Almost all of the eight Democratic candidates vying for the right to represent Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan neighborhoods in Congress strongly denounced the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement during a candidate forum in Brooklyn.
Their stances on BDS and Israel matters to many Jewish voters, who represent about 22% of the 10th District, which includes the Borough Park and Park Slope neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side and East Village in Manhattan. The primary is set for Aug. 23.
“I categorically denounce the BDS movement. It is anti-Zionist, it is antisemitic,” said candidate Dan Goldman, former lead counsel for the House Democrats in the first impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. “And let’s make something really clear: It’s not a First Amendment issue.”
Some Palestinian activists have argued that those opposed to BDS have tried to quash their right to speak on the issue.
