US/World News

4 Jewish Dems to colleagues: Calling Israel ‘apartheid,’ ‘terrorist’ is antisemitic

(JTA) – Four Jewish House Democrats have called out party colleagues who accused Israel of apartheid and terrorism, as well a Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has likened coronavirus restrictions to the Holocaust. Their rebuke was part of a letter condemning the rising antisemitism sparked by the Israel-Hamas war – the latest plea to President Joe Biden to make a priority of tackling the phenomenon.

One congressman who signed the letter, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, was chastising a fellow Democrat, Ilhan Omar, in a neighboring district, though Phillips did not use her name. “Elected officials have used reckless, irresponsible antisemitic rhetoric,” said the letter sent Tuesday, May 24. Along with Phillips, the other signers are Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Elaine Luria of Virginia and Kathy Manning of North Carolina. They do not name their targets but include direct quotes of their controversial comments.

“We also reject comments from Members of Congress accusing Israel of being an ‘apartheid state’ and committing ‘act[s]’ of terrorism,” the letter said. “These statements are antisemitic at their core and contribute to a climate that is hostile to many Jews. We must never forget that less than eighty years ago, within the lifetime of our parents and grandparents, six million people were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust because they were Jews. Israel has long provided the Jewish people with a homeland in which they can be safe after facing centuries of persecution.”

Omar and Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have accused Israel of apartheid, and Omar has said “Israeli airstrikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism.”

The letter comes as Republican leaders who have criticized Greene have lambasted Democratic leaders for sparing Omar, Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez.

Main Photo: Rep. Dean Phillips was among the Jewish Democrats who called out Rep. Ilhan Omar, a fellow Minnesotan, without using her name. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

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