"Squad" Influence Growing: Pennsylvania Primary Outcome Sparks Fear And Division

By Jennifer Wentworth | Thursday, 25 April 2024 03:00 PM
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"Squad" Influence Growing: Pennsylvania Primary Outcome Sparks Fear And Division
Image Credit : GV Wire Staff

In the recent Democratic primary election held in Pennsylvania, Representative Summer Lee, known for her far-left political leanings and support for ceasefire, triumphed over her moderate, pro-Israel adversary, Bhavini Patel.

Garnering 59.5 percent of the votes against Patel's 40.5 percent, Lee's victory was decisive.

A self-proclaimed member of the "Squad," Lee has been serving the 12th District of Pennsylvania in Congress since 2022. She has been vocal about her disapproval of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, making it a focal point of her re-election campaign.

In a celebratory post on social media platform X, Lee stated, "Opposing genocide is good politics and good policy." She further addressed her supporters, saying, "There were so many people who wanted to make this a referendum on just one issue. There were a lot of people who wanted to convince us that we could not be pro-peace and win this district."

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Lee emphasized the expansiveness of their movement, advocating for peace from Pittsburgh to Palestine. She asserted, "We won't be ashamed and we won't put our heads down when we say we want no more wars, when we say that people deserve dignity and human rights and self-determination, whether they are Jewish or Muslim or black or white."

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However, Lee's call for a ceasefire has been interpreted by some as a veiled, or even blatant, form of antisemitism. In response to this, Lee countered, "We will not let anyone tell us that our pro-peace stance is rooted in anything but what it is," condemning all forms of hate, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.

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As reported by the New York Post, Patel had cautioned voters during the primary election campaign that having a far-left "Squad" member on the general election ballot in November could jeopardize the Democrats' chances of securing a win in Pennsylvania. Patel underscored Lee's stance on Israel, which she considered to be rather extreme.

The 12th District encompasses the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, a historically Jewish area and the site of the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, an act of violence driven by antisemitism.

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