A Democratic candidate for the California State Assembly claimed Israel commits genocide against the Palestinians and declared that she “enjoy[s] listening to Farakhan’s sermons.”
By: World Israel News Staff
Maria Estrada, who is running for a seat in the California State Assembly to represent a suburban Los Angeles district, recently qualified for the November election, despite a string of social media posts spurring accusations of anti-Semitism.
Among Estrada’s controversial posts is one from last year reported by JTA in which the aspiring assemblywoman stated, “Democrats turn a blind eye to the genocide against Palestinians and justify it by bringing up the Holocaust. As if what happened 70 years ago justifies it. Anyone who believes they are one of ‘God’s chosen people’ automatically feels superior and justified in all they do. Religious fanaticism is used to justify apartheid and crimes against Palestinians and no one should be okay with it. #FreePalestine.”
Estrada returned to accusing Israel of genocide this week, posting on Facebook, “The argument from Zionists is that the number of Palestinians has grown. Apparently they aren’t killing enough Palestinians for them to consider it a genocide.”
Estrada was also taken to task in Los Angeles’ Jewish Journal for tweeting, “I, for one, enjoy listening to Farrakhan’s sermons.”
The individual to which Estrada referred is Nation of Islam hate preacher Louis Farrakhan who has made anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and unrepentant Jew-hatred the centerpieces of his public speeches for decades.
Estrada represents the latest Democratic candidate to land in hot water for supporting anti-Israel positions that their critics argue stray into anti-Semitic territory.
In Minnesota, a Muslim Democratic candidate named Ilhan Omar, who currently serves as a Minnesota state representative, accused Israel of “apartheid,” “hypnotiz[ing] the world,” and committing “evil doings” in Gaza.
In New York, a Democratic Congressional candidate named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently defeated an incumbent to claim her spot on the ticket in November, accused Israel of a “massacre” in Gaza in reference to the deaths of Palestinians in the violent Hamas-led “March of Return” riots. By Hamas’ own admission, the majority of those killed in the riots were members or affiliated with the terror group.