The backdrop here, in case you missed it, was an outburst from "progressive" Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal at a left-wing conference in which she smeared Israel as a "racist state." This prompted a deluge of deserved pushback, including from dozens of House Democrats and party leadership. Jayapal issued a tepid apology, but appeared to backtrack on the apology by sharing a column defending her in the New York Times. She wasn't "speaking about Israel forthrightly," as the column claimed, and she didn't accidentally let a "slight misstatement" slip. She was speaking about Israel dishonestly and demagogically, and I suspect she meant what she initially said. House Republicans quickly filed a resolution stating three basic points:
(1) That Israel isn't racist or an 'apartheid' state (a common slander from anti-Zionists and anti-Semites, whose ranks overlap heavily), (2) that Congress rejects anti-Semitism, and (3) that the US will "always be" a staunch ally of Israel:
The sponsors, however, made clear what it’s about in their release pic.twitter.com/3kE16JHg0W
— Marc Rod (@marcrod97) July 17, 2023
The next day -- yesterday -- it passed, overwhelmingly:
The House just voted to pass a resolution in support of the State of Israel following Democrat Representative Jayapal's statement that it is a "racist state."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 18, 2023
Nine Democrats voted against it 👇
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Rep. Andre Carson
Rep. Ayanna Pressley
Rep. Cori Bush… pic.twitter.com/jpwleGDKpu
Nine House Democrats voted against a resolution on Tuesday that declares Israel is "not a racist and apartheid state" and condemns antisemitism. The resolution, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, drew criticism for conflating antisemitism with disapproval of the Israeli government. The resolution also forced some progressive Democrats into a vote where they would either be perceived as refusing to condemn antisemitism or contradicting past criticisms of Israel's human rights record. The resolution passed 412-9, with one lawmaker voting "present." Broad Democratic support for the resolution was never in doubt.
The nine dissenters include the anti-Semitic caucus and their closest friends -- including the very same AOC who urged the US government to drop sanctions against the hideously anti-Semitic, anti-American, misogynist and anti-LGBT regime in Iran. But she couldn't countenance listening to remarks from Israel's president. When they show you who they are, believe them:
https://t.co/CxsoOm2Sp6 pic.twitter.com/cjJFhotNrN
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 18, 2023
What's encouraging about the lopsided vote is that House Republicans are now in the majority, so bigoted rants are no longer tolerated and indulged with embarrassing spectacles like this shameful episode under Democratic control. The resolution was simple and strong, and all but nine members got on board. It's also heartening that the overwhelming majority of Congressional Democrats signed on to those three points listed above. What's scarier is how out of step that show of solidarity is with the rabid left-wing base of their party. For now, defenders of the alliance remain dominant in both parties, but if younger leftists continue their ideological ascent, that won't be the case for long. And since we're on the subject of US-Israeli relations, I'll leave you with, uh...this:
BIDEN: *mumbling* pic.twitter.com/OF6YvAHg5l
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 18, 2023