Over the weekend, U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (Democrat) accused Israel of being a “racist state” after anti-Israel protesters disrupted a panel she took part in at the Netroots Nation conference in Chicago.
The protesters interrupted the event with “Free Palestine” chants and waving Palestinian flags.
Jayapal went on to say “that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy.”
I took to Twitter to call on House Republicans to introduce a resolution immediately naming and shaming Jayapal and anyone else that continues to traffic in lies about the Jewish people, Israel, and Zionism — which is Antisemitism. (RELATED: SHOSHANA BRYEN: Biden Admin Hypocrisy Leaves US Ally Hanging Out To Dry)
House Republicans and Speaker Kevin McCarthy need to act. House Republicans should do what former Speaker Pelosi couldn’t do when in 2019 Pelosi watered down a resolution that was originally introduced targeting Ilhan Omar for her repeated Antisemitism so much that it became unrecognizable anymore.
Make no mistake — those who chant “Free Palestine” are calling for the complete destruction of Israel.
Those who call for the boycott of Israel while they ignore the actual human rights abuses happening in the Islamic Republic of Iran are hypocrites fueled by blind hatred for the world’s only Jewish majority nation.
While these comments from Jayapal are shocking on all levels, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that she would make these comments as Israel’s Prime Minister was in the hospital and 48 hours away from President Herzog’s visit to the United States.
These comments come on the heels of AOC, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush all announcing they will boycott the Israeli President’s address to a joint-session of Congress.
Let me be clear — I’ve had enough of this nonsense from Democrats in Congress and from the progressive/left leaning non-profits that are giving these bigots the cover needed to go on the attack against Israel, the world’s only Jewish-majority nation. Enough is enough!
I’m glad to see a leader in the U.S. Senate is speaking with strength and conviction on this issue. Senator Rick Scott responded to Jayapal by tweeting: “.@PramilaJayapal, you are despicable. This is truly disgusting, especially coming from a member of Congress.”
Now there are some that will say my comments calling for House Republicans to act on this is pouring gasoline on the fire and that I should temper my rhetoric.
No thank you — I’m not interested in remaining silent on this or dialing back my rhetoric. I am not the one using my platform to drive a wedge between Jews in America and into the US-Israel long-standing alliance, that is what Democrats are doing.
I am not one that spreads lies about the Jewish community and Israel that ultimately endangers every single Jew in America. Hate crimes committed towards the Jewish population are at record highs in America right now.
In New York City, 235 hate crimes have been committed from January 1 to June 27, and and 108 were committed targeting the Jewish community. A community that is less than 2% of the population in this country shouldn’t be the receipt of 46% of the hate crimes committed in NYC thus far in 2023. (RELATED: BRYAN LEIB And GAVIN WAX: Biden’s Botched Foreign Policy Shows Why We Need Donald Trump)
If Democrats want to pour gasoline on this fire, we need to be ready with fire extinguishers. Our fire extinguishers are the truth and our voices.
As I’ve said many times regarding Antisemitism in Congress, the time is now to start playing offense against these bigots; we can no longer afford to play defense and sit back. We must fight fire with fire.
Bryan E. Leib is the Executive Director of CASEPAC, the former Executive Director of Iranian Americans for Liberty, and a former GOP Congressional Candidate. He tweets at @BryanLeibFL
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