A South Florida DNC representative resigned from her post after
her anti-Israel e-mails sparked outrage.
White House
In the e-mails, Evelyn Garcia, a Palm Beach County representative to the DNC and ally of its chair, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, accused Israel of running “mass concentration camps” and committing “crimes against humanity.”
She was also caught advocating for an end to the U.S.-Israel alliance and accusing Israel of perpetrating war crimes.
Garcia, who also serves as a Democratic Executive Committee member and is running to become a member of the Florida State House, quit her post at the DNC following the uproar creating in response to her e-mails.
Though she gave up her DNC position, Garcia said that she still plans to continue her campaign for the House District 88 seat.
As soon as BizPac Review President Jack Furnari’s post on the inflammatory emails went live on Sunday, a number of Democratic leaders across Palm Beach County expressed horror at comments many considered anti-Semitic.
"She's horrible,” said Dan Liftman, legislative aide to U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar. “She could harm the president and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.”
Though Liftman said he’s known about the emails “for a while,” Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel told BPR he saw the emails for the first time Monday morning.
"I strongly disagree with her views, as does every other Democrat I know,” Siegel said. “Evelyn's views are not the views of the Democratic Party, and she recognizes that."
Elmer Klein, president of the Cypress Lakes Democratic Club in West Palm Beach, wondered how long DEC leadership knew about the emails, which he likened to hate speech. “I have heard through the grapevine that they knew,” Klein said.
Marvin Manning, president of Century Village Democratic Club in Boca Raton, said he was told Siegel was made aware of the emails a while ago but did nothing about it.
“It’s quite horrendous,” said Manning, a Jewish World War II veteran whose daughter-in-law is the child of a Holocaust survivor. ”This requires an investigation as to who else was involved in this, and if they are involved in the Democratic Party, then we have to get them out of the party.”
On Monday, Garcia, apologized for her statements, calling them “ugly” and “hurtful,” according to The Palm Beach Post.
Former DNC Member: Israel Commits 'Crimes Against Humanity'
A former member of the Democratic National Committee resigns her
post after sending out anti-Israel emails, but still runs for local race.
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By Chana Ya'ar
First Publish: 7/12/2012, 12:44 PM
Judea and Samaria
Flash 90
A Florida member of the Democratic National Committee last Friday resigned
her post after being caught red-faced sending out hate-filled email against
Israel. The emails were exposed by BizPacReview.com a week ago after
first being shared with South Florida Democrats.
Garcia, who still hopes to win this year's race for the Florida House of Representatives, had sent out two particularly vicious emails in which she expressed hatred of Israel and its ignorance of its defensive policies over the past decades. In one, she accused Israel of committing “crimes against humanity.”
In an email sent on May 24, 2011, Garcia wrote, “Slavery was ended, apartheid was ended and so this occupation must end.”
On July 26, 2011, Garcia sent out a second email which said “by supporting Israeli occupation with U.S. foreign aid, we are all complicit and guilty of their crimes against humanity. Palestinians had nothing to do with the Holocaust, and it's about time this guilt trip was taken off their backs.”
But that wasn't all. Garcia, whose potential new role representing the heavily Jewish District 88 would involve making decisions about how taxpayer money would be spent, had some definite ideas on the subject.
"I deeply resent U.S. taxpayer funds being used to continue Israeli aggression, (yes, confiscating other peoples' land and building illegal settlements is aggression), not to mention 'incursions' that kill PEOPLE, destroy civilian homes and infrastructure all over, mass concentration prison camps, etc, etc, etc.”
According to BizPacReview.com, the virulent emails began when Garcia forwarded a statement from the far-left CodePink organization criticizing President Barak Obama's alleged support for Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and announcing a conference to oppose it.
Even in her letter of resignation, Evelyn Garcia did not bother to hide her hatred, complaining that she was “passionately advocating [her] position supporting the rights of people [she] felting were being harmed...”
In a second, follow-up statement on the Mondoweiss.com website, Garcia commented, “Don't our loyalty and patriotism belong first to our country – the United States of America? Or did they (the group that released the emails) really intend a conversation among the wider electorate of the extent to which U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing an illegal occupation by Israel?
And, who says it's an occupation and illegal? Well, let me count the ways: numerous United Nations resolutions, J Street, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Presbyterian Church, CodePink, religious and political leaders and public opinion worldwide.... How much longer will U.S. taxpayers subsidize the illegal, immoral occupation of Palestinian territories? How about conducting a discussion on that topic instead of persecuting one messenger? Don't Palestinians deserve their homeland too?”
Garcia, who still hopes to win this year's race for the Florida House of Representatives, had sent out two particularly vicious emails in which she expressed hatred of Israel and its ignorance of its defensive policies over the past decades. In one, she accused Israel of committing “crimes against humanity.”
In an email sent on May 24, 2011, Garcia wrote, “Slavery was ended, apartheid was ended and so this occupation must end.”
On July 26, 2011, Garcia sent out a second email which said “by supporting Israeli occupation with U.S. foreign aid, we are all complicit and guilty of their crimes against humanity. Palestinians had nothing to do with the Holocaust, and it's about time this guilt trip was taken off their backs.”
But that wasn't all. Garcia, whose potential new role representing the heavily Jewish District 88 would involve making decisions about how taxpayer money would be spent, had some definite ideas on the subject.
"I deeply resent U.S. taxpayer funds being used to continue Israeli aggression, (yes, confiscating other peoples' land and building illegal settlements is aggression), not to mention 'incursions' that kill PEOPLE, destroy civilian homes and infrastructure all over, mass concentration prison camps, etc, etc, etc.”
According to BizPacReview.com, the virulent emails began when Garcia forwarded a statement from the far-left CodePink organization criticizing President Barak Obama's alleged support for Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and announcing a conference to oppose it.
Even in her letter of resignation, Evelyn Garcia did not bother to hide her hatred, complaining that she was “passionately advocating [her] position supporting the rights of people [she] felting were being harmed...”
In a second, follow-up statement on the Mondoweiss.com website, Garcia commented, “Don't our loyalty and patriotism belong first to our country – the United States of America? Or did they (the group that released the emails) really intend a conversation among the wider electorate of the extent to which U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing an illegal occupation by Israel?
And, who says it's an occupation and illegal? Well, let me count the ways: numerous United Nations resolutions, J Street, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Presbyterian Church, CodePink, religious and political leaders and public opinion worldwide.... How much longer will U.S. taxpayers subsidize the illegal, immoral occupation of Palestinian territories? How about conducting a discussion on that topic instead of persecuting one messenger? Don't Palestinians deserve their homeland too?”
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