considered one of the safest districts in Texas for Democrats, and it is thought to be The favorite to win the seat in November and head to Congress.
The AIPAC Tracker, which monitors donations politicians receive from the powerful group and the rest of the pro-Israel lobby, He said Heinz’s “big win” on Tuesday “proves that the era of AIPAC is over.”
“Candidates like him across the country are speaking the truth instead of running away in fear,” they said.
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