Pro-Trump PACs back more misleading ads about Harris and Israel – The Forward

Mailers sent to Michigan households the day before Election Day 2024 claiming to support Jill Stein over Vice President Kamala Harris, citing Israel, are actually funded by Republican-backed groups. (Andrew Lapin/JTA)

(JTA) – “Kamala Harris supports endless wars in the Middle East,” reads a mailer sent to Michigan households the day before Election Day, ostensibly urging voters to choose Green Party candidate Jill Stein instead to support.

“I do my best to make sure you know that Kamala will always stand with Israel,” reads an apparently pro-Harris text sent to several pro-Palestinian voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania around the same time.

Although one message appeared to be anti-Harris and the other supportive of her, the mailer and the text messages had a secret in common. They were supported not by the Stein or Harris campaigns, but by Republican-leaning PACs that sought to dampen enthusiasm for Harris in key swing states.

And they showed how conservative campaigners, even to the bone, have tried to exploit deep Democratic divisions over the Israel-Hamas war — and the Harris campaign’s vulnerabilities on this issue — to tip the scales toward to let Donald Trump go crazy.

The latest reports followed similar efforts by an Elon Musk-affiliated PAC in Michigan and Pennsylvania. In heavily Arab-American areas of Michigan, where dismay over Biden’s handling of the war is greatest, supposedly pro-Israel billboards have been there for weeks proclaimed Harris’ commitment to Israel and highlighted her Jewish husband Doug Emhoff; Online advertisements with the same message also target these constituencies. Meanwhile, the same PAC has also funded mailers sent to Jewish households in Pennsylvania declaring that Harris is not pro-Israel enough.

The latest efforts came from several sources. The ‘Stein’ mailers – which include a photo of the destruction in Gaza, a photo of Harris shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a statement that “Jill Stein is the clear choice for peace” – are funded by Badger Values ​​PACa Houston-based group that has reported more than $1.5 million in pro-Stein and pro-Trump ad spending. Stein himself has spoken out about declaring the war in Gaza a “genocide” and has shrugged off support from Michigan’s Arab-American voting bloc.

The text messages, meanwhile, are secretly supported by Wonder Cave, a North Carolina-based vendor that works with Republican consultants. Tech publication The Verge reports this. Unlike the Stein mailers, which list their funding source, the texts appear to have been sent anonymously.

According to screenshots, the texts pose as pro-Israel Harris supporters with names like “Avi,” sending news articles and other items proclaiming her ties to Israel to reluctant Harris voters who ask not to see them.

“Regardless of what you think, it is clear what Kamala Harris wants – that is a strong Israel,” one text reads. The sender included links to stories in the Times of Israel and NBC News highlighting its ties to Israel.

One voter noticed by the ads was University of Pittsburgh professor and pro-Palestinian activist Kumars Salehi, who reposted screenshots of the texts.

Salehi, who described himself to The Verge as a “pragmatic” Harris voter, initially thought the text messages were really sent by the Harris camp. “Kamala people have been texting me all weekend to make sure I know how much they hate the Palestinians,” he wrote on X. “Behold, the Democrats’ final push to win Pennsylvania.”

He later admitted that he had been deceived, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, they got me. I apologize for contributing to election disinformation.”

Another pro-Palestinian voter in Michigan told The Verge that he has received similar texts “at least once a day” since October 24. Michigan is also home to the Uncomposed protest movement, founded during the primaries to pressure Biden on Israel. While the group officially ended the election season with a plea not to elect Trump but without endorsing Harris, some people involved in the movement have publicly supported her in the final days of the close race.

While both candidates have pledged to end the war in Gaza if electedHarris is often caught between her party’s pro-Israel supporters and the growing movement on the left to take stronger action against Israel. Current Harris events and literature aimed at Jewish voters in the same swing states have also emphasized their commitment to Israel, as well as material sent by liberal pro-Israel groups such as the Zioness Action Fund.