Darwish slams Lipinski silence on BDS, praises Congressmen Rush and Garcia
Today, Rush Darwish, the first Muslim-American Congressional candidate ever in Illinois to raise over $100,000 within 10 days of opening their campaign fund, praised his neighboring Congressmen Bobby Rush and Chuy Garcia for their opposition to a resolution to oppose the Israel-targeted Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement during a vote last week. Darwish then questioned why his March 2020 Democratic Primary opponent, 3rd District Congressman Dan Lipinski, supported the resolution. His video statement is here.
“I am proud that Southwest Chicagoland Congressmen Bobby Rush and Chuy Garcia weighed the
interests of their constituents in standing up and voting no to a resolution that stifles U.S. citizens’ First Amendment right to boycott inhumane and racist policies,” Darwish stated, “policies of a foreign government, and policies echoed here at home.”
“By supporting this resolution, Congressman Lipinski has once again sided with the heavy-handed racism embodied by Donald Trump’s policy towards people of color, particularly immigrants. I am running for Congress because the 3rd District needs a principled progressive who votes with the interests of his constituents, not DC lobbyists.”
Darwish is Palestinian American running for Congress in a district that includes the largest community of Palestinian Americans in the United States. He spent nearly two years as a child living in Ramallah, Palestine, and understands the fear and “otherness” that a hostile government can instill in people.
Owning a small business in Pilsen, Darwish sees many parallels between the second-class citizenship of undocumented immigrants in American cities and Palestinians surrounded by Israeli settlements and military in their own hometowns.
“The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement is a non-violent protest movement that I will proudly champion on the floor of the House of Representatives, much like Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar,” Darwish stated. “I admire their courage and fortitude to hold firm in their convictions and vote the conscience of their constituents, and I am the only candidate in this race who will do the same.”
The youngest of four children, Rush Darwish was born and raised in Stone Park, Illinois, by his
immigrant parents. Despite being surrounded by gangs, crime and bullying throughout his youth,
Darwish’s strong ties to his family and community helped him to realize the importance of togetherness and the value of hard work.
An award-winning small business owner, Darwish founded and operates Rush Productions, a top-rated multimedia production company located on Chicago’s Southwest Side. Darwish recently served on Lori Lightfoot’s Transition Committee for Transportation and Infrastructure and volunteers his time helping disenfranchised children from war-torn countries gain access to free medical care. Darwish and his wife Aziza are raising their two boys in Chicago’s Southwest suburbs.
For more information, visit Rush Darwish’s website at www.Rush4Congress.com.
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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