An official, 64-page California state “official voter information guide” for the June 2 primary election includes a statement from a candidate for governor that accused Israel of “countless war crimes,” including being responsible for the September 11 attacks.
Don Grundmann, who did not submit a photograph of himself and who has no preference for a “qualified” party, claims in the guide that Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist, was “murdered by shaped-charge bomb Israel used” and that the government—it wasn’t clear which he meant—was aware of that conspiracy.
“Israel murdered Liberty sailors. Israel ‘art students’ wired Twin Towers for 9/11. Controlled demolition. Planes did not destroy towers. Israel did. 3,000 murdered to create new ‘Pearl Harbor’ to justify fighting wars for Israel,” the candidate added, in a statement that contains frequent misspelled words and missing punctuation and references that are presented as consistent with rabbinic writings. The statement also refers to “dancing Israelis,” whom Grundmann claims are Israeli intelligence agents, and that the Jewish state, and not Iran, is the greatest American foe and is the “real terrorists,” who “created and funds Hamas via Qatar.” Grundmann further alleges that Israel is guilty of “countless war crimes” and that it planned the Hamas attacks against itself.
A footer on every page with candidate statements says that “the views and opinions expressed by the candidates are their own and do not represent the views and opinions of the secretary of state’s office.”
“The order of the statements was determined by randomized drawing. Statements on this page were supplied by the candidates and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency,” the disclaimer states. “Each statement was voluntarily submitted and paid for by the candidate. Candidates who did not submit statements could otherwise be qualified to appear on the ballot.”
Immediately above Grundmann’s statement, the voter guide states, in bold, that “the views and opinions expressed by the candidates are their own and do not represent the views and opinions of the secretary of state’s office.” Grundmann’s appeared to be the only statement that had its own disclaimer in addition to the one in the footer of the page.
Elizabeth Barcohana, chair of Jewish engagement at the California Republican Party, told JNS that Grundmann’s statement is “abhorrent and not in touch with the concerns of California families.”
“Republicans support free speech and allowing the public to hear from candidates running for office like Don, so they have the opportunity to know what he stands for and can resoundingly reject him at the ballot box,” she said.
JNS sought comment from the office of Shirley Weber, California secretary of state.
Glenn Turner, of the Green Party, wrote in her statement that the state ought to “divest from genocide” and that “we must divest from Israel, weapons manufacturers and fossil fuels.”
Her statement did not receive its own disclaimer.
