John Kiriakou singled out New Jersey Democratic senator Cory Booker as an example of Democratic silence toward Israel during the Gaza and Iran wars.
Asked where the Democrats were amid criticism of the wars that had come mostly from the isolationist right — sometimes called the restraint camp — Kiriakou said Democrats “are utterly silent,” and that he was “especially furious” with Booker. He said that the time before Netanyahu’s most recent visit to Washington, Booker “literally ran through the halls of Congress to get to a photo op” so he could stand behind Netanyahu “with this big stupid grin on his face.”[1]
Kiriakou tied this behavior to fear of AIPAC, saying members of Congress who are not “100% pro-Israel” in their voting record risk being primaried, with AIPAC willing to “spend millions of dollars to defeat you.” He said that fear “scares most members of Congress” into refusing to challenge Israel policy.[2][3]