House Republicans are set to force a vote on a resolution affirming congressional support for Israel just days after progressive leader Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) came under fire for her now-retracted suggestion that Israel is a “racist state.”
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) introduced the resolution on Monday evening, which expresses “staunch” support for the nation of Israel and maintains that it is “not a racist of apartheid state.”
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Republicans are looking to force a vote on the measure on Tuesday, pressing Democrats to go on the record as the party remains split on the issue.
“Israel is the United States’ strongest partner in the Middle East,” Pfluger said in a statement. “Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar’s repeated comments denigrating Israel are unacceptable and disgusting. I am proud to introduce this resolution ensuring all Americans know where their Representatives stand when it comes to supporting Israel and our Jewish communities.”
The resolution comes in response to comments made during a panel discussion with the progressive Netroots Nation over the weekend, during which the Washington Democrat emphasized their shared goal of “fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state.” The statement elicited immediate backlash from Republicans and Democrats alike, prompting Jayapal to later retract the statement.
House Democratic leaders issued a rare statement on Sunday night rebuking Jayapal’s comments, reaffirming their commitment to ensure “support for Israel in the Congress remains strongly bipartisan.”
“Israel is not a racist state,” House Democratic leadership wrote in a statement. “America and Israel have a uniquely special relationship anchored in our shared democratic values and strategic interests. As House Democratic leaders, we strongly support Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people. We are also firmly committed to a robust two-state solution where Israel and the Palestinian people can live side by side in peace and prosperity.”
A large group of 43 Democrats in the House also admonished Jayapal in a letter released on Monday, decrying her comments as “unacceptable.”
“Regardless of extremist views from groups aligned with either party, efforts to rewrite history and question the Jewish State’s right to exist, or our historic bipartisan relationship, will never succeed in Congress,” the group wrote. “We remain committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians to establish two-states that exist side-by-side in peace, prosperity, and mutual security. We will never allow anti-Zionist voices that embolden antisemitism to hijack the Democratic Party and country.”
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The vote on the resolution is scheduled just one day before Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to address Congress in a joint session on Wednesday, an event that has already caused a rift among liberal Democrats, some of whom say they will boycott the event. At least four House Democrats have said they’ll skip the event, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MO), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
Herzog’s address isn’t the first time Democrats have boycotted a joint address of Congress featuring a foreign leader. The same group, with the addition of Reps. Summer Lee (D-PA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), similarly was absent for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s joint address last month.
