In FL congressional race, Hardy brags of DMFI’s attacks for his support of Palestinian human rights

Tomorrow, South Florida voters will go to the polls to choose a Democrat for Congress from among 11 candidates running for an open seat, and the strongest progressive in the field, Florida State Rep. Omari Hardy, has become a target for the national Israel lobby group Democratic Majority for Israel because of his unapologetic support for Palestinian human rights.

Hardy has in turn made hay of the fact that DMFI is going after him. Hardy yesterday tweeted:

Hey, @DemMaj4Israel! The next time you do a robocall attacking me for supporting human rights in Palestine, you might want to remove me from the call list! [laughing/crying emoji] …

Last week Hardy posted a flyer from DMFI calling him antisemitic for his support of BDS, the nonviolent boycott campaign for Palestinian rights, and said he was proud of the “achievement” of being in the company of leading progressives DMFI has targeted, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

(We reached out today to Hardy’s office for a recording of the robocall but have not heard from it.)

Hardy has described Palestinian human rights as “the elephant in the room” of the race for the seat left open by the death of Alcee Hastings, a big supporter of Israel. Jewish Insider says the latest polls put Hardy at 6th place in a packed field: Broward County Commissioners Barbara Sharief and Dale Holness lead the race, along with Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who has financed her own campaign (at 13, 14 and 15 percent respectively). Those polls show Hardy, the youngest candidate in the race, with 5 percent. The margin of error is large in the poll; and a July poll from Data for Progress put Holness, Sharief and Hardy at the top of the field.

A former middle school teacher, Hardy has made a name for outspokenness during his one term in the Florida House, and for taking on “big sugar.” He has gained the endorsements of a progressive group that he says is spending $100,000 on his campaign, and of the South Florida Sun Sentinel for his youth and brashness and for representing “the future of the Florida Democratic Party.” Ballotpedia says that Sharief has the endorsement of the Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post, as well as Emily’s List.

It is a marvel that the Democratic Majority for Israel is putting money into this race to thwart Hardy’s progress, but another sign that it fears that progressives who support BDS really are the “future” of the Democratic Party and wants to stem the growth of the leftwing Squad in the House. Last week Hardy posted the campaign flyer from DMFI with pride.

“The Democratic Majority for Israel (@DemMaj4Israel) is attacking me for supporting Palestinian human rights. Who else has earned DMFI’s ire?”

Hardy listed Nina Turner, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib and said, “I couldn’t ask for better company.”

DMFI is saying nothing about its actions in its Congressional “action alerts” page.

Here is an excerpt of the Sun Sentinel’s endorsement of Hardy last month:

Hardy is truly a young man in a hurry, and that’s exactly what this downtrodden and often-neglected district needs. He’s an unapologetic progressive who’s unafraid to challenge deeply entrenched powerful interests such as the sugar industry…. Despite being a freshman and a back-bencher in Tallahassee, Hardy made an immediate impact, deftly using social media to amplify his voice. He challenged Republicans at every turn, including on a notorious “anti-riot” law, marginalizing of transgender athletes [etc.]

Hardy also has the endorsement of Roger Waters, who on Instagram publicized Hardy’s characterization of Palestinian human rights as the “elephant in the room”. (Waters is a friend of our site.)

Roger Waters endorses Fl State Rep. Omari Hardy and publicizes Hardy’s comment that Palestinian human rights are the “elephant in the room.” Instagram screenshot, Oct. 28, 2021.

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