Maureen Galindo said she would turn the Karnes ICE Detention Center “into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”
A Democratic House candidate in Texas is facing fierce backlash, including from members of her own party, after posting that she would send “American Zionists” to a facility currently used to detain illegal immigrants.
In an Instagram post last week, Maureen Galindo said she would turn the Karnes ICE Detention Center “into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”
https://twitter.com/BillMelugin_/status/2056852998962204960?s=20
“It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists,” Galindo wrote, referring to herself in the third person.
Galindo, a housing activist and sex therapist, is running in Texas’s newly redrawn 35th Congressional District and faces Johnny Garcia in a May 26 Democratic primary runoff. Her remarks have drawn condemnation from fellow Democrats and Jewish groups. The New York Times also urged voters not to support her in the runoff against Garcia. On Instagram, Galindo accused Garcia, a former hostage negotiator and public information officer for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, of wanting “Jews and Mexicans in warehouses.” She also claimed “billionaire Zionists” control San Antonio and South Texas trafficking networks.
In another post, Galindo wrote: “WE MUST END ZIONISM TO PROTECT JEWS AND SEMITES & ALL OTHER VICTIMS OF THE ISRAEL AND EPSTEIN NETWORK OF TERROR. GLOBAL TERRORISM PAID FOR WITH OUR AMERICAN TAXPAYER MONEY.”
Galindo has also targeted Caterpillar, a frequent focus of anti-Israel activists, accusing the company and the Holt family, owners of Holt Caterpillar and the San Antonio Spurs, of profiting from equipment she claimed is used against Palestinians.
In another post, she claimed that Flock safety cameras are “Israeli spyware” and alleged that Israel controls the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. She also wrote that ICE is “a terrorist organization under DHS based in Tel Aviv Israel,” and claimed it is run by “Proud Boys and IDF soldiers.”
Galindo has repeatedly argued that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism, because "Zionist Jews" aren't real Jews, but has also described “Zionist Jews” as “genocidal European colonizer freaks” and claimed Zionists are “not real Jews.” In another post, she appeared to advocate making Zionism, rather than anti-Zionism, an antisemitic crime against humanity. She also criticized Christian Zionists.
She later attempted to clarify her remarks, saying that calling for “billionaire Zionists” to be imprisoned did not mean she supported putting all Jews in internment camps. During an appearance on Texas Public Radio last week, Galindo denied being antisemitic while reiterating her opposition to “Zionist Jews.”
“I’m not antisemitic. In fact, my last serious relationship was with a Jewish man,” Galindo said, according to The Times of Israel. “I’m against Zionist Jews. When I said that the Jews who own Hollywood are doing this, do all Jews own Hollywood? No. The Zionist Jews do. The Zionist Jews own our media, our banks, and all of our politicians.”
“This antisemitic rhetoric has no place in our politics,” Texas State Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for US Senate, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “We need leadership in both parties willing to stand up and call out hate wherever it rears its ugly head.” Talarico’s campaign confirmed he would not campaign for Galindo if she wins the nomination.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) called for Democratic leaders to denounce Galindo’s remarks. “First current political candidate suggests concentration camps for American Jews. This should be national news!” Moskowitz wrote on X. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said on X that Galindo should never hold public office.
Even Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has frequently been accused of trafficking in anti-Israel and antisemitic tropes, condemned Galindo, writing on X, "This is absolutely disgusting. This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics," and encouraged her followers to support Garcia.
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