Debbie Wasserman Schultz being interviewed in Las Vegas prior to the first Democratic presidential debate, Oct. 13, 2015. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her Democratic primary challenger in Florida exchanged sharp accusations about which candidate is more pro-Israel.
Tim Canova, a lawyer, in a televised debate Sunday on the CBS affiliate in Miami attempted to use Wasserman Schultz’s vote last year for the nuclear deal with Iran against her.
“Her vote has been condemned by an awful lot of folks,” Canova said in remarks reported by Jewish Insider. “I think she wasn’t looking out for Israel’s security.”
Wasserman Schultz, one of the most prominent Jewish members of the Democratic caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, accused Canova of “waffling” on Israel during the debate and repeated the charge Monday in an email linking to a Q & A Canova hosted earlier this year on the Reddit social media site.
A statement from the incumbent’s campaign “condemned her opponent’s call for disarming the Middle East, including Israel, as drastic, dangerous and deadly for the Jewish state.”
In the Reddit exchange, Canova called for “a real disarmament effort for the entire region” and said “I favor a freeze on settlements and the administration has to make this a big priority.”
Wasserman Schultz resigned last month as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee after hacked emails revealed staffers’ antagonism to the upstart presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont.
Sanders, who now backs Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, has backed Canova since May and recently fundraised for him.
Florida’s congressional primaries are on Aug. 30.
