The Joe Biden campaign appears to be publicly condemning anti-Israel activists while privately pandering to them.
Team Biden went into damage control Sunday to shore up support with Muslim-American Democrats after the campaign condemned controversial Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and suggested she was an anti-semite
Top Biden aides made the mea culpa in a private phone call with dozens of prominent Muslim and Arab surrogates who had been angered by the campaign’s attempt to distance itself from the anti-Israel activist Sarsour, according to a report by the Middle East Eye
On leaked audio of the call, Ashley Allison, national coalition director for the Biden campaign, said she understood the “pain” caused by the scathing statement Biden 2020 issued last week which Sarsour said was “disrespectful” and “hurtful.”
“I am sorry that that happened. And I hope that whatever trust was broken, that this conversation is one small step to help build back the trust, but that is not the last time we have this conversation,” Allison said, according to the report.
The campaign apology came after the Biden camp tried to deny ties with sarsour a Bernie Sanders surrogate and former Women’s March leader who spoke at a council meeting at the Democratic National Convention last week.
“Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and a vehement opponent of anti-Semitism his entire life, and he obviously condemns her views and opposes BDS, as does the Democratic platform,” Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement Tuesday about Sarsour.
“She has no role in the Biden campaign whatsoever,” Bates continued.
Sarsour has been vocal in her support for the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment, sanctions movement (BDS) which calls for the end of international community’s support for Israel.
But the Biden campaign has been inconsistent in their handling of the progressive Brooklyn-born anti-Zionist who appeared on a call with Biden last month where the Democratic nominee railed against what he called “Islamicphobia.”
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In a statement responding to the leaked phone call audio, Biden senior adviser Symone Sanders confirmed the meeting but said the campaign still rejected Sarsour’s views.
“We met to affirm Vice President Biden’s unshakable commitment to working with Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim Americans and to standing up against anti-Muslim prejudice, and to make clear that we regretted any hurt that was caused to these communities,” Sanders said.
“We continue to reject the views that Linda Sarsour has expressed” she added.
Sarsour and other prominent Muslims were already angered when they were snubbed at the Democratic National Convention before the Biden campaign totally disavowed her days later.
The activist could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday but spent Sunday boosting tweets of sympathy, including one from a support who said the convention “threw {Sarsour} under the bus.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Sarsour said the statement was “unfortunate” and “disrespectful.”
“The Democratic Party needs me and the communities that I come from more than we need them,” she said.
