This news was already yesterday’s fish and chip paper, but I could not resist dealing with it, given Booker’s bone-headed attempt to explain away his actions.
Sen. Cory Booker, seen as a likely contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, appears in a photo appearing to endorse a slogan of the pro-Palestinian movement.
A Booker spokesman told JTA the senator had no idea the sign had anything to do with Israel.
Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who is known for his closeness to the Jewish community, is seen posing while holding a sign reading “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go” and depicting a crumbling brick wall. The slogan was coined by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which posted the photo Friday on Twitter.
The sign likens President Trump’s Mexican wall proposal to Israel’s security barrier.
A spokesman for Booker, Jeff Giertz, said Booker believed the sign referred only to Mexico.
“Just before delivering a speech in New Orleans, Senator Booker was approached by dozens of people for photos,” Giertz told JTA in an email.
“In one instance, amid the rush, he was posing for a photo and was passed a sign to hold – he didn’t have time to read the sign, and from his cursory glance he thought it was talking about Mexico and didn’t realize it had anything to do with Israel,” Giertz said. “He hopes for a day when there will be no need for security barriers in the State of Israel, but while active terrorist organizations threaten the safety of the people living in Israel, security barriers are unfortunate but necessary to protect human lives.”
The Twitter post said the photo, in which Booker poses with three other people, was taken at the Netroots Nation conference taking place this week in New Orleans. Booker is shown posing with Leah Muskin-Pierret, the government affairs associate of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, a group that endorses the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. She is shown wearing a shirt with a pro-Palestinian slogan.
Let’s break it down for a minute: Booker is approached by a group for a photo and asked to hold up a sign for a photo. He quickly glances at it and decides it is about Mexico and has nothing to do with “Palestine” even though:
- The word “Palestine” appears at the very top, so is actually easier to notice than the word “Mexico”
- The word “Palestine” appears right above the word “Mexico,” so it would be almost impossible to notice the latter without the former
- One of the people in the group giving him the sign is wearing a t-shirt with the words “Palestine is a feminist/queer/refugee/racial justice issue”
Even if what he is claiming is true (which I highly doubt), why would he agree to hold up a sign he does not understand? Is this really someone exhibiting responsible behavior, especially for a potential 2020 Presidential candidate?
Not only that, but the Bobblehead Rabbi Shmuley Boteach actually said in this video something with which I agree (you will just need to get past the constant mentions of how well he knows Cory Booker because, Bobblehead Rabbi) – Booker needs to now condemn the BDS because he sees how deceptive their activists are, given they supposedly hoodwinked and took advantage of him.
Let’s also not forget some of Booker’s recent misdeeds, which include:
- Supporting the nuclear deal with Iran
- Voting against the Taylor Force Act in committee
- Refusing to back the Israel Anti-Boycott Act
- Condemning President Donald Trump’s proclamation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel
- Trying to humiliate Ambassador David Friedman in his Senate hearings
What seems to be happening here is Booker gearing up for the 2020 Presidential race. And the sad fact remains he sees holding up a sign criticizing Israel as an expedient way towards becoming the Democratic candidate, undoing the “damage” of his past, staunchly pro-Israel ways.
