Why is Boston Mayoral Candidate Josh Kraft Calling for Netanyahu's Resignation?

(Taylor Koester/Boston Globe)

In an interview with GBH yesterday, Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft called upon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down:

Look, I don’t want to talk about those federal issues. I want to foc — boy, I’ve worked with kids, I think it’s horrible what’s happening. ... It’s not right. I think Netanyahu has to go.

I’m an American Jew, you know, I’m a supporter of Israel, but it’s — I think it’s horrible what’s happening now.

Any war, wherever it is, there’s collateral damage. But you know what, when it’s kids, I got a problem with that. And it’s horrible what’s happening to the kids in Gaza. Starvation. And altogether it’s horrible. I don’t like looking at it. I think there needs to be a change in Israeli leadership.

Within the space of less than five seconds, Kraft went from not wanting to comment on "federal issues" to calling for a head of government to leave office. Why did Kraft feel the need to do so? To get street cred with Boston progressives? Last month, a poll showed Kraft about 30 points behind incumbent Michelle Wu who is seeking her second term.  

At the very minimum, Kraft is not a disciplined speaker. There was no need for him to discuss this at any length beyond any perfunctory comment. What Kraft has to say about the Middle East isn't going to create affordable housing in Boston. 

The son of longtime New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, this is the younger Kraft's first foray into politics. It doesn't help that his father has long had close ties to President Trump despite falling out over January 6th. Kraft has run some anti-Trump ads to little effect. Gee, I wonder if he'll cut one against Bibi.

Now, Kraft isn't the first Democrat to call for Netanyahu to step down. While still Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer called for Bibi to leave office in March 2024. A month later then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi followed suit.

Frankly, I don't think Schumer, Pelosi nor any other elected official (or those seeking elected office) in this country have any standing to call upon a democratically elected leader of an ally to leave office. As I argued after Schumer's speech on the floor of the Senate:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stood on the floor of the U.S. Senate to demand Israel hold new elections:

The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.

Netanyahu's coalition can certainly be criticized for its lack of military preparedness and intelligence failures leading up to October 7th. Bibi has also earned the enmity of the hostages' families. But it is not for Senator Schumer to tell Israelis what their needs are. To do so is patronizing and condescending. The only thing which has changed since October 7th is how anti-Semitism is expressed in the open all over the world and is gaining greater public acceptance.

With recent protests in Israel against Netanyahu estimated at around half a million, if Israelis want to oust Bibi from office that is their prerogative. I've got no problem with someone from Beersheba wanting a change in leadership. It's entirely something else when it's someone seeking elected office in Boston demanding a change in leadership more than 5,000 miles away from what is happening on the ground. In the unlikely event Kraft becomes Boston's next mayor, I doubt he would take kindly to demands for his resignation from an Israeli Knesset member. 

I also don't like Kraft accepting Hamas' claims of famine at face value. Aside from the fact that Kraft is helping to promulgate lies, he is also placing a burden on American Jews seeking public office to denounce Israel or at the very least demand Bibi's head. 

Needless to say, I'm glad I live in Cambridge where our mayor is chosen by the city council. Although that certainly doesn't prevent them from engaging in anti-Israel activity.

Going forward, unless it directly affects Boston's Jewish community or the city's ties to Israel, there is no need for Josh Kraft to utter another word about Benjamin Netanyahu.