Cory Booker Apologizes For Holding Up Anti-Israeli Sign, Explains He Thought Sign Was Just Anti-American

Senator Cory Booker apologizes for holding up anti-Israeli sign, explains that he thought it was just an anti-American signhttps://t.co/koDJ0cRXWF pic.twitter.com/Vhjj0Tv16Y

— Steve Sailer (@Steve_Sailer) August 4, 2018

Sen. Cory Booker, seen as a likely contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, appears in a photo appearing to endorse a slogan of the pro-Palestinian movement.

A Booker spokesman told JTA the senator had no idea the sign had anything to do with Israel.

Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who is known for his closeness to the Jewish community, is seen posing while holding a sign reading “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go” and depicting a crumbling brick wall. The slogan was coined by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which posted the photo Friday on Twitter.

The sign likens President Trump’s Mexican wall proposal to Israel’s security barrier.

A spokesman for Booker, Jeff Giertz, said Booker believed the sign referred only to Mexico.

“Just before delivering a speech in New Orleans, Senator Booker was approached by dozens of people for photos,” Giertz told JTA in an email.

“In one instance, amid the rush, he was posing for a photo and was passed a sign to hold – he didn’t have time to read the sign, and from his cursory glance he thought it was talking about Mexico and didn’t realize it had anything to do with Israel,” Giertz said.