NEW YORK (JTA) — An ad from the Republican Jewish Coalition accuses the Democratic Party of being “stridently anti-Israel,” featuring a string of attendees at last week’s Democratic convention criticizing Israel.
Released Friday and titled “This Isn’t the Old Democrat Party Anymore,” the ad claims that “anti-Israel Democrats are on full display at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia.” The video then goes on to quote Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson comparing the Israeli West Bank settlement movement to termites during an event held at the convention.
The ad shows a clip of protesters burning an Israeli flag outside the convention. It then shows video of two attendees criticizing Israel: One calls Israel an “apartheid state,” and the other says “America is acting as a terrorist” and is “giving way too much money to Israel.”
At the Democratic National Convention, debate over Israel was present but peripheral. Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton pledged to safeguard Israel’s security in her acceptance speech, and her campaign condemned the Israeli flag-burning.
The ad is part of an RJC campaign begun in June that highlights prominent Democrats’ perceived anti-Israel statements. The ads all end with the tagline, “Sadly, this isn’t the old Democratic Party. It’s today’s Democratic Party.”
In a statement responding to the ad, the National Jewish Democratic Council accused the RJC of trying to divert attention from their party’s candidate, Donald Trump.
“We understand why they don’t want to be defending their racist, sexist and bigoted candidate who peddles in anti-Semitic tropes, but notice how they don’t even mention Hillary Clinton’s actual record,” the NJDC said in a statement.
“As they oppose the only consistently pro-Israel nominee in this race, this is going to be a tough year for RJC – all while more and more of their people stand with Israel and strengthening the US-Israel relationship by abandoning Trump.”
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