Four major Democratic candidates to skip pro-Israel lobby group event
▶ Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is the only candidate planning to appear at Aipac
Four Democratic candidates in the race to become the next US president are skipping a major pro-Israel lobby group’s conference next week.
The absence from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee event is the largest for the party in an election year.
Progressive senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and centrist candidates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, will not attend the Aipac conference due to begin in Washington on Sunday.
Ms Klobuchar told the Jewish News Syndicate that she would not attend because the conference schedule clashed with her travel for the Super Tuesday Democratic primary vote on March 3.
Mr Buttigieg also said there was a conflict with his travel arrangements.
Ms Warren, who was the first to announce that she would be skipping Aipac, made the commitment in a meeting on February 7 in response to a question from an audience member.
Mr Sanders, who called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “reactionary racist” in the debate on Tuesday, announced his decision this week while rebuking Aipac.
He tweeted that the group provided a platform “for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights”.
It is unclear if former vice president Joe Biden will attend. Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, is so far the only Democratic candidate due to attend.
The absences draw Israel and Aipac deep into the partisan debate about US policy towards Israel.
Key Republican figures, including US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, will address the conference.
Former national security adviser John Bolton accused Mr Sanders of promoting extremism by skipping the conference. But the left-wing Jewish group If Not Now welcomed the news, calling it a watershed moment and a major victory against bigotry.
The Trump administration has been keen to support Mr Netanyahu and has taken unprecedented steps in backing his government.
It moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognised the occupied Golan Heights, cut aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency and shut down the Palestine Liberation Organisation office in Washington.