Dem Senate Candidate Apologizes For ‘Pain’ Caused By His ‘Generalization About Jewish Mainers’

Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson apologized on Wednesday after he said it’s “unfortunate” that Maine’s Jewish population rejects calling the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza a genocide because of their religion.

Jackson made the comments in an interview with Portland’s NBC News affiliate on Tuesday, saying, “It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust.”

“[Israel-Hamas war] fits that description and it is. It’s [an] unbelievable thing that’s happened there that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide,” Jackson insisted.

The Maine Democrat who replaced scandal-plagued Graham Platner was asked about Hamas’s atrocities that started the war. “You could argue the same thing for Hamas too. There’s people that are wrong on both sides of this issue. But in the end, senseless murders, horrific murders are happening to both sides, and that has to stop,” Jackson said.

The comments sparked an avalanche of criticism from both sides of the aisle. MS NOW columnist Michael Cohen shared the clip and replied, “This video is so bad. Jackson sounds like a complete idiot here … making a moral equivalency between Israel and Hamas.”

“More antisemitism from the Democratic Party. Mainers who reject the “genocide” label for Gaza don’t do so just because they’re Jewish (and many aren’t). They do so because they have brains,” added the California Post’s Joel Pollack.

Jackson apologized for the comments in a statement to the Jewish Insider:

I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust — the genocide of six million Jews. In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn’t reflect what I meant to say. I apologize for the pain that caused.

Mainers hold a range of deeply considered views, and I promise I will always listen and work to approach these conversations with the care and respect they deserve. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll fight antisemitism and work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.

Jackson is running against longtime incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in a tight race. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found Collins leading Jackson by 3 points, 49 to 46%.

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