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By Staff, Agencies Two leading Democratic presidential hopefuls said Wednesday that they would not attend the American “Israel” Public Affairs Committee’s [AIPAC] upcoming conference, shrinking the list of potential 2020 Democrats to show up as the pro-Israel lobby tries to maintain its bipartisan identity. Former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar each said they would miss the annual confab, which takes place in Washington, DC on March 1-4.

Their announcements come after Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders tweeted on Sunday that he would skip the conference because he was “concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.” In recent months, left-wing organizations such as MoveOn, Indivisible, the Working Families Party and IfNotNow have been pressuring the Democratic candidates to skip the AIPAC conference, waging an online campaign with the hashtag “#SkipAIPAC” IfNotNow celebrated Buttigieg’s and Klobuchar’s announcements, calling it a “watershed moment” in a statement.

“Even moderates in the Democratic Party are now refusing to attend a conference by a right-wing lobby that allies with bigots just to shield the ‘Israeli’ government from any consequences for denying the Palestinian people freedom and dignity,” the group said

Original Article Source: Al Ahed News | Published on Thursday, 27 February 2020 08:09 (about 1491 days ago)