Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s Anti-Israel Rant Earns Rebuke from Dem Leadership: ‘Israel Is Not a Racist State’
Anti-Israel commentary from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the chair of the congressional progressive caucus, was flatly rejected by House Democratic leadership in a statement issued on Sunday.
At the Netroots Nation conference on Saturday, Jayapal said that she had something to say “as somebody that’s been in the streets and has 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,” proclaimed the progressive leader.
HYPOCRISY: Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal called RFK an antisemite before she said, “We have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state!”
pic.twitter.com/A9A6fcdpNw— @amuse (@amuse) July 16, 2023
In a long statement issued after many objected to her initial rant, Jayapal explained that she does “not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist” but instead objects to the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extreme right-wing government.”
Nevertheless, a scathing draft statement from some of the most outspoken allies of Israel in the Democratic was leaked to the press and promoted by its authors on Sunday.
“We are deeply concerned about Representative Pramila Jayapal’s unacceptable comments about our historic, democratic ally Israel, and we appreciate her retraction,” they declared before avowing never to “allow anti-Zionist voiced that embolden antisemitism to hijack the Democratic Party.”
A group of House Democrats is circulating a draft letter condemning Rep Jayapal for “unacceptable” comments that “Israel is a racist state.”
It’s written by Gottheimer, Wasserman Schultz, Landsman, Schneider, Phillips, Moskowitz and Manning, per a Democratic aide with knowledge. pic.twitter.com/5F6ohJnAtY
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 16, 2023
Before that statement was officially released, however, Democratic leaders in the House preempted it with one of their own.
“Israel is not a racist state,” began Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, and Vice Chair Ted Lieu. They continued:
As a Jewish and Democratic nation, Israel was founded 75 years ago on the principle of complete equality of social and political rights for all of its citizens irrespective of religion, race or sex, as codified in its Declaration of Independence.
America and Israel have a uniquely special relationship anchored in our shared democratic values and strategic interests. As House Democratic leaders, we strongly support Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people. We are also firmly committed to a robust two-state solution where Israel and the Palestinian people can live side by side in peace and prosperity.
Certainly, there are individual members of the current Israeli governing coalition with whom we strongly disagree. That is also the case with respect to some on the other side of the aisle who we serve with in the United States Congress.
Government officials come and go. The special relationship between the United States and Israel will endure. We are determined to make sure support for Israel in the Congress remains strongly bipartisan.
Our commitment to a safe and secure Israel as an invaluable partner, ally and beacon of democracy in the Middle East is ironclad. We look forward to welcoming Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the United States House of Representatives this week.
Jeffries himself was criticized by pro-Israel activists earlier this year after statements he made in college in defense of his virulently antisemitic uncle and Louis Farrakhan resurfaced.
