Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) discussed the difficulty of being a Jewish member of Congress while calling out far-left House Democrats for their response to the Israel-Hamas war, citing a lack of “progressive love.”
“Being a Jewish member of Congress in the Democratic caucus is very difficult right now, you can imagine,” Phillips said Friday evening on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. “There is seemingly a lack of progressive love when it comes to our doorstep, and it’s problematic.”
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“I know I don’t look like someone whose community might need support or affection or protection,” Phillips said.
Members of Congress have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the rise of antisemitism following the start of the Israel-Hamas war — including multiple arrests made in connection to hate crimes or threats against Jewish people.
“I believe one of the reasons Israel was invaded is because there is a moral, morally bankrupt leader in Israel,” Phillips said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I would say of a very morally wonderful nation who opened the door to an attack because of the division that he has caused.”
“Not unlike a former president in this country who is also an immoral leader of a very moral country,” Phillips said, referring to former President Donald Trump.
Since launching his Democratic presidential bid against President Joe Biden, Philips has been increasingly vocal about how the U.S. needs to support Israel, although he’s said he supports resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a two-state solution in the long term.
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Phillips is one of 26 Jewish House members, and he previously served on the board of Temple Israel in Minneapolis. While a small faction of Democrats is calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, Phillips said he’ll support it when “Hamas is no longer in a position to murder Israelis.”
“We are at risk if we continue to keep fighting each other on any lines — racial lines, economic lines, we got to unify, we got to take care of people,” Phillps said, distinguishing himself from other candidates by saying, “I love my Republican brothers and sisters just as much as my Democratic ones.”
