An internal fight among House Democrats has reportedly erupted ahead of a Capitol Hill speech by Israel's President Isaac Herzog — drawing a line between critics of Israel's human rights record, and Jewish lawmakers and Democrat leaders eager to prevent diplomatic tensions.
Herzog's scheduled Wednesday appearance at a joint meeting of Congress has triggered an outcry from progressives, many of whom say they won't show up in protest of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, and judiciary reforms pushed by the conservative administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Hill reported.
"I will not be attending," said progressive squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the outlet reported.
"What's been happening with the settlements has been really disturbing and … I think it's important for us to have a public acknowledgment of the human rights crisis that's happening in the region."
The left-flank's expected boycott has triggered a backlash among Democrat leaders, Jewish lawmakers and centrist Democrats, The Hill noted.
"I'm concerned about what's taking place in Israel," Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the news outlet. "[But] there is a way to seek and get information: You talk, and hear, and understand his viewpoints. And we're interested in hearing what he has to say."
Tensions escalated Saturday when Progressive Caucus chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called Israel a "racist state" during a Chicago conference — a denunciation that came as Palestinian protesters disrupted a panel discussion featuring three members of Congress.
"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," Jayapal said.
She then walked it back Sunday, shifting the focus of her to Netanyahu's conservative policies.
A day later, a coalition of more than 40 House Democrats issued a statement that they were "deeply concerned" about Jayapal's "unacceptable comments about our historic, democratic ally Israel, and we appreciate her retraction," The Hill reported.
The defiant Jayapal told the Seattle Times, however, the blowback revealed a "double standard."
Meanwhile, House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters Monday "If the Democrats want to believe that they do not have a conference that continues to make antisemitic remarks, they need to do something about it," The Hill reported.
According to The Hill, it's unclear how many Democrats will boycott Herzog's address — but it may include Jayapal.
"For me, it's very difficult to be faced with such devastation in the West Bank: settler violence, settlement expansions, the linking up with extreme right elements of their country," she said, The Hill reported.
The news outlet noted the expected number isn't likely to match that of 2015, when more than 50 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu's joint address to Congress amid then-President Obama's efforts to seal an Iranian nuclear deal.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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