Anti-Semite Running For Office As A Progressive
Maria Estrada is running for California's AD63 to replace Anthony Rendon, the Democrat responsible for halting the process of implementing single-payer healthcare in CA. Anthony Rendon, who takes donations from big pharma, is corrupted. His constituents are health insurance providers and billionaires. He needs to be replaced, which is why it pains me to write that the alternative, Estrada, is an unapologetic antisemite.
A fan of Louis Farrakhan (who has espoused various forms of hate, including antisemitism), she has mentioned him, and defended him in conversation, saying she enjoys his sermons. Jewish publications were understandably offended, with "Tablet" publishing an article warning the progressive community of bigotry in their midst, and calling out Estrada's continued comments as "unreconstructed Jew hatred", and essentially calling on "Our Revolution" to withdraw their endorsement for Estrada. The article states; "Combating this dangerous dynamic is a challenge that progressives and the Democratic Party must meet. If both groups intend to be credible voices on anti-Semitism and on Israel, they’re going to need to learn to spot bad actors like Estrada who use Israel as an excuse for their unreconstructed Jew hatred. Identifying and casting out these bigots will not only marginalize the bigotry, but will also open up a constructive space for criticizing Israel that isn’t tainted by anti-Semitism."
There should, by the way, be a very distinct line drawn between valid criticisms of the Israeli government, and deriding an ethnicity, or a religion. Farrakhan does both, and so does Estrada; She has also reportedly derided a Jewish legislator to his face, saying he needed to keep his religion and his people "in check". She has also invoked the phrase "God's chosen people", mocking more than Zionists. She has a clear disdain for Jewish people, and bigotry of any variety has no place in the progressive movement. I reached out to Estrada with regard to the surfacing comments, and subsequent accusations of bigotry. Her response? "Doesn't bother me".