The Democrats running to be the next leader of the national party fiercely defended Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) against a top donor’s claim that he is an “anti-Semite” at a debate in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.
Huffington Post editor Ryan Grim asked the group of seven candidates how many thought that Haim Saban, the Democratic mega-donor who levied the charges against Ellison, should apologize.
Everyone raised their hands except for Jehmu Greene, a Fox News political analyst running for chairman of the Democratic National Committee who said she abstained because Democrats should not entertain divisive “gotcha” questions.
{mosads}“I don’t believe there is an anti-Semitic bone in his body,” South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison said of Ellison.
In December, Saban, an Israeli-American billionaire, stoked controversy around Ellison, who is Muslim, by calling him an “anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual.”
Ellison’s critics have pointed to his decades-old remarks defending Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. More recently, Ellison has questioned whether Israel has outsized influence over U.S. foreign policy.
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Ellison has rejected his remarks about Farrakhan, saying he made them as a young college student and that his views have evolved in the decades since.
The Minnesota congressman, who along with Labor Secretary Tom Perez is a favorite to be the next DNC chairman, said that he had a phone call with Saban to clear the air.
“It was amicable and we’ll get together and build on our relationship,” Ellison said. “That wasn’t the last word. We’re on the road to recovery in that regard.”