Senate Democrat Nukes ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Calls, Says ‘9 Out of 10’ Dems Are Pro-Israel

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) spoke at a round table with Jewish leaders in Brooklyn on Monday and tried to reassure them that the Democratic Party remained pro-Israel.

Gillibrand began by vehemently condemning some of the rhetoric that has become commonplace on the left.

“The nature of some of the rhetoric that comes out of various protests globally, various protests on college campuses, is so damaging,” she said, adding:

When they say words like “from the river to the sea,” when they say the words like “globalize the Intifada,” it means end Israel. It means destroy Jews. And that is how it was received by Jewish students. It’s how it’s received by the Jewish community. And no matter what words they intend to be saying, that is the meaning of these simple phrases: globalize the Intifada, and from the river to the sea. That is the meaning. And that has been the meaning for a long time.

Having suffered through two intifadas, is really to know how deadly an intifada is. It’s terrorism. It’s not a social movement. It’s terrorism. It’s destruction. It’s death. And so that’s why I feel so strongly. That was a strong belief about that—we do have to ask leaders and people to understand the impact of their words in all contexts. And we have to understand our words to Muslim communities, to other communities of faith, to people from other places around the globe. We all have to apply the same standards to ourselves. We all need to be concerned about how people perceive our words.

“So my commitment is, I’m going to make sure that my Democratic colleagues, who sometimes in my opinion don’t use the right words, or aren’t sensitive to the impact of those words—I will use my expertise to give them this perspective, so they at least know how they’re being received,” added Gillibrand in comments shared online by The Forward’s Jacob Kornblough.

Gillibrand had previously criticized New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for not more firmly rejecting calls to “globalize the intifada” — something he publicly did on Sunday, saying his views on the slogan had changed.

“Because 9 times out of 10, they aren’t trying to be anti-Semitic or even trying to be anti-Israel. They think they’re just fighting for human rights, or they’re fighting for peace, or they are fighting for some other meaning. But the words they often choose to use are very hurtful and harmful and are undermining,” she added.

“So I would work very hard with any Democrat who uses the type of language that is harmful and undermining and creative of anti-Semitism to tell them what it means and tell them how it’s received. I will sometimes be effective; I will sometimes be ineffective. But 9 out of 10 Democrats are pro-Israel and want peace in the Middle East,” she continued, adding:

The political concerns many Democrats have are around the political leaders. They don’t like Prime Minister Netanyahu. They don’t like the far-right coalitions. They find their words hurtful and disruptive. And so they are frustrated, as they don’t know how to articulate political disagreement.

And sometimes it comes out as anti-Israel. And I try very hard to explain that your intentions are one thing, but how you’re received is another, and that’s where we get the disconnect. And so I’m going to keep working hard to try to find a commonality, to try to ensure that we can all be on the side of fighting against anti-Semitism and try to get them to sign resolutions beyond advocacy issues—beyond, you know, to helping our campuses have the resources to ensure safety for campus students.

Watch the clip above.