Dem congressional candidate Antonio Delgado: ‘Israel is not a Jewish democracy’

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday Oct. 7, 2018. (Abir Sultan/Pool via AP)

A Democratic congressional candidate in New York denied Israel is a "Jewish democracy." Antonio Delgado, who is running against Rep. John Faso (R., N.Y.) in New York's 19th Congressional District, made the comment during a debate on Monday.

"Being pro-Israel and being pro-peace is critical, but I'm also pro-democracy, and as currently constructed, Israel is not a Jewish democracy. Those settlements make it so that it can't be," Delgado said.

Faso was surprised by Delgado's remarks.

"Israel is not a democracy? Israel is a strong democracy. It is a vibrant democracy. It has got a vibrant free enterprise system. It has got a vibrant agricultural system and culture. Israel is a democracy," Faso said. "They are our main democratic ally in that region and in fact, moving the embassy to Jerusalem was the right decision."

Prior to being a congressional candidate, Delgado was a rapper and six-figure lawyer at Akin Gump, a top-50 law firm that was the largest lobbying firm by revenue in the United States in 2017.

Delgado used to rap about white supremacy and masturbation.

"Dead presidents can't represent me, not when most of them believe in white supremacy, like spittin' on my ancestry," he rapped.

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