Engel was criticized by progressives for his strong support for Israel. But many in the district also found him out of touch and hated his gaffes.
Pro-Israel groups, which have been Engel’s biggest backers since 2014, are helping his campaign with phone banking and advertisements.
The statement signaled a warning from the Democratic Party’s most pro-Israel wing that retreating from the two-state solution would be catastroph
Republicans eventually had to vote against their own anti-Semitism measure because they didn’t think Democrats would approve it in the first place.
Engel and other Jews were leaders in the congressional pushes to stop a possible genocide in Kosovo and later push for its independence.
“I have to say I’m disappointed, too. And I say that not just as a member of Congress, but also as an American Jew.”
Five of the nine Democrats leading the effort are Jewish: Reps. Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey and Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Brad Schneider (Ill.) and Ted Deutch (Fla.).
“Based on recent revelations about Mr. Gorka’s public support for and membership in several anti-Semitic and racist groups in Hungary, he is clearly unfit to serve in any position of responsibility in the White House,” reads the letter, written by New York Reps. Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey.
“Based on recent revelations about Mr. Gorka’s public support for and membership in several anti-Semitic and racist groups in Hungary, he is clearly unfit to serve in any position of responsibility in the White House,” reads the letter, written by New York Reps. Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey.
WASHINGTON — For the first time in nearly three decades, Rep. Eliot Engel will not position himself to shake the president’s hand at a joint meeting of Congress, citing Donald Trump’s slowness to comment on threats to Jews, among other reasons. ‘I’ve decided not to stand on the aisle of the House chamber to…