New York Democratic Candidate Says Israel ‘Is Not A Jewish Democracy’ In Debate
Antonio Delgado
Democratic congressional candidate Antonio Delgado stunned the crowd when he said during a debate Monday in New York’s Hudson Valley that Israel “is not a Jewish democracy” because of its settlements, the New York Post reported.
“As currently constructed, you know, Israel is not a Jewish democracy. Those settlements make it so that it can’t be. So, we’ve got to have a two-state solution,” Delgado said.
Delgado’s opponent, Republican incumbent Rep. John Faso, sounded surprised, according to the Post.
“Israel is not a democracy? Israel is a strong democracy,” he answered back during the debate in Albany. “It is a vibrant democracy. It has a vibrant free enterprise system. It has a vibrant agricultural system, culture. Israel is a democracy.”
Delgado said he stood by his statement in a rebuttal.
“I said it is not a Jewish democracy,” he said. “Meaning that given the fact that we have settlements currently in the region, it is not deemed a nation of Jewish democracy until we deal with the settlements. Until we deal with the settlements we will have that issue.”
Delgado tried to clarify his remarks in a statement to Jewish Insider: “As I made clear in the debate and in my statements throughout this campaign, I have a deep personal and family connection to the state of Israel. As a member of Congress, I will do everything in my power to ensure it’s security is safeguarded, which is also profoundly in America’s national interest. I am committed to a two-state solution—a Jewish state of Israel and a sovereign Palestinian State—because it is the only way for Israel to fulfill its own aspirations to remain a Jewish democracy for future generations.”
The race between Delgado and Faso is close — the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Faso is in the lead by 1 percentage point.
“He clearly misspoke, he just screwed up. The Republicans will jump on this,” a Democratic insider told the Post.
Zionist Organization of America president Mort Klein told the Post that Delgado was “absurdly wrong. Everyone in Israel, including Arabs and Christians,have a right to vote and fully participate in Israeli society including being members of the Knesset.”
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
