Duncan Hunter, who is running for reelection in California’s 50th District, has a descendant of a Munich terrorist as his opponent. Ammar Campa-Najjar is the grandson of Muhammad Youssef al-Najjar, a Palestinian accused of being a member of the Black September terrorist group that killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Al-Najjaf was assassinated in Beirut in 1973 by Israeli commandos.

Campa-Najjar was born in America. His father is Palestinian and his mother is Mexican-American. He lived for a short time in Gaza with his family as a child, but they returned when he was 12 because it was too dangerous. Campa-Najjar worked on Obama’s 2012 campaign, held a White House job and a Department of Labor job. He is only 29.

Duncan Hunter has his own problems far beyond running for reelection. He was indicted on campaign finance violations along with his wife. California law prohibits new names from being added to the ballot at this date. What a strange choice Californians are faced with in this race: a person charged with crimes or a family member of the Munich terrorists?

As far as Campa-Najjar’s public image, he is successfully looking like a rational, level-headed left of center kind of candidate. He is a Christian and has a good relationship with the local Jewish community. When he speaks of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, his language is measured and he simply advocates for a peaceful outcome. While he has never hidden his family background, and he spoke about it in February, it is just now becoming more publicized. Perhaps it is because Hunter needs some deflection, though Hunter himself does not appear to have made any statements on the topic.

On his grandfather and terrorism, Campa-Najjar sounds very reasonable:

After the article was published, Campa-Najjar told local news outlets that for the sake of the Israeli families of the murdered athletes, he hoped his personal story would not be manipulated for political purposes.

“For the sake of the victims, I hoped this tragedy wouldn’t be politicized. But if these old wounds must be re-opened, then I pray God gives purpose to their unspeakable pain,” he told the San Diego Tribune in a statement. “I pray that purpose is to see peace prioritized by my generation of Palestinians, Israelis, and the whole of humanity.”

“Palestinians and Israelis have lost too much over the years of bloodshed, that’s why I am committed to helping broker a lasting peace in my lifetime,” he added.

In his statement, Campa-Najjar characterized the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement as something that “neither side wants, but everyone needs.”

Campa-Najjar’s platform aligns with typical Democrat interests like Medicare for All, no border wall, and believes in a pathway for citizenship for DACA kids. A further strike against him is the endorsement of our very own Lady Che, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1032294028153434112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1032294028153434112&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2F2018%2F08%2F24%2Fgrandson-munich-terrorist-rises-in-race-against-indicted-rep-hunter-disavows-dark-family-past.html

However, he has not shown himself to be afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome. He is not calling to abolish ICE, supports enforcing employment verification, and has recognized that so many Trump voters were influenced, not by Russia, but by the complete disregard and anti-Americanism of the Democrat party.

[T]he candidate is not embracing hard-left rhetoric publicly and even criticized his party for ignoring Trump voters on Friday.

“Those Trump supporters who voted for him voted not because they’re ignorant but because they’ve been ignored, by my party and by the country,” he said.

Initially the cringe of this association with the Munich terrorists was repulsive. But then, my meritocracy principles kicked in, and if Campa-Najjar is sincere, I resolved that his grandfather’s actions should not be held against him. If he had a more conservative or libertarian platform, and was not a fan of Bernie Sanders, I might be tempted to vote for him.

But one thing is certain, his ancestor’s sins should not be held against him. I hope the race does not devolve into attacking him on this point. It would be a mistake, and a contradiction of conservative principles that call for individual responsibility. While the Democrats and Progressives are more than happy to place the sin of slave ownership on all white people, conservatives must continue to hold the line and not let the sins of our fathers permanently mar future generations.