Politics
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson’s apology this week for remarks on the Israel-Gaza war showed that the longtime state lawmaker is still finding his footing on foreign policy.
Jackson has called Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas a “genocide” and called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal. In a News Center Maine interview Tuesday, he suggested some Mainers are uncomfortable calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide because they are Jewish. He apologized for the generalization in a Wednesday statement but stood by the genocide charge.
The stumble comes less than 40 days before Election Day. Jackson is working through one of the most divisive issues on the left while running against strongly pro-Israel Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Jackson said in the interview the only other country he has traveled to is Canada, which borders his hometown of Allagash.
The episode showed that Jackson lacks the experience and polish of many major federal candidates, Brian Kresge, president of Congregation Beth Israel in Bangor, said.
“He’s still feeling his way through foreign policy chops,” Kresge said. “If he’s apologizing for anything to the Maine Jewish community, he should apologize for calling it a genocide.”
Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who served 20 years in Augusta, said he had “never had to deal with” the Middle East as a state lawmaker. In the same interview, he said he would push for a better relationship with Canada after President Donald Trump’s tariffs. He also sharply criticized Trump and Collins over the Iran war’s effects on the economy.
Progressives have long criticized Collins for backing military and economic aid to Israel and accepting millions of dollars from pro-Israel groups. She also supported strict guardrails or cuts to aid for Palestinians in Gaza after Hamas’ attack.
In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, Collins suggested Graham Platner had required his replacement “to be very anti-Israel, to accuse Israel of committing genocide.”
“In fact it was Hamas, the terrorist group, that killed more Jewish citizens of Israel and Americans on [Oct. 7, 2023], the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust,” Collins said.
Republicans on social media called Jackson’s remarks antisemitic, trying to tie him to Platner’s widely denounced Nazi-linked tattoo. They have also cast the episode as further proof that Jackson isn’t ready to represent Maine, especially over a five-term incumbent.
“He just repeats slogans without knowing the facts,” former Maine House Minority Leader Joe Bruno of Raymond said.
But Jackson’s allies say Mainers care far more about the economy. State Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, dismissed concerns about Jackson’s qualifications, pointing to legislation that helped children, parents and teachers during his time in Augusta.
“He’ll know how to balance U.S. interests and stand up for American values,” Baldacci said.
On Wednesday, Jackson pledged to “always listen and work to approach these conversations with the care and respect they deserve.” He said if elected he would fight antisemitism and “work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
J Street, the liberal Zionist group that supports a two-state solution, is standing by him. Tali deGroot of J Street said the group was “proud to stand with Troy Jackson, who we know will be a champion of peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
“His moral clarity on this issue stands in sharp contrast to Susan Collins, who has cosigned blank-check support for Netanyahu’s extremist policies for decades,” deGroot said.
This issue is among the most charged ones for Jews and the Democratic Party this midterm season. Amy Fried, a retired University of Maine political scientist from Bangor who is a Jewish Democrat, said Jackson is newly being asked about an issue “that some see in simple terms and others view with mixed understandings and considerations.”
Kresge, who described himself as a “liberal zionist,” said he won’t vote for Collins, calling her a “blank check” for the Trump administration. But he isn’t supporting Jackson either, saying he believes using the word “genocide” with regard to Gaza is antisemitic even though he doesn’t view the candidate as an antisemite.
“I see a guy that cares,” he said of Jackson. “But the debate among the Bangor Jewish community is, ‘Do I vote for Susan Collins, or just not at all?’”