Progressive congressional candidate Maxwell Alejandro Frost is being criticized by a pro-Palestinian group that accused him of lying to them about his stance on Israel.
Frost made national headlines last week when he won the Democratic primary in Florida's 10th district in Orlando and is poised to fill the solid blue seat in the November midterms as Rep. Val Demings hopes to unseat Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. If elected, the 25-year-old activist could make history as the first Gen-Z lawmaker in Congress.
However, Frost's ascendency has fueled outrage from the Florida Palestine Network (FPN), which put out a scathing statement against the candidate on the eve of his primary.
FPN was reacting to a policy paper from the Frost campaign obtained by Jewish Insider which outlined his call for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, his commitment to supporting foreign aid to the Jewish state and his opposition to the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement, which he says is "extremely problematic and undermines the chances of peace."
In a statement released last week on social media, FPN declared Frost "has already violated his commitments to protecting and fight for human rights for all" with his position paper to the Jewish Insider.
The group alleged that during a March 9 interview with Frost, he "committed to ending military aid to Israel and supporting the grassroots global movement of BDS," adding that he "also promised that no Position Paper will be submitted without working with FPN and the approval of FPN."
"On August 11, 2022, the FPN was shocked to learn of his anti-Palestinian Position Paper via the Jewish Insider Article, where it was revealed Maxwell Frost had lied and deceived his early supporters – many of whom were his only supporters early on in his candidacy and built the foundations of his campaign," FPN wrote. "The Florida Palestine Network condemns Maxwell Frost and demands an immediate apology to the members of FPN and Palestinians, accountability, and a recommitment to his pledge to centering Palestinian human rights… To use FPN's organizing success as a stepping stool and become anti-Palestinian is disturbing and unacceptable. This is not who we want representing us in the halls of Congress."
In the paper FPN objected to, Frost addressed Palestinian rights, writing, "Our commitmnent [sic] to Israeli security must run parallel to our commitment to ensuring the dignity and humanity of the Palestinian people," he also called for "robust US assistance that benefits the Palestinian people and is in compliance with Taylor Force Act."
The Frost campaign confirmed to Jewish Insider that the meeting between Frost and FPN took place but the candidate did "not agree with FPN’s accounting of the events."
"Maxwell is someone who wants to lean in with different folks on a wide variety of issues," the spokesperson told Jewish Insider. "He believes that a two-state solution, and subsequent policies that lead to it, is the strongest and quickest path toward peace for both Israelis and Palestinians."
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"After many conversations with people of different opinions on the issue over several months," the Frost spokesperson continued, "Maxwell drafted a position paper and then solicited feedback from individuals and organizations that held various perspectives."
The Frost campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
In his policy paper, Frost outlined his support for the Israel Relations Normalization Act building upon the Trump-era Abraham Accords and denounced the "scourge of antisemitism" in the U.S.
Frost also laid out his stance on Iran, saying that the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) "certainly fell short in ways, but it blocked Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon, which was an important success." He expressed support for President Biden to restore the JACPOA but stressed "we must make it longer, stronger, and broader to cover not just the issue of nuclear weapons, but also the full range of destabilizing and threatening actions Iran engages in, like Iran’s ballistic missile program and the country’s support for terrorist proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas."
