Pro-Israel committee looks to spend $1m to unseat Rashida Tlaib

Washington (QNN)- A newly created political action committee (PAC) is aiming to spend upwards of $1m to unseat US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in her upcoming Michigan primary.

On Friday, the Urban Empowerment Action PAC announced that it was looking to spend the amount in support of Tlaib’s primary opponent, Janice Winfrey, ahead of the 2 August Democratic primary.

The UAE PAC’s claimed in a statement given to Politico it wants to support a candidate “that doesn’t have varying distractions”.

“UEA PAC’s premier race will be in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, where the group plans to spend upwards of $1 million on TV, digital, mail, radio, and print advertising to support Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey in her campaign to restore infrastructure, improve educational opportunities in the district, and support the Biden-Harris agenda in D.C.,” the new group said in the statement.

Tlaib is the first Palestinian Progressive Democrat and was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents. She has always been a critical voice of Israeli occupation and its policies against Palestinian people.

Bakari Sellers, a TV pundit with progressive leanings but who also supports AIPAC, has endorsed and is fundraising for the PAC, saying that Tlaib’s criticism towards ‘Israel’ is “definitely high up on the list” of reasons he is working to support Winfrey, but said it wasn’t his primary focus.

The PAC, which said its supporters “include a broad coalition of Black and Jewish business, political and civic leaders”, said that it is supporting Winfrey, citing “dedication to the educational empowerment and economic uplift of Black communities”.

In a January poll, Tlaib held a sizable lead ahead of other primary candidates, with 62 percent favourable, while Winfrey was only polling at four percent.

Denzel McCampbell, spokesperson for Tlaib’s reelection campaign, told Middle East Eye that the congresswoman was calling on Winfrey to disavow the PAC, saying she should condemn a “big money attack on our democracy that only seeks to mislead voters and distort reality”.

“This is yet another sad example of out-of-state billionaire interference in local races, spending millions to peddle lies and distortions, and pushing a pro-corporate agenda on a district that has consistently stood against the corporate greed hurting our families,” McCampbell told MEE.

“Voters in Michigan’s new 12th district can see right through these desperate schemes, and we’re laser-focused on returning Congresswoman Tlaib to Congress to continue building on her impressive record of delivering life-changing services and legislation for her residents.”

The UEA PAC’s announcement also reveals connections to groups aiming to back pro-Israel candidates across the US in the midterms, according to MEE.

Federal Election Commission records show that the group has received more than $75,000 from New York-based hedge fund, Third Point LLC, founded by billionaire investor Daniel Loeb.

Loeb has also backed the New York Solidarity Group, which is encouraging donors to support pro-Israel candidates in state legislative and local elections.

He reportedly donated $125,000 to the Democratic Majority for Israel and has also given grants to pro-Israel groups including the Birthright Israel Foundation, Passages America Israel, and Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces.

Tlaib, who made headlines for her strong support of Palestinian rights, has recently introduced a resolution to recognise the Palestinian Nakba, a term used to describe forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the run-up to the creation of the so-called state of ‘Israel’ in 1948.

“The Nakba is well-documented and continues to play out today,” Tlaib wrote on Twitter.

“We must acknowledge that the humanity of Palestinians is being denied when folks refuse to acknowledge the war crimes and human rights violations in apartheid Israel.”

Winfrey said Tlaib’s criticism of ‘Israel’ was one of her reasons for running against the incumbent Democrat.

“When you don’t support the one ally that we have in the Middle East, then I feel you have another agenda, and that agenda is not conducive to the citizens of the 12th Congressional District,” Winfrey told Jewish Insider in April.