Solomon Rajput
Overview
Solomon Rajput has spreadhatred of Israel, promoted anti-Israel legislation and expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, as a candidate for the Democratic primary for the U.S. Congress, representing Michigan’s 12th district.
In January 2020, Rajput announced his candidacy in a post on the official Instagram page for his campaign.
The Instagram post also stated that Rajput was part of “the Rose Caucus,” which is “a national organization of democratic socialists” running in different nationwide elections “to fight back against a system that has failed everyone who isn't a rich, white, straight man.
Rajput has also praised pro-BDS Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
According to his Congressional campaign website, “in the wake of Hillary Clinton’s defeat for the presidency in 2016,” Rajput “founded an activist organization called The Michigan Resistance.” Rajput described his organization as aiming to stop “bad bills in the Michigan state legislature by getting together at calling parties and calling lawmakers nonstop.”
As of January 2020, Rajput’s LinkedIn page said he was a student at the University of Michigan Medical School (UMich), since August 2017 and that he received his Bachelor’s degree in 2014, from Dartmouth College.
As of November 19, 2019, Rajput was reportedly “taking a leave of absence from the University of Michigan Medical School in order to pursue his campaign.”
On December 14, 2019, Rajput tweeted from the official Twitter account for his Congressional campaign: “Anti Israel Occupation ≠ Anti-Semitism.”
On November 18, 2019, Rajput appeared on a podcast on the Michigan Progressive website to discuss his campaign and was asked [00:17:57] what his thoughts were on the US-Israel relationship.
Rajput said [00:18:49]: “There’s an oppressed group and people who are having violence happening to them [Palestinians] from a much more powerful group [Israel] and that are taking over their land and putting them in these very oppressive conditions.”
Also on November 18, 2019, Rajput posted a video of himself to the official Twitter account for his Congressional campaign, writing: “Friday morning, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike in Gaza, killing 34 Palestinians and injuring over 110...it’s a shame that we send billions to Israel while they regularly commit human rights abuses.”
In the video, Rajput stated: [00:00:24] “When one group is oppressing another group and taking their land and making a group live in pretty inhumane conditions, that is something we all need to stand up against, as Americans.”
In January 2020, Rajput announced his candidacy in a post on the official Instagram page for his campaign.
The Instagram post also stated that Rajput was part of “the Rose Caucus,” which is “a national organization of democratic socialists” running in different nationwide elections “to fight back against a system that has failed everyone who isn't a rich, white, straight man.
Rajput has also praised pro-BDS Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
According to his Congressional campaign website, “in the wake of Hillary Clinton’s defeat for the presidency in 2016,” Rajput “founded an activist organization called The Michigan Resistance.” Rajput described his organization as aiming to stop “bad bills in the Michigan state legislature by getting together at calling parties and calling lawmakers nonstop.”
As of January 2020, Rajput’s LinkedIn page said he was a student at the University of Michigan Medical School (UMich), since August 2017 and that he received his Bachelor’s degree in 2014, from Dartmouth College.
As of November 19, 2019, Rajput was reportedly “taking a leave of absence from the University of Michigan Medical School in order to pursue his campaign.”
Spreading Hatred of Israel
As of January 2020, the “Palestine” section of Rajput’s Congressional campaign website stated: “The people of Palestine have to live in impoverished conditions where their access to food, water, and electricity is limited. Innocent people die regularly because of needless bombings.”On December 14, 2019, Rajput tweeted from the official Twitter account for his Congressional campaign: “Anti Israel Occupation ≠ Anti-Semitism.”
On November 18, 2019, Rajput appeared on a podcast on the Michigan Progressive website to discuss his campaign and was asked [00:17:57] what his thoughts were on the US-Israel relationship.
Rajput said [00:18:49]: “There’s an oppressed group and people who are having violence happening to them [Palestinians] from a much more powerful group [Israel] and that are taking over their land and putting them in these very oppressive conditions.”
Also on November 18, 2019, Rajput posted a video of himself to the official Twitter account for his Congressional campaign, writing: “Friday morning, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike in Gaza, killing 34 Palestinians and injuring over 110...it’s a shame that we send billions to Israel while they regularly commit human rights abuses.”
In the video, Rajput stated: [00:00:24] “When one group is oppressing another group and taking their land and making a group live in pretty inhumane conditions, that is something we all need to stand up against, as Americans.”
In November 2019, Israel launched Operation Black Belt to stop Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. The attacks were carried out in response to Israel’s elimination of Baha Abu al-Ata [Bahaa Abu Al-Atta], a senior commander of terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who was reportedly planning new terror attacks.
Also on November 18, 2019, Rajput posted the same video on the official Instagram account for his Congressional campaign, similarly writing: “Early Friday morning, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike in Gaza...Israel states they were aiming to target militant groups in the area. They blame faulty intelligence. I find that unacceptable.”
