Protests staged against David Trone over Palestine position

Two political protests are being staged this week against Democratic congressional candidate David Trone over his political stance on Palestine.

Trone, a co-owner of Total Wine & More, is a candidate for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District.

The Maryland-based group Freedom2BoyCott, “a Palestinian Solidarity organization that advocates for a constitutionally protected right to boycott,” is joining forces with Baltimore Jewish Voice for Peace, also a Maryland political activist group that addresses issues of human rights and the occupation of Palestine, according to its Facebook page, to protest Trone’s “anti-Palestinian position” and his “strong support for the Cardin Anti-BDS bill, which the American Civil Liberties Union, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen have both condemned,” according to Freedom2Boycott founder and spokesperson former Maryland state Del. Saqib Ali, who represented District 39 from 2006-2010.

The first protest is slated to be held before the Hood College Congressional District 6 forum on Wednesday, Jan. 17, according to the Facebook event. 

Later on Sunday, Jan. 21, the groups plan to protest Trone from 1-3:00 p.m at the Sandy Springs Friends School in Silver Spring, Maryland, according to the Facebook event.

“David Trone’s stated positions on the Israel/Palestinian conflict are deeply problematic because they are completely one-sided in favor of Israel (the occupying party) while indifferent to Palestinian concerns. Nowhere in his statement does he mention the words “occupation”, “settlements” or “human rights” — even though these are some of the most core issues,” Ali told A Miner Detail.

“Furthermore, he has pledged to attack the movement to boycott Israel and Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank even though that right is firmly enshrined in the US constitution and has been a key tool in fighting injustices as varied as segregation to South African apartheid to Donald Trump’s presidency.”

Ali said his group takes issue with Trone’s “anti-Palestinian position,” which Trone lists on his website.

“David Trone says that Israel should be considered the 51st state. But we think that a country with such a poor human rights record shouldn’t because it doesn’t share American values at all,” Ali continued.

A Miner Detailed contacted Trone campaign spokesman Alex Koren for comment.

“They’ve misstated David’s position, and it’s a shame that they’ve never reached out to discuss this with him. David believes that you can both be a strong supporter of Israel and support a two-state solution,” Koren told A Miner Detail.

Trone is one of at least five Democrats and two Republicans running for Maryland’s 6th District, left open after incumbent Democratic Rep. John Delaney announced his 2020 presidential campaign last summer.

Trone ran for Congress in 2016 in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District but lost in the primary to now Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

The Potomac business owner is facing off against Democrats Andrew Duck, Chris Hearsey, state Sen. Roger Manno (D-19), Del. Aruna Miller (D-15) and Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi, as well as Republicans Amie Hoeber, Lisa Lloyd, and Bradley Rohrs.