Report: Allegations against Jewish Congressional candidate were concocted to benefit opponent
Alex Morse Image by wikimedia
By Josefin Dolsten August 13, 2020
(JTA) — In a bizarre turn of events, a new report casts doubt on allegations that Massachusetts congressional hopeful Alex Morse had inappropriate relationships with college students.
Morse, a 31-year-old gay, Jewish progressive Democrat running to unseat a longtime incumbent, was accused last week by the College Democrats of Massachusetts of having used “his position of power for romantic or sexual gain” in relationships with college students. Morse has been the mayor of Holyoke, a city of 40,000 near Springfield, for nearly a decade.
The allegations, revealed in an article in The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, claimed that Morse had matched with college students on dating apps, attempted to contact students he met through campus events and had inappropriate relationships with students at UMass Amherst, where he taught a course on urban government. In that article, Morse said he had relationships with college students but they were consensual.
But on Wednesday, an article in The Intercept said that College Democrats had been discussing a plan to attack Morse since last year. The article said that leaders of the group discussed finding Morse’s dating profiles in an attempt to get him to say something inappropriate to damage his campaign. The group’s chief strategist, Timothy Ennis, allegedly claimed in group chats that he was attempting to secure an internship with Rep. Richard Neal, the centrist Democrat whom Morse is seeking to unseat. The Neal campaign has denied any collaboration with the students.
Morse was elected mayor of Holyoke, his hometown, at 22, becoming the youngest and first openly gay person to lead the city. He has aligned himself with “the Squad,” a quartet of progressive congresswomen of color. In an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month, he defended the four representatives against accusations that their criticism of Israel veered into anti-Semitism.
The post New report suggests allegations against congressional candidate Alex Morse were concocted to benefit his opponent appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
