Presenting a dilemma to the pro-Israel community, Iowa Rep. Steve King, a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, has endorsed a white supremacist running in the Toronto mayoral race.
Faith Goldy was fired last year by Rebel Media after she appeared on a podcast for The Daily Stormer, an alt-right website, during which she said the “14 words” motto used as an identifier by neo-Nazis, according to The Washington Post.
“Faith Goldy, an excellent candidate for Toronto mayor, pro Rule of Law, pro Make Canada Safe Again, pro balanced budget, &…BEST of all, Pro Western Civilization and a fighter for our values. @FaithGoldy will not be silenced,” tweeted King, who represents his state’s 3rd congressional district.
Members of the pro-Israel community slammed King’s endorsement.
“I fervently condemn any support for despicable, racist white supremacists,” national president of the Zionist Organization of America Mort Klein told JNS. “Congressman King should retract his support of this bigot immediately.”
“We condemn Representative King’s endorsement of Toronto mayoral candidate Faith Goldy,” National Council of Young Israel president Farley Weiss told JNS. “Representative King should retract his endorsement. Those with ties to white supremacists and anti-Semites like Goldy should be repudiated and not endorsed.”
He said such endorsements are “a form of mainstreaming,” demonstrating “acceptance of someone with outlandish and bigoted views.”
Sarah Stern, founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, echoed that sentiment, telling JNS that her organization is “appalled at this move by Rep. Steve King.”
Stern added that the Jewish community must remain “ever vigilant in the extremes” of ideological sides when it comes to political parties and individuals, stressing that the views espoused by Goldy “are not welcome.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition was disturbed by the comments and separated itself from the congressman, having last hosted an event with him in 2012.
“The RJC has been deeply troubled by a number of Rep. King’s statements and associations recently,” the group’s executive director, Matt Brooks, told Tablet. “As a result, we have not endorsed him, contributed to him or hosted events with him.”
King’s congressional office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The Democratic opponent in the race, JD Scholten, condemned King’s comments.
“Who wants to tell @SteveKingIA that Toronto isn’t in the U.S.,” he posted on Twitter. “Once again, Steve King spends more time supporting far-right leaders in other countries than he does focusing on the needs of the people of our district.”
The congressman’s support for Goldy is not his first for a far-right candidate running for public office.
In March 2017, the Iowa Republican praised Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who placed second in Holland’s general election that month. “Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny,” King tweeted. “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”
On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the congressman spoke in Vienna with Unzensuriert (“Uncensored”), a website associated with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, following a five-day tour in August of Jewish and Holocaust historical places in Poland, funded by From the Depths, a group that seeks to educate lawmakers about the Shoah.