AUGUSTA, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Jared Golden criticized left-wing groups for their decision to hold a pro-Palestine rally Wednesday in Portland on the heels of Hamas’ brutal surprise attack against Israel.
The Maine chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation said in an Instagram post its rally, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Monument Square in downtown Portland, is to “demand a free Palestine, an end to US funding of Israeli apartheid, and freedom for all Palestinian political prisoners!”
“This renewed resistance is a chance for all of us to speak up and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against horrific abuses by the settler-colonial state of Israel,” the group wrote.
The Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is a force in city politics, is co-sponsoring Wednesday’s event to help with security and keep out a demonstrator who may bring anti-Semitic banners, co-chair Wes Pelletier said. Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights Chair Abby Fuller said members of her much smaller group planned to attend.
Similar protests led by the same groups in other states have drawn heavy criticism this week. The planned Portland rally comes after Hamas attacked Israeli communities with an air and ground offensive that began Saturday with violent attacks on civilians near the Gaza border.
Israel’s military said more than 1,200 people have died — including children killed in gruesome ways and a Bangor man’s grandson who was in the Israeli military — as of Wednesday. Palestinian officials said at least 1,100 people have died in Gaza since Israeli airstrikes began in response to the Hamas attack. Numerous Americans are among the dead or among the hostages being held by Hamas militants.
Israel has also responded with a new blockade targeting Gaza, the 25-mile strip of Palestinian territory by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea that is home to 2.3 million people. Hamas seized control of it in 2007 from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.
Collins, a Maine Republican, disagrees “completely with the false statement” issued by the organizers, she said in a statement.
“They should be condemning Hamas, rather than excusing these appalling tactics,” Collins said.
Golden, a Democrat from the 2nd District, said the idea that groups would seize on the last week’s events to create a false equivalency between Israel and Hamas “would be almost laughable were it not so sickening given the atrocities committed against the people of Israel these past few days.”
“There is no equivalent evil in the comparably reserved but necessarily strong military response by Israel in defense of its nation and its people,” Golden said in a statement.
Asked for comment on Wednesday’s pro-Palestine rally, Gov. Janet Mills stuck to general thoughts on the situation: “My heart goes out to the people of Israel, Maine’s Jewish community and all impacted by the evil, unspeakable acts of terror carried out this weekend by Hamas,” she said in a statement.
Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, was touring rural Maine and not available to comment Wednesday, a spokesperson said. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from the 1st District, did not immediately comment, though a spokesperson noted she signed on to a House resolution backing Israel after the Hamas attack.
Pro-Palestine rallies held in cities and on college campuses since Saturday’s Hamas attack have drawn criticism from not only staunch Israel allies but also progressives supportive of Palestinian rights, such as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, who condemned a Sunday rally in Times Square for displaying “hatred and antisemitism.”
Leaders of Hamas, which the U.S. and other countries deem a terrorist group, said their attack was in response to Israel’s continued construction of settlements, which the international community considers illegal, along with Israel’s crackdown on militants in the West Bank, the thousands of prisoners in Israeli jails and an ongoing blockade of Gaza.
President Joe Biden and most lawmakers in both major parties have expressed support for Israel and condemned Hamas since the weekend. In the Maine Legislature, Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, plan to introduce a resolution to support Israel.
