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WA Rep. Adam Smith says constituent feedback turned him against Israeli war efforts, US support (www.kuow.org)

submitted 2 days ago by velma@sh.itjust.works to c/seattle@lemmy.world

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In July, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, voted to block $3.3 billion in military assistance to Israel.

That was a major shift for Smith, who previously had supported Israel and received an endorsement from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.

Speaking to KUOW’s “Soundside” Tuesday, Smith said, while he initially supported the military package for Israel, he had changed his mind.

“I was persuaded by a number of my constituents that, given what Israel is doing in Gaza, and the West Bank, and in Lebanon right now, anything that signals that we want to strengthen that relationship before Israel changes its behavior on that is the wrong thing to do.”

This was part of a larger conversation on “Soundside” with Smith that also addressed AI regulation, the war with Iran, and the midterms.

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[–] neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I think Smith recognizes that he dodged a bullet in this primary. He would have had a challenging time battling it out with a more left-leaning candidate in the general election if the left got its shit together.

But it didn't, and we ended up with a clown town slap fight between Melissa Chaudhry and Kshama Sawant, neither of which had the juice to win in WA-9 (which includes the ID and all parts southeast Seattle, the south half of Bellevue, and all of Renton, Kent, Auburn and Federal Way -- not exactly lefty strongholds).