Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, apologized Sunday for calling Israel a “racist state.”
Jayapal made the controversial remark at a progressive conference Saturday, as she attempted to calm a group of pro-Palestine protesters.
“Hey guys, can I say something? Can I say something as somebody that’s been in the streets and has participated in a lot of demonstrations?” Jayapal said. “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.”
“While you may have arguments with whether or not some of us on stage are fighting hard enough, I do want you to know that there is an organized opposition on the other side, and it isn’t the people that are on this stage,” she added.
The Washington Democrat sought to clarify her comments in a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday, noting that she was attempting to “defuse a tense situation” and offered “my apologies to those who I have hurt with my words.”
“Words do matter and so it is important that I clarify my statement,” Jayapal said. “I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist.”
“I do, however, believe that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government,” she continued.
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House Democratic leadership sought to separate themselves from Jayapal in a statement on Sunday, declaring that “Israel is not a racist state.”
“As House Democratic leaders, we strongly support Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday during a visit to Washington, D.C., to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding.
Several members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Jayapal, have suggested that they may not attend Herzog’s address, according to CNN.