The House will vote Tuesday on a resolution that rejects all forms of antisemitism and says Israel is “not a racist or apartheid state,” as Democrats squirm over Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s criticism of Israel on the cusp of a Washington visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the chamber will consider the measure from Rep. August Plfuger, Texas Republican, under a suspension of the rules, a fast-track maneuver that requires approval from two-thirds of lawmakers for passage.
Many lawmakers will find it easy to vote for the measure, but it puts Democrats in the progressive wing in a bind, given their outspoken condemnation of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and settlement-expansion efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At least five House Democrats plan to boycott Mr. Herzog’s address to Congress on Wednesday over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a 2024 GOP presidential contender, said Tuesday’s roll call should be a simple one for lawmakers.
“There should be ZERO ‘no’ votes,” she tweeted. “Pay attention to who stands with Israel and who stands for hate.”
SEE ALSO: Biden takes heat ahead of meeting with Israel’s Herzog
The GOP majority is twisting the knife as Ms. Jayapal faces criticism for dubbing Israel a “racist state” during a conference in Chicago.
Ms. Jayapal walked back the comments, but her party colleagues heaped criticism on her, saying Israel is a vital partner in the Middle East.
The White House welcomed her apology, while some fellow Democrats balanced out their condemnation of Ms. Jayapal by sharing her criticism of Mr. Netanyahu and calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The House will go on record about Israel and antisemitism, as the GOP tries to make inroads with Jewish voters who have tended to back Democrats.
Pew Research surveys that took stock of the 2020 presidential cycle found that 50% of Jews described their political views as liberal — more than three times the percentage who said they were politically conservative (16%).
“While Jews overall are a strongly Democratic and liberal cohort, there is one segment of the Jewish population that is notably more inclined toward conservatism and the GOP,” the 2021 Pew study said. “Three-quarters of Orthodox Jews identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, more than three times the share who identify with or lean toward the Democrats (20%).”
Sam Markstein, the national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, thanked Republican sponsors for authoring Tuesday’s resolution and predicted political backlash for Democrats.
“Radicals inside the Democratic Party are ruining the bipartisan support that has always existed for Israel — and this is a major reason why Democrats continue to hemorrhage support from Jewish voters,” he said. “The anti-Israel caucus of the Democratic Party used to claim their actions and rhetoric were in opposition to Netanyahu — but this shows they really oppose Israel. Not long ago, it was an automatic applause line to say, ‘I stand with Israel.’ While that is still the case for Republicans, it is increasingly not so for Democrats.
Adding intrigue, House Democrats are pressuring GOP leaders to cancel Thursday’s testimony from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the House Judiciary Committee’s panel on the weaponization of government.
Democrats cited the fervor over remarks that Mr. Kennedy — a rival to President Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary — made about COVID-19 that were interpreted as antisemitic and a promotion of harmful tropes about Jewish people.
“Specifically, Mr. Kennedy floated the conspiracy theory that the coronavirus was purposely bioengineered in a lab to target Caucasians and Black people — but to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people,” Democratic lawmakers wrote to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio in a letter first obtained by Punchbowl News. “These false claims echo centuries of Jews being scapegoated and held collectively responsible for illnesses like the Black Plague — often as a precursor for massacres and pogroms, and Chinese immigrants being blamed for plague outbreaks since the mid-1800s.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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