The chair of the US Congressional Progressive Caucus apologised for calling Israel a “racist state”.
“I offer my apologies to those who I have hurt with my words,” Pramila Jayapal of Washington state said in a statement on Sunday.
The day before, at Netroots Nation, a progressive event in Chicago, Jayapal addressed a group of pro-Palestinian protesters.
She said: “As somebody that’s been in the streets and has participated in a lot of demonstrations, I think I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state.”
Jayapal also said “the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy” and that “the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us”.
Republican and pro-Israel groups seized on the comments. Ahead of a week in which the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, will address Congress, Democratic House leaders also rebuked Jayapal.
“Israel is not a racist state,” a statement from the leaders said, noting the “uniquely special relationship” between the US and Israel.
Democratic leaders also said they “strongly support[ed] Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people” while remaining “firmly committed to a robust two-state solution where Israel and the Palestinian people can live side-by-side in peace and prosperity”.
In her own statement, Jayapal prefaced her apology by saying she had been attempting “to defuse a tense situation … where fellow members of Congress were being protested”.
“Words do matter and so it is important that I clarify my statement,” she said. “I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist.
“I do, however, believe that [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s extreme rightwing government [in Israel] has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government.”
Far-right members of the Israeli government include Bezalel Smotrich, who has described himself as a “fascist homophobe” and is now finance minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party and minister for national security.
Earlier this month, the UN condemned Israel for using excessive force in military raids on Jenin, in the West Bank.
Jayapal said: “I believe it is incumbent on all of us who are striving to make our world a more just and equitable place to call out and condemn these policies and this current Netanyahu government’s role in furthering them.”
Punchbowl News obtained a draft statement from a group of House Democrats who voiced “deep concern” about Jayapal’s Chicago remarks but said they appreciated her retraction.
Jayapal retweeted thanks for her retraction from J Street, a pro-Israel Democratic group.
It said: “Netanyahu’s far-right coalition is deepening the occupation and doing untold harm to Israel’s democracy. To truly support a secure, just, peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians, the US needs to push back against discriminatory and destructive policies.”
