Facing escalating blowback for calling Israel "a racist state," U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal said Monday she supports "a strong U.S.-Israel relationship," but argued she and other politicians of color have been unfairly singled out for criticizing Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
"It's not right to call out progressives, but then not recognize that most of us that get called out are women, Black, brown, immigrant. You cannot, you just cannot skip over that," Jayapal said in an interview with The Seattle Times, asserting a "double standard" is wielded against progressives.
Jayapal also said Monday she won't attend this week's scheduled address to a joint session of Congress by Israel's president, but said it's not a boycott — just a scheduling conflict.
Jayapal, D-Seattle, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, made international headlines with her comments over the weekend while trying to talk down pro-Palestine protesters who had interrupted a panel discussion at the Netroots Nation convention in Chicago.
She walked back her comments somewhat with a statement to clarify that she didn't believe "the idea of Israel as a nation is racist," while still criticizing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for "discriminatory and outright racist policies."
A bipartisan furor over Jayapal's comments erupted, with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats issuing a statement that did not directly name Jayapal but began with "Israel is not a racist state."
In the interview Monday, Jayapal said she'd been surprised to see that line leading Jeffries' statement. "In my conversations with him, that statement was not going to start with that line," she said, adding, "They did not intend this to be a condemnation of me."
A Jeffries spokesperson, Christie Stephenson, in an interview said the statement was made in response to Jayapal's comments yet "was not designed to target any one particular member."
Forty-three House Democrats — including three members of Washington's congressional delegation — put out another statement Monday repudiating Jayapal's comments as "unacceptable," while adding that they appreciated "her retraction."
The Democrats' statement called Israel "the only vibrant, progressive and inclusive democracy in the region," noting Arab parties are represented in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and that the nation remains "an oasis" for LGBTQ+ people. U.S. Reps. Marilyn Strickland, D-Tacoma; Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal, were among those signing on to the statement.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, who is Jewish, wrote on Facebook she was "concerned about recent comments referring to Israel as a 'racist state,' and the rising tide of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric in this country and throughout the world."
Jayapal's comments also drew a rebuke Monday from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.
Nancy Greer, president and CEO of the federation, said in an emailed statement the organization was "disappointed and deeply concerned by Representative Jayapal's remarks," which "mischaracterized and perpetuated a false narrative" about Israel.
"We know how rhetoric around Israel can foster hate towards our local Jewish community, which is why it's important that our elected representatives speak with nuance on these matters. We appreciate Rep. Jayapal's clarification. Yet, the impact of her initial comment remains a damaging one to the Jewish community and to fostering understanding and working toward lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," the statement said.
In the interview Monday, Jayapal noted her comments at the Netroots Nation event came as she'd tried to defend fellow Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, who had unsuccessfully tried to assure chanting protesters who interrupted the event that she, too, is a vocal critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
"Don't go after your allies," Schakowsky pleaded, to little apparent effect. She then mused out loud "maybe I should just walk off" the stage and turned around.
Jayapal stood and tried to defuse the situation, as some protesters could be heard chanting that "Israel is a racist state" — a phrase she repeated back to them.
"Guys, guys. Can I say something as somebody who's been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations?" she told the crowd. "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."
In the interview, as she did in her written clarification, Jayapal doubled down on criticizing Netanyahu, saying, "I do believe that the Netanyahu government has racists in the government and is furthering racist policy." She pointed to expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and cited President Joe Biden and others who have denounced Netanyahu's administration as historically extremist.
Jayapal said as a longtime activist and organizer, she is sensitive to the harm that can be inflicted by public statements.
"Most of the time I feel like I am very careful — not that I don't make mistakes. But I do respond to pain, because at the end of the day, there is so much pain," she said. "I mean, the pain and persecution that the Jews have felt from the pogroms, from the Holocaust ... and the real fear that that's going to happen again and they're not going to have a homeland to go to — is very real."
But, Jayapal said, she also feels for Muslims and Palestinians "who feel like they're being treated as if they don't have a right to exist and are being treated like second-class citizens."
She said the criticism, even after her clarification, "seems actually directed towards stifling any legitimate criticisms of the Netanyahu government and its policies."
Jayapal said the heated response to progressives who criticize Israel amounts to "a double standard" compared with more muted reaction to Democrats who have voted for abortion bans or amendments barring spending on transgender health care.
The imbroglio comes as Israel President Isaac Herzog is set to speak to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Several progressive Democrats, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Jamal Bowman, have said they intend to boycott the speech.
Omar, D-Minn., the deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, tweeted there was "no way in hell" she would attend, pointing to Israel's banning her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, two Muslim congresswomen, from visiting the country.
Jayapal on Monday said she also won't attend Herzog's speech, but denied she was engaging in boycott.
"It's not a boycott. I'm looking forward to listening to the speech and I intend to do that as soon as I am able. I just have a bunch of meetings that were preset already," she said. She did not specify what meetings she was talking about.
Jayapal said she didn't believe she needed to rethink her attendance amid the current uproar over her comments. "I feel like everyone's already bludgeoning me," she said with a laugh.
First elected to Congress in 2016, Jayapal has grown as a national figure in U.S. politics, leading the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which now has 100 members in the House.
This isn't the first time she has generated controversy with statements on international affairs. Last fall, she was heavily criticized for the release of a letter urging Biden to negotiate directly with Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. She withdrew the letter amid heavy criticism, saying it had been released by staff without proper vetting.
Despite the denunciations, there are no immediate signs of an electoral threat to Jayapal, who has typically coasted to reelection, most recently taking 85% of the vote in 2022 against Republican challenger Cliff Moon.
She has no declared opponent so far for her 2024 reelection bid, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
