If there’s one thing the Democratic Party “Squad” is known for, it’s their virulent, nauseating antisemitism. So it wasn’t surprising when Squad member Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) went off on Israel and Jews at the radical left-wing Netroots conference on Saturday.
“As somebody who’s been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations, I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us, that it does not even feel possible,” Jayapal said during a panel discussion at the event.
This is not the first time Jayapal has been accused of making antisemitic statements or using antisemitic tropes. And some Democrats were quick to condemn Jayapal for the remarks.
Jewish House members Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, Brad Schneider, D-Ill., Dean Phillips, D-Minn., Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. and Kathy Manning, D-N.C., also wrote a letter that called Jayapal’s comments “unacceptable,” according a draft of the letter obtained by Fox News that is still being circulated for more signatures.
“Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and antisemitic, but they also undermine America’s national security,” says the letter, which names Jayapal for her “unacceptable comments.”
“We will never allow anti-Zionist voices that embolden antisemitism to hijack the Democratic Party and country,” the members added.
Rep. Adam Schiff scolded Jayapal for smearing the entire state of Israel as “racists.”
Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East and is not a racist state. It faces constant attacks and the threat of terrorism, and is a key U.S. ally.
Israel has every right to exist as a Jewish homeland. Instead of denigrating an entire state and its people, we should…
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 17, 2023
The backlash became so intense that Jayapal issued an insincere “apology” for referring to Israelis as racist.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 16, 2023
“I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,” the Democrat continued. “I do, however, believe that Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government.”
She added, “On a very human level, I was also responding to the deep pain and hopelessness that exists for Palestinians and their diaspora communities when it comes to this debate, but I in no way intended to deny the deep pain and hurt of Israelis and their Jewish diaspora community that still reels from the trauma of pogroms and persecution, the Holocaust, and continued anti-semitism and hate violence that is rampant today.”
If you read the entire statement, you might not notice she didn’t explain why she said that Israel was a “racist state.”
What was surprising was that on Sunday, after the pressure to explain herself became unbearable—and a letter from her own Democratic colleagues condemning her remarks began circulating—Jayapal released a pathetically tepid non-apology. She first blamed her remarks on the heat of the moment (as she tried to “defuse a tense situation”) then failed in any way to explain why she said what she said—and why she believes what she apparently believes. Sadly, Jayapal’s non-apology apology gives us a great insight into the “progressive” mindset of the Democrat’s extremist left wing, where feelings do not care about facts and non-experts wax poetic about situations they clearly do not even care to comprehend.
While she backed away from the outright antisemitic notion that the idea of a Jewish State is racist, Jayapal still stands behind her claim that Israel in practice is racist towards Palestinians—while offering zero evidence to back up that assertion. The conflict in Israel is not, and never has been, about race.
Of course the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has never been about “race.” But since there can be no greater sin than “racism,” Jayapal and other Squad members accuse Israel and the Israeli people of being “racist” as a brainless political attack.
Related: This New Jersey Teen Had a Manifesto and a Massacre Plan, Yet You Didn’t Hear a Thing About It
The Democrats have an antisemitism problem and they continue to tip-toe around Squad members like Jayapal to keep the lid on it. That’s not going to work for much longer.
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