Baldwin appears with activist critical of Israel at fundraiser
The senator was photographed with a San Francisco activist who has accused Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing,’ ‘apartheid’ and a ‘pogrom’ targeting Palestinians
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) speaks during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Special Diabetes Program on July 11, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) was pictured at a San Francisco fundraiser over the weekend alongside Nadia Rahman, a Bay Area activist who has expressed strident criticisms of Israel.
Baldwin is up for reelection in 2024 in one of the country’s biggest political battlegrounds and could be a top GOP target — although the party has yet to field a strong challenger.
Rahman has accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid” and a “pogrom” targeting Palestinians, and described Gaza as “an open air prison.” She has also accused U.S. officials of ignoring and being complicit in Israeli “war crimes & apartheid to ensure they win their next election.”
Baldwin appeared in multiple pictures alongside Rahman at the event.
Following a trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories last year, Rahman posted an essay urging readers to “Donate and turn up to elect people to local, state and federal offices who are actual change agents” on the issue.
“Life in occupation is oppressive and the objective is to dominate, starve, humiliate and expel,” Rahman said in another essay.
It’s unclear whether Rahman was involved in organizing and hosting the event, and an email to the group responsible for the fundraiser, Electing Women San Francisco, went unreturned. In one Twitter post, Rahman credited other individuals for hosting, but another attendee said she had invited them to the event.
Baldwin’s campaign did not directly address a question from JI about whether the senator was aware of Rahman’s presence or views ahead of the event.
“This event was built by Electing Women’s Bay Area chapter. Tammy Baldwin is a strong supporter of Israel and is committed to strengthening the bond between our two nations. Tammy has spent significant time in Israel, first visiting with her grandfather in 1968,” the campaign said in a statement.
“She has returned many times as a Member of Congress and as a U.S. Senator. Her visits have included meetings with Israeli officials at the highest level, including several meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu.”