Dem House candidate edits Australia shooting condolence, omits mention of Jews

Brooks, a left-wing populist who served as a firefighter before opening up a lawn-care business, already has endorsements from the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.).

By Jon Levine, The Washington Free Beacon

A House of Representatives candidate in Pennsylvania posted a heartfelt message on X about the shooting at Brown University and the attack at a Hanukkah festival in Sydney, Australia, before deleting the post and replacing it with one that only mentioned Brown.

“2 killed in Providence,” Bob Brooks, a Democrat running for Pennsylvania’s Seventh Congressional District against Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie, posted at 9:32 a.m. on Sunday.

“11 killed in Sydney. Deeply tragic, and it didn’t have to happen. Sensible gun safety laws save lives. Holding the Brown University community and the Jewish community in Sydney in my thoughts today.”

Less than an hour later, though, Brooks had a change of heart. He deleted his initial message and posted a new one that made no mention of the massacre of Jews in Sydney.

“2 killed and 9 injured in Providence,” Brooks wrote at 10:11 a.m. “Deeply tragic — and it didn’t have to happen. Sensible gun safety laws save lives. Holding the Brown University community in my thoughts today.”

Brooks, a left-wing populist who served as a firefighter before opening up a lawn care business, already has endorsements from the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.).

He also has the backing of much of the Keystone State’s Democratic establishment, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, who issued his own statement about the Sydney massacre that left at least 16 dead and another 40 injured.

The deleted message appears to be the latest example of far-left Democrats minimizing anti-Semitism and support for terror.

Just last month, after activists protested outside a synagogue with chants of “Globalize the Intifada” and “Death to the IDF,” New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D.) spokeswoman issued a statement accusing the synagogue of “promot[ing] activities in violation of international law.”

The synagogue hosted a group that helps Jews move to Israel.

Like Mamdani, Brooks has received the support of J Street, a left-wing anti-Israel Jewish group whose leader, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said protesters who call for mass violence against the Jewish people “don’t intend” to offend Jews.

Ben-Ami said he became convinced Israel has committed a “genocide” in Gaza after a debate with disgraced former MSNBC personality Mehdi Hasan.

The Sydney massacre, in which two gunmen killed a 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor, and a rabbi, among others, is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Police killed one gunman, while another was wounded and is in critical condition.

The alleged shooters are believed to be father and son, authorities said.

While authorities identified the Brown shooter—who killed at least two students and injured nine others—as 24-year-old Wisconsinite Benjamin Erickson, the Washington Post reported, little further information is available as of Sunday evening.

Brooks’s campaign did not respond to a Washington Free Beacon request for comment.