RJC: Warnock’s Comment on Netanyahu was Hatemongering

Washington, DC – The Republican Jewish Coalition responded today to a media report that Democratic Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a 2016 sermon by comparing him to segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace. RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks stated:

Rev. Warnock recently told a Jewish group that he supports Israel, but he has a long history of statements that testify to the fact that he does not. His 2016 comparison of Prime Minister Netanyahu to segregationist George Wallace in front of an African American audience was simple hatemongering.  

Warnock claims to have recently come to understand that Hamas is a violent enemy threatening Israel. There is a great deal more that he needs to learn about the Palestinians’ goal of genocide and Israel’s history of sacrificing for peace, before the Jewish community could ever begin to trust his newly announced “support” of Israel. The preponderance of anti-Israel statements in his past argues that he will side with Israel’s opponents in the Democratic Party and against Israel at every opportunity. In fact, Linda Sarsour, a close friend of the antisemitic “Squad” in Congress, endorsed Warnock’s comments about Netanyahu, just as “Squad” members Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have supported his campaign. 

Warnock is the wrong choice for Georgia and for the US Senate. Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler is a good friend of Israel and the Jewish community, and we hope the voters of Georgia will re-elect her to the Senate on January 5.