An increasingly deep divide among Democrats in Congress about how strongly — or even whether — to support Israel has reared its head on the eve of a visit by the nation’s president to Washington, as progressives openly condemn the Jewish state and others toil to reconcile their backing for the country with disdain for its current government.
The rift burst into public view over the weekend when Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said at a conference of the liberal Netroots Nation that Israel “is a racist state,” leading to a swift condemnation from House Democratic leaders that prompted her to walk back the comment.
Now Republicans, working to exploit the discord roiling Democrats, plan to keep the infighting in the spotlight by holding a vote on Tuesday proclaiming that Israel is not a racist or apartheid state and condemning antisemitism.
The resolution does not mention Ms. Jayapal by name, but it was inspired by her comment and is plainly drafted to drive a wedge among Democrats, putting critics of Israel on the left in the position of either disavowing their views about the government’s actions or refusing to condemn antisemitism.
The divisions were already expected to be on vivid display this week, as a group of left-wing Democrats plans to boycott an address to a joint session of Congress by President Isaac Herzog of Israel in protest of Israel’s policies, and in the wake of President Biden’s invitation on Monday for Mr. Netanyahu to visit the United States.
Persons:
Israel, Pramila Jayapal, Israel “, Isaac Herzog of Israel, Biden’s, Netanyahu
Organizations:
Washington Democrat, Congressional Progressive Caucus, House Democratic, Mr
Locations:
Washington, Nation, Israel, United States