Democrats on Monday scolded one of their own, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, in a scramble to smooth over her anti-Israel rhetoric ahead of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to Congress this week.
Ms. Jayapal, a prominent progressive from Washington state, apologized over the weekend for calling Israel a “racist state.” She said she was trying to defuse a tense situation involving pro-Palestine protesters at the Netroots Nation conference in Chicago.
Yet the damage continued to unfurl Monday. Jewish Democrats circulated a statement condemning their colleague for rhetoric that they said threatened to “delegitimize and demonize” the Jewish state.
The White House said it was pleased to see the congresswoman walk back her comments.
“We saw that she apologized, and we’re glad she did. We think an apology was the right thing to do for those comments,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. “Our commitment to Israel is ironclad and we’re going to make that clear and consistent every chance we get.”
Ms. Jayapal said she was trying to calm protesters on Saturday when she uttered the words that ignited the firestorm.
“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,” she said at the event.
She clarified her comments late Sunday.
“Words do matter and so it is important that I clarify my statement,” Ms. Jayapal said. “I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist. I do, however, believe that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] 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.”
The situation is putting her party’s leadership in a tough spot. Senior Democrats frequently must balance longstanding U.S. support for Israel with sympathies for Palestinians that are prominent in the party’s progressive wing.
Mr. Biden is set to welcome Mr. Herzog to the White House on Tuesday to “reaffirm the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel’s security,” according to the administration.
Complicating matters, Israel’s governing coalition is forging ahead with a polarizing plan to overhaul the nation’s judiciary.
Mr. Biden criticized Mr. Netanyahu over the plan, which would limit judicial oversight of some government decisions, earlier this year.
Pushback from the Israeli military also prompted Mr. Netanyahu to pause the plan for a period.
During a recent call, Mr. Biden pushed Mr. Netanyahu on “the need for the broadest possible consensus” on judicial reforms, Mr. Kirby said.
Mr. Biden, who phoned Mr. Netanyahu after the Israeli’s brief hospitalization for dizziness, also said the leaders will meet before the end of the year — the type of invitation that had not been forthcoming since the Israeli resumed the prime minister’s post in December.
Mr. Herzog is meeting with Mr. Biden at the White House on Tuesday. Some progressive lawmakers plan to boycott Mr. Herzog’s address to Congress on Wednesday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other Democratic leaders tried to separate themselves from the Jayapal incident by releasing a statement saying Israel is not a racist state.
“As House Democratic leaders, we strongly support Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people,” the leaders said.
A group of Jewish Democrats circulated a separate statement condemning Ms. Jayapal’s remarks.
“We are deeply concerned about Representative Pramila Jayapal’s unacceptable comments about our historic, democratic ally Israel, and we appreciate her retraction,” says the draft statement, a copy of which was tweeted by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.
The statement says Israel is the most progressive and inclusive country in the region and that “pluralism flourishes” within its borders.
“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,” wrote Mr. Gottheimer with Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Brad Schneider of Illinois, Kathy Manning of North Carolina and Dean Phillips of Minnesota.
Beyond Congress, the leader of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA denounced Ms. Jayapal’s comments as “insensitive, hurtful, and just wrong.”
“As antisemitism is on the rise, remarks like hers only fuel the fires of hate and bigotry,” said retired Air Force Commander Colonel Nelson L. Mellitz.
In her statement, Ms. Jayapal said she was trying to highlight the “deep pain and hopelessness” that Palestinians feel as they face “rampant settlement expansion” by the Israeli government that makes a two-state solution more difficult.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, released a statement saying he is a Zionist and he is glad that Ms. Jayapal said she supports Israel’s right to exist and pursuit of a two-state solution.
“That is what matters principally to me in this,” he said. “And this, of course, is the core position of the Democratic Party. I also think when our colleagues are decent enough to admit mistakes with language, we should be encouraging. Otherwise, we are sending a very bad message and keeping the tent for Israel supporters much too small, to Israel’s own detriment.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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