The candidate who finished first in the March 3rd Democratic primary for Texas’ 35th Congressional District has a major antisemitism problem.
There are ways to oppose Israel and Zionism without being antisemitic. Maureen Galindo shoots past that line into straight-up anti-Jewish territory.
When you are also a person that rants about Jews controlling Hollywood and other antisemitic canards, you’re pretty clearly just swapping out the word “Jews” for “Zionists.”
Take this for example: Galindo recently pledged that, if elected, she will write legislation to lock up all American Zionists.
Her “legislation” would
- Turn an ICE detention center into a prison for American Zionists.
- Make it into a castration processing center for pedophiles, which she says “will probably be most of the Zionists.”
- Categorize all Zionism as antisemitic, “since it’s Zionists harming the Semites.”
After intense backlash, she doubled down by clarifying she would not lock up ALL Jews — only Zionist Jews.
This backpedaling is a common tactic from antisemites. “It’s not ALL Jews,” they say. “Not REAL Jews.” It’s still antisemitic. It’s still dangerous.
Let’s unpack the rest of her comments.
Threatening to create a concentration camp for American Zionists is deeply antisemitic.
Yes, there are non-Jewish Zionists. No, not all Jews are Zionists. But when paired with Galindo’s history of antisemitism, her intentions and hatred against Jews is clear.
And this doesn’t even touch the logistics and litmus testing of American Jews this plan would necessitate. This threat of imprisonment and castration is a violent threat to Jewish participation in public life.
This is the same person who makes wild claims about who is and isn’t a “real” Jew based on their relationship with Israel.
She also attempts to weave a grand antisemitic conspiracy about “Zionists” being pedophiles, tying it back to Epstein. We’ve written extensively about how the Epstein files are fueling bizarre, hateful conspiracies about Jews. Galindo seems to have bought these conspiracies hook, line, and sinker.
We’re also seeing a cynical political ploy giving her extreme rhetoric even more attention. A right-wing super PAC is supporting Galindo in hopes that she will win the primary and be an easier candidate for the GOP to defeat in November.
This game plan has been deployed on both sides of the political aisle and only serves to validate and spread these extremist candidates’ dangerous messaging.
Extremist candidates like her only set the stage for more candidates to espouse anti-Jewish extremism in the future. That Galindo and Republican Dan Bilzerian in Florida are considered viable contenders for the House just shows how unabashed antisemitism — disguised as advocacy — is making inroads.
Whether Galindo wins the runoff or not, real damage is being done. It’s up to all of us to call it out.
