Presidential candidate defends campaign co-chairman who calls Israel ‘apartheid state’

“I’m not going to toss someone to the wolves and cancel them,” the presidential candidate said.

By JNS

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is defending the co-chair of his campaign in New Hampshire, who posted that “Israel is an apartheid state.”

“This is such a dumb game the media and shallow career politicians play,” Ramaswamy, a technology entrepreneur, wrote. “Guess what? I have volunteers on my campaign whom I don’t agree with on everything. Bruce Fenton is right on fed policy, bitcoin, individual liberty and dismantling the administrative state. Turns out he’s dead wrong on calling Israel an ‘apartheid state.’

“It’s a wildly wrong thing to say about the only pluralistic, thriving democracy in the Middle East. But you know what? He’s entitled to that view,” Ramaswamy wrote.

The candidate added that he doesn’t seek Fenton’s advice on Israel, but instead turns to “people like my longtime friend Rabbi Shmully Hecht to policy experts ranging from [Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman] Simcha Rothman to Major General [and former Israeli National Security Adivser] Yaakov Amidror to countless others.”

“The guilt-by-association games that hired-gun operatives like to play are boring and old,” Ramaswamy added. “They don’t work anymore. I’m not going to toss someone to the wolves and cancel them. That’s not how my campaign works, because it’s not how real life works and it’s not how our country works.”

On July 27, Fenton wrote on X (formerly Twitter), where he has 110,000 followers, “Yes this bothers people, I’m sorry but it is true.

“For years Palestinians have faced abuse, been removed from their own family homes and have had movement restricted as Israel has expanded its authoritarian hold,” he wrote. “This would not be possible without the backing of big brother America, who sadly is made up of people who are not just uninformed but misinformed about the nature of the conflict.”

When a journalist noted the post, Fenton doubled down on Sept. 12 and wrote, “Of course it’s an apartheid state—how is it not?” Fenton has since deleted that tweet, but some have posted screenshots.

2024 Presidential electionAntisemitismapartheidvivek ramaswamy