Copyright Baltimore Sun
It’s bad enough that we have to endure Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen’s constant false statements about the state of Israel. It is difficult to stomach his attempts at moral equivalency and his apparent desire to deflect criticism of murdering terrorists. He never misses an opportunity to genuflect to the ultra-far-left fringes of the Democratic Party on issues involving Israel and the Jewish community. I guess it should come as no surprise that Van Hollen has recently decided to weigh in on New York City politics, giving his full-throated endorsement to democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Van Hollen’s new buddy Mamdani embraces blood libels against Jews and Israel. Mamdani has openly palled around with an individual who declared that America deserved what it got on 9/11. This month, Mamdani took pictures with an imam, Siraj Wahhaj, tied to terrorism who has called for jihad in New York. This individual is an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, and yet Mamdani heaped praise upon him. Despite all of this, Sen. Van Hollen endorses this individual for New York’s next mayor. I guess we shouldn’t be shocked. After all, it was Van Hollen who single-handedly blocked a resolution condemning antisemitism on college campuses, his explanation ludicrous at best. Van Hollen has joined in on the constant accusations against Israel of committing genocide, a blatant lie fed by social media that has led to horrific antisemitic attacks and a 400% increase in hate crimes against Jews. The idea that Israel was committing genocide is ludicrous. Throughout the war against Hamas, Israel bent over backward to avoid civilian deaths, helped to feed the population they were at war with and even assisted with medications and vaccinations. Genocide? Israel has tried desperately to avoid civilian bloodshed despite the use by Hamas of human shields and the hiding of missiles and weapons in schools and hospitals and communities. Van Hollen knows all of this to be true. But to the new far-left, fringe Chris Van Hollen, the truth makes absolutely no difference. Van Hollen and Mamdani didn’t say a word about the mass sexual violence inflicted on Israeli women on Oct. 7. Not a peep about the children and elderly murdered in their beds. They couldn’t be bothered to say a single word about the killing of the Bibas children, a baby and toddler kidnapped and brutally murdered by Hamas. Nothing about Jewish hostages chained to cages in underground tunnels for two straight years, who were beaten and tortured and starved for sport. Not a word about the half-naked bodies of women paraded through the streets of Gaza, spit on and beaten by terror-adoring mobs. They only begrudgingly mentioned the recent ceasefire despite demanding one for so long. And now, as Hamas roams Gaza publicly executing anyone they see as a threat to their rule — utter silence from Van Hollen and Mamdani. Just more attacks on Israel. So, no big surprise that Maryland’s senator made a public endorsement of anti-Israel, anti-capitalist Zohran Mamdani. But Van Hollen didn’t just make an endorsement. He declared that any Democrat who didn’t endorse Mamdani was “spineless” and that people were “sick and tired of that type of spineless politics.” Well, Sen. Van Hollen — I am a Democrat. I was proud to give a primetime address on behalf of the Young Democrats of America at the Democratic National Convention for the reelection of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. I served as a Democratic member of the House of Delegates for eight years and a Democratic State Senator for 13 years. I don’t care what political party Zohran Mamdani pretends to be a part of. New Yorkers should vote for literally anyone else. It is Van Hollen, as usual, who is playing ugly politics and the politics of division and hate. And it is Van Hollen who is spineless for not standing up against a candidate like Mamdani. The “D” next to his name does not make him any better. He is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. Like Van Hollen, Mamdani never misses an opportunity to spread Hamas propaganda about Israel. Mamdani spouts the usual lies about genocide, colonialism and occupation — none of which are actually true for anyone with even a cursory knowledge of history and facts. Like Van Hollen, Mamdani was all over social media spreading stories about mass starvation in Gaza and the bombing of hospitals. But when it turned out that the starvation story was actually a Hamas hoax and that it was a Gazan militant group who had bombed the hospital, neither Van Hollen nor Mamdani was anywhere to be seen to apologize. Mamdani refuses to say that Israel even has the right to exist. He has stated that “globalize the intifada,” a call for the death of Jews worldwide, is perfectly acceptable. When asked if Hamas, the terror organization responsible for the deaths of Americans and Israelis and Gazans alike should demilitarize, Mamdani refused to answer. And let this one sink in. Hasan Piker, a friend of Mamdani and an online influencer aligned with the campaign, has said “America deserved 9/11.” What an absolute abomination, and Sen.Van Hollen has thrown his unequivocal support behind this monstrosity. I don’t have a vote in New York City to cast against Zohran Mamdani. But I do have one the next time Chris Van Hollen comes calling. He has disgraced himself and the people of Maryland with this endorsement and by his reckless lies and false statements about one of America’s closest allies. For two years, Israel has been fighting for her very survival on seven different fronts, and Van Hollen and Mamdani have done everything possible to undermine the world’s only Jewish nation at every turn. Van Hollen and Mamdani’s false rhetoric has contributed to a surge in antisemitism, and when faced with facts about these false statements, they just move on shamelessly to the next story. Maryland used to have political titans like Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, statesmen and stateswomen who didn’t resort to ugly, divisive politics to suit political goals. Sadly, we no longer have that. Declaring that individuals are “spineless” for refusing to support someone comfortable with such rabid antisemitism tells you just about everything you need to know about Van Hollen.
