More than 40 House Democrats released a statement Monday night distancing themselves from fellow Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal after she called Israel a “racist state” over the weekend. Jayapal, D-Wash., has since walked back the comments, but members from both sides of the proverbial aisle have criticized them.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-NJ, began circulating the letter Monday morning, which underscored the historic relationship between the United States and Israel. He garnered signatures from 42 other members before it was released to the public.
“Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and antisemitic, but they also undermine America’s national security,” the 43 Democrats said in the letter. “Israel is critical to our fight against terror, and our defense and intelligence collaboration continues to strengthen our leadership in the world. Israel remains our greatest partner for peace in the Middle East.”
They added, “Any efforts to rewrite history and question the Jewish State’s right to exist, or our historic bipartisan relationship, will never succeed in Congress. We remain committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians to establish two states that exist side-by-side in peace, prosperity, and mutual security.”
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The letter specifically mentioned Jayapal by name, unlike a letter released by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies and other leaders that expressed support for Israel.
“We are deeply concerned about Representative Pramila Jayapal’s unacceptable comments regarding our historic, democratic ally Israel, and we appreciate her retraction,” the lawmakers added.
“Israel remains the only vibrant, progressive, and inclusive democracy in the region. Arab parties serve in the Knesset, women serve at the highest levels of the military, and the country remains an oasis for LGBTQ+ people in a region hostile toward the community. Pluralism flourishes in Israel,” the dozens of lawmakers said.
The letter continued, “We will never allow anti-Zionist voices that embolden antisemitism to undermine and disrupt the strongly bipartisan consensus supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship that has existed for decades.”
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In addition to Gottheimer, the letter was signed by: Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Jim Costa (CA-21), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Lou Correa (CA-46), Mike Levin (CA-49), Scott Peters (CA-50), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Darren Soto (FL-9), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Ed Case (HI-1), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Seth Moulton (MA-6), Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-2), David Trone (MD-6), Jared Golden (ME-2), Hillary Scholten (MI-3), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Angie Craig (MN-2), Dean Phillips (MN-3), Don Davis (NC-1), Kathy Manning (NC-6), Wiley Nickel (NC-13), Jeff Jackson (NC-14), Chris Pappas (NH-1), Annie Kuster (NH-2), Don Norcross (NJ-1), Rob Menendez (NJ-8), Susie Lee (NV-3), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Greg Landsman (OH-1), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-3), Derek Kilmer (WA-6) and Marilyn Strickland (WA-10).
Jayapal, who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called Israel a “racist state” during an appearance Saturday at the Netroots Nation Conference in Chicago.
“As somebody who’s been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations, 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 does not even feel possible,” Jayapal said during a panel discussion at the event.
On Sunday, Jayapal released a statement on Twitter that attempted to clarify her stance on Israel.
She does not “believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist” but accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pushing “outright racist policies,” she said in the new statement.
“Words do matter and so it is important that I clarify my statement,” Jayapal wrote.
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