Khaled Salem, a naturalized American Arab running in the Democrat primary to unseat Sen. Chuck Schumer, has a simple message for President Biden: Israel is a “vital” ally protecting NATO’s “southeastern flank.”While congratulating the new Israeli Government, Salem makes clear that Israel is in terrible danger from Iran. The release states that Salem “has repeatedly implored the US government to ‘open its eyes and admit the real danger’ of Iran’s role in trying to annihilate Israel.”Salem goes on to quote the famed Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel, by stating “If we’ve learned anything from the Nazi Holocaust and the late Eli Wiesel, if someone says they are going to kill you, believe it.”In closing, Salem states he fully backs “the new Israel government and hopes that Israel protects its Jewish citizens and continues to protect the entire Middle East. Israel offers an infrastructure of defense for the USA and its allies to protect western values and Arab nations themselves.”
Salem is a Muslim who was born in Egypt and raised in Kuwait. He came to the US in 1992.
His platform is strange - free university tuition for all without the government reimbursing the universities, a big emphasis on helping US citizens being held in prisons abroad, and allowing US Muslim men to marry a second wife if the first wife agrees.
His chances of winning in 2022 seem quite remote.
It is hard to know if his pro-Israel platform is opportunistic or sincere. While he speaks against Iran, I cannot find anything negative he has to say about the Iranian nuclear deal.
Either way, an Arab Muslim with a strong pro-Israel position is something that would upset the normal anti-Israel crowd.
(h/t Soccer Dad)
