Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, apologized September 30 after comments in a television interview generalized about Jewish Mainers' response to his description of the war in Gaza.
The Bangor Daily News reported that Jackson's remarks came during a News Center Maine interview about foreign policy. Jackson had characterized Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide and suggested that Jewish residents' discomfort with that description reflected their identity and the history of the Holocaust.
In his subsequent statement, Jackson apologized for making a generalization about Jewish Mainers. He said, "I apologize for the pain that caused." The apology addressed his description of other people's views, while he maintained his own characterization of the war.
The Portland Press Herald's October 1 report, published on its Central Maine website, said Jackson also reaffirmed his opposition to providing a blank check for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The newspaper described his statement as a commitment to oppose antisemitism and work toward peace and security.
Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and logger from Allagash, is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins. His interview and apology put his foreign-policy position into the Senate campaign's public record.
The distinction in his statement is specific: Jackson withdrew a generalization about Jewish residents' reasons for disagreeing with him. The two local reports did not describe him as withdrawing his position on the conduct of the war.
Sources