WASHINGTON – The House voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and expressing support for Israel on Tuesday, just days after Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal faced bipartisan backlash for calling Israel a “racist state”.
The vote was 412-9, with 195 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting yes. Nine progressive Democrats of color voted against the non-binding resolution, several of whom have denounced Israel as an apartheid state that oppresses Palestinians. One Democrat, Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, voted present.
Jayapal, who sat during the vote flanked by two fellow Democrats, voted in favor.
The House action comes a day before Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due to speak to a joint meeting of Congress amid tense relations between the United States and Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform plan. Many of the progressives who voted no on Tuesday have said they will boycott Herzog’s speech.
Members of the Squad, a group of progressive lawmakers of color, have been fiercely and publicly critical of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people for several years.
But over the weekend, Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state and one of the most powerful progressive leaders in Congress, received a sharp rebuke from Jewish Democrats and her own party leadership after she lashed out at Israel while trying to silence Israel. to a group holding Palestinian flags. at a Netroots Nation conference.
In a statement, Jayapal apologized for calling Israel a racist state, but did not back down from labeling Netanyahu’s policies racist.
“However, I believe that the far-right government of Netanyahu has engaged in openly racist and discriminatory policies and that there are extreme racists pushing such policies within the current government leadership,” Jayapal said.
After Tuesday’s vote, Jayapal lashed out at Republicans, who he said were trying to “target” and “divide” Democrats with the resolution.
“Instead of calling attention to the fact that they refuse to do the job of the American people, they are trying to strip us of our freedoms,” Jayapal told reporters. “But I’m not going to be intimidated by their political games, and I’m not going to let them try to continue this debate, so I voted for the resolution.”
A Jayapal ally and team member, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., explained why she was voting no on the bipartisan resolution.
“I think there is a real problem in combining these two issues: accusations of anti-Semitism with real concerns about the human rights crisis in the region,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. “Combining a vote on anti-Semitism and discussion of apartheid and different rules and two-tier legal systems is very cynical. And I don’t think that’s right.”
The other eight progressive Democrats who did not vote were: Representatives Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, Andre Carson of Indiana, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, and Rashida Tlaib. . from Michigan.
Authored by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the resolution does not mention Jayapal by name, but clearly points to his recent comments. He asserts that it is the opinion of Congress that “the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state,” that “Congress rejects all forms of anti-Semitism and xenophobia,” and that “the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.” .”
“This is an affirmation of support,” said Pfluger, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. “It’s about a position: 75 years after Israel became a nation, the United States was within minutes the first country to recognize them.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, introduced a companion bill in the Senate expressing his support for Israel.
Even as they voted for the pro-Israel resolution, some Democrats criticized Republicans for defending their decision to have Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testify Thursday before the House subcommittee on weapons after he allegedly made some comments. racist, anti-semitic and factually incorrect.
Kennedy, who is challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination, said last week that Covid-19 was bioengineered “to attack whites and blacks” and that Jews were “more immune” to the disease.
“That just plays into the most pernicious stereotypes and there is no scientific justification or evidence for any of it,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who is Jewish and voted in favor of Israel’s resolution Tuesday.
“We live in a time with extreme racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and tropes flying everywhere,” Raskin added. “And we should be doing everything in our power to prevent the circulation of these dangerous myths.”
Pressed by the GOP’s decision to give Kennedy a big public platform this week, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Los Angeles, said he disagreed with the candidate’s comments on Covid and insisted that the antisemitism had nothing to do with his party.
“We are talking about our stance against antisemitism. That’s a problem the Democratic party has,” Scalise said.
Kennedy “has to answer that, and we’ve spoken against it,” Scalise continued. “I certainly speak out against any expression of anti-Semitism. … We are bringing legislation so that all members of Congress can register whether or not they oppose anti-Semitism.”
But just two years ago, Republican leaders showed little interest in holding one of their fellow Republicans accountable for his anti-Semitic remarks.
Democrats voted to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, of her committee assignments after Republicans failed to punish her for blaming a Jewish space laser for the California wildfires and she liked a Facebook post who threatened with “a bullet to the head” at that time. -Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
