Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to address a joint meeting of Congress Wednesday morning, less than a day after the House of Representatives passed a Republican-led resolution reaffirming support for Israel. That vote was held in the wake of a leading Democrat walking back comments that Israel is a "racist state."
Over the weekend, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, sought to placate a group of pro-Palestinian protesters that interrupted a panel she was on in Chicago.
"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 doesn't even feel possible," she said at the time.
In a statementthe next day, Jayapal apologized to "those who I have hurt with my words" and said that although she does "not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist," she "believe[s] that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's "extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies."
House Democratic leaders were quick to respond in a joint statement saying that "Israel is not a racist state." Many rank-and-file Democrats also defended Israel as a democratic ally.
"I appreciate that she has since retracted the words and issued an apology," Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider, one of over 40 Democrats who signed a statement expressing concern over Jayapal's comments, told NPR. "The important thing to understand is that Israel is not a racist state. It's not a perfect state. And at the moment, there's members of the government who certainly express racist views. But that is not the country — it's not the total of the government."
Ohio Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown said she was "deeply disappointed that President Herzog's visit has coincided with unacceptable antisemitic remarks that crossed a line."
"While I appreciate my colleague's clarification, at a time of rising antisemitism in Ohio and nationwide, this kind of inflammatory rhetoric is dangerous," Brown said in a statement.
Several House progressive lawmakers, including New York Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, as well as Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush, have said they will not attend Wednesday's speech.
"My decision to not attend in no way stems from a lack of support for the existence of the State of Israel," Bowman said in a statement. "On the contrary, it is out of concern that there is no sense of urgency about ensuring the safety and security of all Israelis and Palestinians in the region and finally achieving a two-state solution."
Schneider said it's "unfortunate" that members will be boycotting the speech.
"President Herzog is the one trying to find the common ground and bridge the differences to advance Israeli democracy. He's the one who is talking about pursuing peace and finding a pathway to preserve the possibility that when there is a partner among the Palestinians, there can be a two-state solution," he said. "If there's anyone that the folks who are most critical of Israel should come listen to, it should be President Isaac Herzog. They're cutting their own nose off to spite their face."
House Republicans forced vote on reaffirming support for Israel to highlight potential Democratic divide
"Unfortunately, we've heard disgusting statements from members on the other side of the aisle against Israel," said Texas GOP Rep. August Pfluger, who introduced Tuesday's resolution.
"What I hope is — and it should be easy — that all 435 members of this body should be able to vote in affirmation of this, that when President Herzog enters this body tomorrow, he knows unequivocally that the United States is with Israel," Pfluger said on the House floor.
I am not going to be bullied by their political games, and I'm not going to let them, you know, try to continue this debate. So I voted yes on the resolution, and I stand by my statement.
The lower chamber overwhelmingly passed the resolution Tuesday evening, a vote Jayapal told reporters was "a political ploy by Republicans to target Democrats and try to divide us."
"I am not going to be bullied by their political games, and I'm not going to let them, you know, try to continue this debate. So I voted yes on the resolution, and I stand by my statement," she said after the vote.
The resolution passed with over 400 lawmakers in support, with nine progressive Democratic lawmakers voting against it.
"I'm voting against this resolution. It was designed by MAGA Republicans to target and shame a colleague, Pramila Jayapal, for comments for which she apologized and clarified," Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar said in a statement.
Omar herself haspreviously apologizedfor comments that were condemned as antisemitic.
While Republican lawmakers were quick to denounce Jayapal's comments and attempt to link itto a broader conversation about antisemitism, Schneider pointed out the GOP has invited Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to testify before Congress after falsely suggesting that COVID-19 may have been "ethnically targeted" to spare Chinese people and Ashkenazi Jews.
"There are folks in the Democratic Party who say things that are offensive, that are wrong, and I call them out," Schneider said. "That's different than leadership of the Republican Party, in this case, Speaker McCarthy, inviting a avowed conspiracy theorist who is spewing hateful and dangerous statements [to testify]."
"In this country, anyone can raise their hand and say, 'I want to run.' That's his prerogative. But in this building, in the House of Representatives, the leader and certainly the speaker has the prerogative to say, we're not going to give a microphone to a racist."
Schneider is part of a group of lawmakers who sent a letter to McCarthy and Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Select Subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, asking them to disinvite Kennedy from a Thursday hearing.
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