Former Holocaust Center Director Accuses Israel of 'Genocide' for First Time During Maine Senate Scramble

Shenna Bellows has worked closely with Maine Jewish institutions and signed a proclamation honoring Israel’s 75th anniversary. Seeking to replace Graham Platner, she now demonizes the Jewish state.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows publicly accused Israel of “genocide” for the first time Friday, adopting the antizionist movement’s central libel as she campaigns to inherit Graham Platner’s place on the Democratic U.S. Senate ballot.

“Yes. Israel, the Israeli government, is committing genocide in Gaza right now,” Bellows said during an appearance on CNN’s “The Source.” “And we should not be sending any taxpayer funds to be conducting that harm.”

An AO7 review of Bellows’s public statements, campaign materials, news coverage, and record on Israel found no earlier instance in which she accused the Jewish state of “genocide.”

Roughly 600 Democratic delegates will select Platner’s replacement at the party’s nominating convention scheduled for July 25.

Bellows’ promotion of the genocide libel marks a dramatic departure from the public record she built through years of work with Maine’s Jewish community.