DeSantis Vs. Gillum On Israel
Donald Trump’s historic decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was “unnecessary” and a “provocation” that has “incited more violence,” charged Andrew Gillum, the progressive mayor of Tallahassee who recently won Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Gillum made those comments during a podcast interview in May on an obscure website.
The remarks provide a window into Gillum’s thinking on the Middle East in a race where Israel policy could become an issue. Gillum, whose views on Israel are largely unknown, is running against staunch Israel supporter Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis responded to the audio, saying it is “not representative of Florida values.” “I’ve always stood by Israel, I will be the most pro-Israel governor in the country when I become Governor,” DeSantis added in a statement provided to this reporter.
Gillum’s remarks come despite the overwhelming bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate that voted for the passage of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which called on Israel to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The act was reaffirmed in a unanimous Senate vote last year.
Gillum’s statements about the Jerusalem embassy move “inciting” violence feed into the anti-Israel narrative claiming that Hamas launched a series of deadly border riots in part because of Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy. An analysis by this reporter pointed to Hamas’s likely major motivations, including attempting to channel Gazans growing anger at Hamas over poor economic conditions instead against of Israel, and Hamas vying for a better deal during truce negotiations with Israel and reconciliation talks with Fatah rivals.
Gillum’s Jerusalem remarks came during an interview with far-left podcast host, Jamarlin Martin, who repeatedly made anti-Israel statements during the exchanges.
In the same interview, Gillum accused Israel of using Gaza terror rockets to “justify” its “actions” against Palestinians. Gillum further charged that Israel engaged in an “outsized response” against Palestinian threats and claimed alleged Israeli disproportionate “fire power” and “pushback” are the primary causes of regional instability.
The gubernatorial hopeful, whose political rise has been likened to that of Barack Obama, also did not oppose Martin when the podcast host charged Israel with “apartheid” or when the Martin claimed that Israeli forces killed over 60 Palestinians “for protesting” with “the endorsement of (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.”
Martin was referring to Israel’s defensive actions during Hamas-organized, deadly border riots that month that saw tens of thousands of Palestinian rioters throng the Israel-Gaza border and attempt to storm into the Jewish state with the stated goal of murdering Jews. Rioters reportedly opened fire on Israeli soldiers and hurled Molotov cocktails and other deadly projectiles. Martin failed to mention that Hamas itself announced that 50 out of the 60 people who reportedly died during the May 14 riots were members of its own jihadist group and not civilians.
Was Trump Tower Meeting A Dirty Trick Against Trump?
This reporter’s multiple recent investigations into the infamous brief meeting at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016 between individuals tied to Russia, Donald Trump Jr. and other campaign officials point to the increasing likelihood of the confab being set up as a dirty trick against Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Three Russian participants at the meeting have ties to the controversial Fusion GPS outfit, and two have confirmed ties to Hillary Clinton. The Russia collusion conspiracy was sparked by the dossier produced by Fusion GPS, which was paid for its anti-Trump work by Trump’s primary political opponents, namely Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) via the Perkins Coie law firm.
Also, email logs brought to light show numerous emails were exchanged between a Clinton associate, Fusion GPS and Trump Tower participants, with the subjects of some of those emails listing the Magnitsky Act, which sanctions Russian officials and was by all accounts the very topic of the Trump Tower meeting.
One Russian participant in the Trump Tower presentation admits to personally knowing Hillary Clinton since the late 1990s and says he “knew” some of the people who worked on Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
Another Russian attendee, a translator, testified that he was previously an interpreter for Hillary herself as well as for John Kerry and Barack Obama.
Questions are also raised by a timeline showing numerous personal meetings between Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and Trump Tower participants. A Clinton associate, Ed Lieberman, was listed as being present at one and possibly two of those meetings.
Separately, Lieberman met with one Russian participant the same day of the Trump Tower meeting, according to separate testimony.
There are also questions about the initial setup of the Trump Tower meeting, with the publicist who sent the infamous email to Donald Trump Jr. promising “information that would incriminate” Clinton later admitting that he used deliberately hyperbolic language to ensure that the meeting took place. No such incriminating information on Hillary was provided, according to all meeting participants. In testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Robert Goldstone, the publicist, further said that he believes the meeting was a “bait and switch” by a Russian lobbyist seeking a meeting on another matter by misleadingly claiming to be bringing the Trump campaign dirt on Clinton.
