Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) were signers of a recent letter condemning remarks by Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) on Israel. Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) expressed skepticism at the sincerity of Rep. Jayapal's apology, saying in a recent appearance on The National Desk that "there is a strain of anti-Semitism embedded deep within the Democratic party."
"There is a strain of anti-Semitism embedded deep within the Democratic party. Many Dems believe Israel should give up more territory & even question its existence. Proud to have joined my @HouseGOP colleagues yesterday in voting to reaffirm support for our friend & ally Israel," Rep. Donalds tweeted.
There is a strain of anti-Semitism embedded deep within the Democratic party.
Many Dems believe Israel should give up more territory & even question its existence.
Proud to have joined my @HouseGOP colleagues yesterday in voting to reaffirm support for our friend & ally Israel. pic.twitter.com/HRIA2h39o4
— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) July 19, 2023
After Rep. Jayapal called Israel "a racist state" at a Netroots Nation conference in Chicago and her subsequent apology, the House of Representatives passed a resolution reaffirming the nation's alliance with Israel and denounced antisemitism.
However, as Rep. Donalds suggested in the above clip, "[Democrats] do believe that the State of Israel should give up much of its territory and that maybe they should not even be in that region."
He reiterated his skepticism of Jayapal's sincerity when she apologized, calling her initial remarks "not a mistake."
"This was not a mistake. This is actually a mainline thought process amongst Congressional Democrats, Senatorial Democrats, and the Democrat Party. And so they have got a lot to answer for," Donalds continued.
Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) have been considered the most vocal examples of what Donalds called "this strain of antisemitism that is embedded deep within the Democrat Party," the pair have made numerous antisemitic remarks over the years.
In May 2021, Omar called Israel an "apartheid state" engaging in "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing." In September 2022, Rep. Tlaib repeated the "apartheid state" claim, saying one could not be progressive and supportive of Israel.
Donalds concluded by reminding Jewish voters that comments such as Jayapal's, Omar's, and Tlaib's "are not just comments here or there that go away because the media chooses not to talk about them and ignore these statements."
"And for the Jewish voters in our country, please keep in mind that these are not just comments here or there that go away because the media chooses not to talk about them and ignore these statements. This is a state of fact within the Democrat Party. So we are going to vote today, and that is all well and good, but that vote is not going to be indicative of the mindset of too many Democrats," said Donalds.
