By Adam Pagnucco.
District 39 Delegate Gabriel Acevero, who was first elected in 2018 and reelected last year, helped organize a rally for a ceasefire in Gaza yesterday. That’s not news in itself – even President Joe Biden has called for a humanitarian “pause” in Israel’s war against Hamas. But some of Acevero’s opinions may be of interest to the residents he represents in Annapolis.
Acevero uses a Facebook account with the name “Jibril Ace” but his ties to the account are clearly shown in the posts below. “Ace” frequently refers to Acevero as himself and the account handle is “gacevero.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the archangel known as Gabriel in biblical literature is known as Jibril in the Qurʾān.
I attempted to confirm directly with Acevero that this is his account as shown in the Facebook direct message below. Several sources described this as his personal account and it has many friends listed in state and local politics. As of this writing, he has not responded.
Acevero helped organize the ceasefire rally along with former Delegate Saqib Ali, who used to represent District 39 from 2006 through 2010. Ali is a supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel who once unsuccessfully sued the State of Maryland over its requirement that state contractors not boycott Israel. Acevero is also a BDS supporter and was the only elected official listed as a speaker.
A tweet documenting Acevero’s opposition to “genocide” at the ceasefire rally.
Let’s acknowledge that many people, including some Jews, would like to see a ceasefire in Gaza. Acevero also added the following opinions on Facebook, including “There’s a genocide happening in Gaza and our tax dollars are funding it.” That was repeated five times in one post.
Facebook posts of October 17, October 17 and October 18.
Facebook post of October 31.
I did not find any posts condemning Hamas’s attacks on Israeli civilians.
Acevero is entitled to his First Amendment rights. The question here is what his constituents will think about his opinions.