Minnesota Rep. and DNC chair frontrunner Keith Ellison promoted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory in a 2010 speech to a mostly Muslim audience, newly released audio reveals.
Ellison, whom a major Democratic donor has said is “clearly an anti-Semite,” claimed that Jews have been “mobilized” by Israel to “do its bidding in America.” Ellison charged that, because Jews have been “mobilized” by Israel, the U.S. ally is using America as its personal ATM.
Ellison promoted the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory at one of multiple fundraisers he headlined on behalf of Esam Omeish, a Libyan-born activist who endorsed Palestinian “jihad” against Israel.
Ellison suggested in that same speech that American Muslims “ought to be able to do at least as much” politically as American Jews — whom he seems to think control American foreign policy decisions.
Speaking of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, Ellison said, “I’m looking for public diplomacy. You understand what I am saying? Public diplomacy. And this is not to say that I don’t want the U.S. to be friends with Israel. I just want the United States to have a lot of friends. Right? And to be in a position with the friend to say – you are wrong and you must stop. But now we say it and it doesn’t happen even though our GDP is you know four times larger than the second largest country. Right? It just doesn’t make any mathematical sense,” he said, according to audio of the speech released by the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
“But it makes all the sense in the world when you see that that country has mobilized its Diaspora in America to do its bidding in America.”
“The question is, with all of us here, we ought to be able to do at least as much,” Ellison said to the Muslim audience. “You understand what I am trying to say? That we got a lot of work to do. I’m working on it. We’re working on it together, and by supporting with my campaign you’re keeping me in business doing this stuff.”
“I’m telling you now, with some of the money that you give to me, one of the things I do is I make sure that in Minnesota that whoever I’m supporting wins. And I tell them, this is the hard-earned dollars of Muslim-Americans. OK, so they know.” (RELATED: Democratic Donor: Keith Ellison ‘Clearly An Anti-Semite’)
Earlier in the speech, Ellison claimed Israel is treating America like its ATM. “We can’t allow another country to treat us like we’re their ATM. Right? And so we ought to stand up as Americans,” he said, noting that “some of us have affinity for other places around the globe.”
The Investigative Project on Terrorism previously released a snippet of that same speech in which Ellison said U.S. foreign policy is dictated by what is good or bad for Israeli — rather than American — interests. That snippet alone was “deeply disturbing and disqualifying,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
On Friday, major Democratic donor Haim Saban said Ellison is “clearly an anti-Semite.”
WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 09: Congressional Black Caucus members (R-L) Chair Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); Rep. David Scott (D-GA), Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) hold a news conference about health care reform at the U.S. Capitol September 9, 2009 in Washington, DC. Lee said the caucus expects President Barack Obama to show support for a “robust” public option during his speech to Congress tonight. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“If you go back to his positions, his papers, his speeches, the way he has voted, he is clearly an anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual,” Saban said on Friday at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution, a left-wing nonprofit. “Words matter and actions matter more. Keith Ellison would be a disaster for the relationship between the Jewish community and the Democratic Party.”
Ellison, who converted to Islam while in college, has also faced criticisms over his past praise of notorious anti-Semite and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Ellison admitted in an op-ed for the Washington Post that he should have scrutinized Farrakhan’s positions more thoroughly but blamed a “right-wing smear campaign” for questions raised about his ties to anti-Semitic figures. (RELATED: Keith Ellison Failed To Disclose That Group Tied To Muslim Brotherhood Sponsored His Mecca Pilgrimage)
As originally reported by The Daily Caller News Foundation, Keith Ellison once proposed creating a separate nation just for blacks in America.
Ellison also called the Constitution the “best evidence of a white racist conspiracy to subjugate other peoples.” (RELATED: Black Congressmen Refuse To Condemn Ellison’s Past Proposal For A ‘Black State’)
Ellison was considered a frontrunner to be the next Democratic National Committee chair after picking up endorsements from a slew of prominent Democrats including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders.