Left-wing US senator implicitly hits out at the pro-Israel group AIPAC at a rally for Rashida Tlaib and Andy Levin.
Pontiac, Michigan, US – More than two years after ending his second campaign for the Democratic nomination for president, Bernie Sanders can still get large crowds to cheer widely and mobilise for his message against income and wealth inequality.
In Pontiac, Michigan – a town north of Detroit – on Friday, Sanders had a new angle to discuss beyond his usual anger about the cost of healthcare and the growing gap between the poor and the ultra-rich.
As he campaigned for his progressive allies, Congress members Andy Levin and Rashida Tlaib, the senator raged against the influence of money in politics, implicitly hitting out against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group which has been spending millions of dollars to defeat progressives.
“This election is particularly important. It’s important because Andy, based on his work, deserves to be reelected; Rashida deserves to be reelected,” Sanders said. “But it’s equally important in saying that the people of Michigan have got to tell these billionaires in their corporate PACs [political action committees], they cannot buy our democracy.”
The rally in Pontiac, where Levin is running, came days before the Michigan Democratic primary on August 2, where pro-Israel groups – spearheaded by AIPAC – have been spending millions on campaign ads to get their favoured candidates elected.
Levin, a former labour organiser who hails from a renowned Jewish-American political family, has been a primary target of AIPAC this cycle.
“One group has spent $4.2m to try to defeat me because I stand for a simple proposition: The only way to have a secure peaceful homeland for the Jewish people – for my people – is to fully achieve the political and human rights of the Palestinian people. I Will. Not. Back. Down,” Levin told the crowd, stopping between the words to emphasise that he is undeterred by AIPAC’s attacks.
The pro-Israel lobby has made it a quest to defeat left-wing candidates in Democratic primaries this year through its super PAC, United Democracy Project — which uses donor funds to run ads against or in support of candidates without coordinating with their campaigns.
And so far, it has succeeded in several contests across the country.
AIPAC has not intervened directly against Tlaib, but another newly formed pro-Israel group has pledged to spend $1m to help defeat the Palestinian-American congresswoman. Still, with the advantage of incumbency, Tlaib is a favourite in the race that includes several opponents.
