In a recent turn of events, a satirical social media account posing as the "Chief Rabbi of Gaza" has once again managed to deceive a member of the progressive "Squad."
This time, the target was the re-election campaign of Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri), a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights. The campaign was contemplating a potential fundraiser with the fictitious "Rabbi Linda Goldstein", an account known for its anti-Israel rhetoric, designed to lure unsuspecting progressives.
According to The New York Post, the account, which had previously tricked Rep. Jamaal Bowman, another member of the Squad, proposed the fundraising idea to Bush's team on June 23. "I've been bouncing around different cities since my congregation was displaced from Gaza after Israel's invasion on October 7," Goldstein wrote in an email to Ronika Moody, Bush's finance and engagement director. The email further suggested that Bush could travel to the Gaza border for the fundraiser, stating, "The optics could be incredible!"
In response, Moody expressed Bush's interest in hosting the event in Gaza, a plan they had been attempting to execute without success. She further inquired if the theme of the fundraiser was "Gaza". The fictitious Goldstein, known for outrageous claims such as using a menorah made of missiles and digging terror tunnels into American universities, proposed that the theme could be "the morality" of intifada. "The topics are built around finding a final solution to the problem of Zionism," Goldstein added, without receiving a response from Bush's campaign.
The individual behind the parody account, a pro-Israel lawyer named Michael, criticized Bush's understanding of the Israel-Palestine conflict. "Cori Bush is the perfect example of an 'empty suit' antisemite completely clueless about how the Israel-Palestine conflict works, but eager to speak up because it gives her cover to publicly hate Jews," he said.
Bush, like Bowman, is a staunch pro-Palestine advocate. Current polls suggest she is likely to lose the Aug 6 contest against St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell. Earlier this year, Bowman's team was also deceived by the Goldstein account during his unsuccessful primary race against Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
Rabbi Susan Talve, the founding rabbi of the Central Reform Congregation in Bush's St. Louis district, expressed disappointment in the lawmaker's lack of understanding. "Cori has not done her homework about anything to do with Israel and Palestine and it's very sad," she told The Post.
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