Roanoke is seldom a vortex in state politics, but controversial comments this summer from Del. Salam Rasoul (D-Roanoke), who goes by the anglicized nickname Sam, have gone statewide.
Rasoul was born in 1981 in Ohio, the son of Palestinian immigrants; he has served in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2014.
Some claim Rasoul’s remarks, which have made headlines across the Old Dominion and even drawn a rebuke from Sen. Tim Kaine (D), have threatened to derail what had been seen as Abigail Spanberger’s lead in the governor’s race.
On June 12, around the time the US bombed Iran’s underground nuclear program, Rasoul posted to his Twitter account:
“Israel just bombed Iran, trying to drag us into another war.
Israel is committing genocide and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
Israel took us into the Iraq war, where we murdered over 500,000 Iraqis.
Israel is a terrorist state.”
On July 25, responding to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Rasoul posted this to his Instagram account:
“One day, everyone will have always been against this genocide. After 22 months of the most horrific crimes, there is no doubt that Israel is conducting the most evil cleansing in human history as we fund and watch it play out minute by minute.
“Much love to so many of my Jewish friends who have stood up from the first weeks of this horror to say this is not in our name. We know that this was never about religion, rather a supremacist ideology created to destroy and conquer everything and everyone in its way. This is Zionism.
“Zionists yearn to be the only victim and deflect from the evils perpetuated in its name. Instead of calling for an end to genocide, Zionists have bastardized antisemitism, making the world less safe for my Jewish friends.
“There is no middle ground in this supremacist mess. The rights stripped from Palestinians for decades are being stripped here now. The concentration camps in Gaza are being built here. Zionism has proven how evil our society can be, and sadly, we are beginning to experience it here in our great Republic.
“Now is our time to rise up and stand on the right side of history.”
Notably, Rasoul made no mention of the October 7, 2023, sneak attack on a music festival in Israel that triggered the current military action in Gaza, and that the right of self-defense is universally seen as a human right.
Moreover, the term “Zionism” has long been known as the dream of Jewish people to establish their own homeland, a movement that gained great momentum after the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust and WWII.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines Zionism as: “a political movement that had as its original aim the creation of a country for Jewish people, and that now supports the state of Israel.”
Fellow Democrat and former Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Eileen Filler-Corn, herself a Jew, accused Rasoul of “fueling one of the oldest forms of hatred in the world, repackaged in the language of activism.”
The Roanoke Star has reached out to Rasoul for his comments, but none have been received as of publication time.
However, Roanoke business owner Maynard Keller, who is running as an Independent against Rasoul for the 38th District seat, did respond.
“Rasoul’s antisemitic remarks are nothing new at all,” Keller explained. Quoting Matthew 12:34, Keller stated, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Keller continued: “Around last October I heard there was a rally at the Henrietta Lacks Plaza across from City Hall. I wanted to see what was going on so I rode my bike past there after work. Rasoul was one of the main speakers, and many were holding signs stating:
From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free
“I asked a young lady at the rally about what the sign meant. ‘What river is that referring to? What sea?’
“She had no idea.”
Keller told her it was referring to the Jordan River to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and what’s in between them?
“Israel. So the sign’s message calls for the annihilation of Israel. That is their plan: the extinction of Israel.”
Rasoul’s controversy, one month before voting starts, now puts Virginia Democrats in a dilemma.
On one hand, Jews have long been an important constituency and donor base for the Democratic Party. Alienating that key voting bloc could imperil their hopes of winning back the top three statewide offices the GOP swept four years ago and holding their majority in the House of Delegates.
On the other hand, as today’s Democrat Party becomes more radical, pro-Muslim, and anti-Jewish, party leaders have that growing and vocal bloc to appease, also.
Questioned about her views on Rasoul’s remarks, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger stated that the “horrors” of the war, on both sides, “rightly compel so many to advocate for the mass delivery of aid, the release of all Israeli hostages, and a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel,” but that “one can and must denounce these tragedies without using antisemitic language, whether intentional or not.”
If Spangerger had hoped to quell the controversy, she has seemingly failed, as some criticized her remarks for not having gone far enough and failing to rebuke Rasoul by name.
US Sen. Tim Kaine weighed in: “I forcefully reject any claim that Zionism – the desire of Jewish people to have a state of Israel – is inherently racist or evil.”
Keller pointed out the absurdity of Rasoul’s posturing on the international stage while neglecting his duties that should focus on Roanoke and Virginia, especially since Rasoul is Chairman of the powerful House of Delegates Education Committee.
Keller added he had read an August 9 article in The Roanoke Times, where Rasoul had been complaining that the Old Dominion was #51 in math recovery post-COVID, and #41 in reading.
Implying Rasoul has twisted priorities, Kellter noted: “He seems to be falling asleep at the switch. I was at a Police Association meeting in Richmond yesterday, and people were asking me, ‘What business does Sam have getting into international relations? He’s a Virginia delegate, not a US Secretary of State.”
As a delegate who is supposed to be representing Roanoke City and leading the House Education Committee, “he has a job to do,” Keller continued. But considering the serious challenges facing Roanoke City and Virginia schools, Keller claims Rasoul is not successfully delivering.
While most attention this fall is on Virginia’s races for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, all 100 seats of the House of Delegates, which have two-year terms, are also up for grabs.
Rasoul has been considered the heavy favorite to win, and his array of yard signs across many City lawns shows an organized, well-funded ground game.
(For more about questions regarding Rasoul’s campaign funding, read “Rasoul Remains Silent about Shadowy Out-Of-State Money.”)
However, Keller’s run for office gives City voters a choice this year as Rasoul often runs opposed, and charges of antisemitism run counter to the friendly, approachable persona Rasoul has carefully cultivated.
The results of this year’s elections, in both the Executive and Legislative Branches, will determine if Virginia continues on its pro-growth, pro-public safety direction from the Republican Youngkin Administration or turn to the Democrat model as seen in Maryland and California.
Keller concluded: “There’s so much at stake, and most people just don’t know.”
Early voting starts September 19.
–Scott Dreyer