Rajput also said Americans need to stand: “against those [Israel] who infringe upon the basic dignity of others. This is not an issue of religion. This is an issue of human rights.”
On December 4, 2019, Rajput tweeted: “The US gives away billions in aid to Israel as they commit human rights abuses on innocent Palestinians.”
On October 29, 2019, Rajput tweeted: “We can’t continue giving billions in military aid to Israel as they regularly commit human rights abuses in Gaza. We must restrict aid to the Israeli govt & provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians.”
On January 28, 2020, Rajput commented on Twitter on a peace plan proposed by the U.S. government for Israel and Palestine. Rajput tweeted: “This is not a peace plan. This is a scam which allows criminal Netanyahu to continue claiming land illegally. #DealOfTheCentury #FreePalestine.”
Rajput was interviewed by the anti-Israel publication Mondoweiss for a January 29, 2020 article about his campaign. When asked about why he was so passionate about the Palestinians, Rajpu responded: “...I believe that a strong, powerful group of people should not be oppressing a less powerful people.”
Promoting Anti-Israel Legislation
As of January 2020, Rajput’s Congressional campaign website stated that he would push H.R. 2407, legislation that would condition American military assistance to Israel. The “Palestine” section of his described H.R.2407 as “a bill that would protect the human rights of Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation.”NGO Monitor reported that the bill is “based largely on the lobbying efforts and accusations of Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P),” which the group states that “Numerous individuals with alleged ties” to the terror organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) “have been employed and appointed as board members at DCI-P.”
H.R.2407’s sponsor, Congresswoman Betty McCollum stated the bill’s purpose was to end “abusive Israeli military detention practices” related to Palestinian children and that it “amends a provision of the Foreign Assistance Act...to prohibit funding for the military detention of children in any country, including Israel.”
McCollum’s Chief of Staff, Bill Harper, reportedly stated the reason for the bill: “Human rights violations are being committed by the government of Israel. That’s why. Period.”
NGO Monitor also reported that H.R.2407 “ includes several inaccurate factual claims and distortions of international law...misquotes a number of [U.S.] State Department reports” and that “Several of the claims are based on outdated publications and information.”
On November 18, 2019, Rajput tweeted from the official Twitter account for his Congressional campaign, writing: “It shouldn’t be a radical position to support human rights for innocent children who are having bombs dropped on them. Upon my swearing-in, I will immediately sign onto HR2407.”
On October 11, 2019, Rajput posted on the official Facebook page for his Congressional campaign, writing in support of H.R.2407: “I would like to personally thank the men and women in the House of Representatives who have taken a meaningful stance against the Israeli government's treatment of the Palestinian people currently under military occupation by cosponsoring House Resolution (H.R.) 2407.”
In a September 18, 2019 article, the Michigan Daily reported on Congresswoman Dingell removing her support from the bill: “In an email statement to The Daily...she decided the bill was ‘ultimately counterproductive to a peaceful, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and that she was “strongly critical of unilateral moves that serve as an obstacle toward peace.”
On September 17, 2019, Rajput shared an “open letter” on the official Facebook page for his Congressional campaign, addressed to Congresswoman Dingell, demanding she respond in an open forum as to why “she stopped supporting” the “human rights bill for Palestinian children.”
On September 15, 2019, Rajput posted on the official Facebook page for his Congressional campaign, critiquing his opponent, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, for removing her support from the bill and stated: “I'm looking forward to putting my name on that legislation after the 2020 election.”
Supporting BDS
As of January 2020, according to the “Palestine” section of Rajput’s campaign website: “Solomon supports all non-violent methods to pressure the Israeli government to respect the rights of Palestinians, including the BDS movement (Boycott, Divest Sanctions).”On November 18, 2019, in a podcast on the Michigan Progressive website to discuss his campaign, during a segment about the BDS movement, Rajput said [00:19:13] “Oh yeah,” in response to a comment equating Israel to Apartheid South Africa.
One host then stated [00:19:45]: “All non-violent methods are on the table” for Palestinians, while another co-host added: “All methods are on the table,” to which Rajput laughed.”
In his January 29, 2020 interview with Mondoweiss, Rajput was asked about his support for BDS. Rajput first compared BDS to boycotting apartheid South Africa and then answered: “...any group that is trying to silence the BDS movement...are being influenced by lobbyists, essentially.”
Praising Rashida Tlaib
On September 5, 2019, Rajput posted a photo on Instagram with Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and captioned it: “One of my all time heroes!!!” Rajput’s 12th Congressional district borders the 13th Congressional District, Tlaib’s congressional domain.Rashida Tlaib was elected to the US Congress in November 2018. Tlaib has advocated for a one-state solution, endorsed BDS and called for reduced foreign aid to Israel.
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
Social Media and Weblinks
