Markey backers âupset and disappointedâ by his stance on Gaza conflict
By Matt Murphy State House News Service,Updated May 13, 2021, 2 hours ago
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Senator Ed Markey.Susan Walsh/Associated Press
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is facing pressure from the coalition of progressive organizations, staff and youth volunteers that became central to his 2020 reelection campaign to take a harder stand against Israel for the role the U.S. ally has played in the escalating violence and civil unrest between Israel and Palestine.
The death toll this week has continued to rise as rockets and missiles launched by Israel and Hamas into Israeli cities and Palestinian territories in Gaza have killed dozens of people, including children.
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Sen. Ed Markey rode a wave of support from young, engaged progressives to win re-election last year to his second term in the Senate.
But now, after a statement on the recent violent conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, the Massachusetts Democrat is facing backlash from hundreds of those same supporters, including dozens of former 2020 campaign members.
“We made hundreds of thousands of phone calls, raised millions of dollars, and dedicated years of our lives to re-elect Senator Markey because we believed justice was on the ballot in 2020,” reads a statement signed by over 500 individuals and organizations, including the Sunrise Movement, state Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, and several dozen former Markey campaign staffers and fellows.
Markey Backers âUpset and Disappointedâ By His Israel-Palestine Stance
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, flanked by Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts medical director Danielle Roncari (right), spoke Tuesday in opposition to the Trump administration s new rule that would withhold federal Title X funding from health clinics that provide or refer abortion services.
Chris Lisinski / SHNS
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is facing pressure from the coalition of progressive organizations, staff and youth volunteers that became central to his 2020 reelection campaign to take a harder stand against Israel for the role the U.S. ally has played in the escalating violence and civil unrest between Israel and Palestine.
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is facing pressure from the coalition of progressive organizations, staff and youth volunteers that became central to his 2020 reelection campaign to take a harder stand against Israel for the role the U.S. ally has played in the escalating violence and civil unrest between Israel and Palestine.
The death toll this week has continued to rise as rockets and missiles launched by Israel and Hamas into Israeli cities and Palestinian territories in Gaza have killed dozens of people, including children.
Markey on Tuesday called for an end to the violence, which has been centered around Israel s policy of resettling Palestinians, but his statement is being criticized by some in the Markeyverse who are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause for taking too much of a both sides position on the conflict.
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
BAKER HASN T SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS The governor s annual State of the Commonwealth address is a time to set priorities for the year ahead. And along with combating the Covid-19 pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker had the mood of the country on his mind last night.