The Middle East and abortion rights are issues in the final week of a contentious Philly City Council race

A hotly contested race between Republicans and progressives for two seats on Philadelphia City Council has in the final weeks become about issues local policymakers rarely touch: international conflict and abortion.

On one side is GOP candidate Drew Murray, whose campaign is telling voters that his opponents are “condoning” the October terrorist attacks in Israel because they are supported by a group that promoted a rally where a speaker expressed sympathy for Hamas.

On the other side are Councilmember Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, members of the progressive Working Families Party who are telling voters that Murray is anti-abortion and connecting their opponents to former President Donald Trump.

It all stands to make for an intense final week of campaigning ahead of the Nov. 7 election, when voters will decide whether two seats effectively reserved for non-Democrats will go to Republicans — as they did for generations — or the insurgent third party. Four years ago, Brooks made history as the first third-party member to win a seat on Council in more than 70 years.

» READ MORE: Breaking down where the City Council at-large candidates stand on Philly’s biggest issues

The focus on divisive matters such as abortion and the conflict in the Middle East shows how heated the Council race has become in its final days. It’s also an example of how political candidates for local office often attempt to nationalize campaigns around issues they think will motivate their base — even if those issues aren’t traditionally thought of as local policy.

Following a heated Council meeting last month, Brooks voted in favor of a resolution that “unequivocally condemns the attacks by Hamas and any harm that falls upon innocent civilians in Israel, in Palestine, and in the occupied territories.”

The day of the vote, Brooks also called on President Joe Biden to support a ceasefire — a stance shared by many progressive elected officials — adding: “Without an end to apartheid and peace for Palestinians, the cycle of trauma will always continue.”

O’Rourke indicated he also supported the Council resolution, saying “my heart breaks over the loss of life at the hands of Hamas in Israel and the ensuing loss of life in Palestine.”

But Murray says Brooks’ vote was not enough, and his campaign mailed literature to residents this week — specifically targeting Jewish voters — that connected the Working Families Party candidates to the Democratic Socialists of America. The group’s Philadelphia chapter endorsed Brooks and O’Rourke, campaigned with them, and donated to them.

Murray’s literature says at the top: “Accepting the support of a group that does not condemn terrorism is condoning the terrorist attacks.”

The flier notes that the Philadelphia DSA chapter retweeted a post about a pro-Palestine rally in Rittenhouse Square on Oct. 8, the day after the Hamas attack in Israel. During the rally, one attendee said: “I salute Hamas for a job well done.” Another said: “Every person that died yesterday was not innocent.”

Eric Rosso, a spokesperson for Brooks’ and O’Rourke’s campaigns, said the remarks highlighted on the flier are “abhorrent.”

“Our campaigns condemn all antisemitic speech, which has no place in our politics,” he said.

Jordan Teicher, a member of Philly DSA who is Jewish, said the mailers are a “deliberate misrepresentation” of the group’s stance and that the quotes on the fliers “were not made by Philly DSA members and do not reflect the views of the organization.”

“Philly DSA mourns the loss of life in the region and unequivocally condemns the killing of all civilians,” he said.

But Jason Holtzman, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, said DSA chapters around the country have released “problematic statements that basically give credence for Hamas in attacking Israel.”

Several DSA chapters have made statements blaming the violence on Israel, and some Democrats have been criticized for having ties to the group. One post made by the national DSA organization, which the Philly chapter retweeted, was written the day of the attack and described it as “a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime.”

“That type of language is anti-Semitic,” Holtzman said. “No matter what anyone thinks about Israel as a colonialist country, which I reject, I still don’t think it’s right to condone the type of actions that we’ve seen from Hamas.”

Other Jewish leaders were concerned with Murray’s tactics. Rabbi Mordecai Liebling, a staff member at POWER Interfaith who supports Brooks and O’Rourke, said it was inappropriate for Murray’s campaign to target Jewish voters with literature that “attempts to prey on Jewish fear.”

“Jews are terrified right now,” Liebling said, “and for him to do that is unprincipled.”

» READ MORE: Your guide to the at-large City Council race

Jim Hasher, the other Republican candidate in the at-large Council race, was not involved in sending the fliers and is not named in them.

Murray said his campaign sent the fliers to voters who are likely to be Jewish, saying campaigns often purchase demographic data about voters, including related to religion and ethnicity.

“It’s important that they know how the Democratic Socialists of America feel and who they support,” he said.

Albert Eisenberg, a Republican consultant who is working on the Council race and is Jewish, added: “When you are getting direct campaign support from a group that is supporting terrorism, that is a major problem that voters need to see.”

The Working Families Party has sought to make access to abortion care a key issue in the race — despite it typically being a state and federal matter — by highlighting that Murray participated in an event with Students For Life, an antiabortion group.

Murray said while he is Catholic and personally against abortion, “it is absolutely not a municipal issue.”

Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania and likely to remain so under the state’s Democratic governor and a state Supreme Court that’s also controlled by Democrats. The party has made abortion a core issue in campaigns across the country.

Signe Espinoza, executive director at Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates, which endorsed Brooks and O’Rourke, said since the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion is “on the ballot every cycle, at every level of government.”

“City Council in Philadelphia made it very clear they have a role to play in this issue,” she said.

Brooks — who has publicly shared her own abortion experience — last year sponsored a package of bills aimed at protecting patients seeking abortion care in Philadelphia, including making it harder for reproductive health-care providers and patients to face legal trouble related to antiabortion laws in other states.

Rosso said Brooks is also in the process of creating a “Reproductive Rights Taskforce” that will partner city agencies with healthcare providers and advocacy groups “to ensure that abortion remains a protected right in Philadelphia.”

He said Brooks’ Council office also asked the city to donate $1 million to the Abortion Liberation Fund of Pennsylvania, which provides financial support to people living in or traveling to Southeastern Pennsylvania for abortion care.

The city gave $500,000 to the group last year. Rosso said O’Rourke would also support further financial assistance from the city.