In an unprecedented show of support, a very rare occurrence of all 25 Jewish House Democrats coming together for a cause was witnessed on Monday, wherein the caucus blasted the recent Amnesty International Report that took a jab at Israel.
The 25 members signed onto a statement slamming recent comments by Amnesty International’s U.S. director, who said he believes polls showing overwhelming U.S. Jewish support for Israel are inaccurate.
Source: Times of Israel (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The statement reads, “As Jewish Members of the House of Representatives, we represent diverse views on a number of issues relating to Israel. However, we are in full agreement that Mr. [Paul] O’Brien’s patronizing attempt to speak on behalf of the American Jewish community is alarming and deeply offensive.”
As it stands, Paul O’Brien defended Amnesty’s recent report designating Israel as an “apartheid” state. Someone at the event, at the Women’s National Democratic Club in Washington D.C., asked him about a 2020 Ruderman Family Foundation poll that showed eight in 10 American Jews identify as “pro-Israel.”
“I believe my gut tells me that what Jewish people in this country want is to know that there’s a sanctuary that is a safe and sustainable place that the Jews, the Jewish people can call home,” he said, adding, “We are opposed to the idea — and this, I think, is an existential part of the debate — that Israel should be preserved as a state for the Jewish people.”
Apologizing for his comments via a Tweet later, O’Brien said that his remarks were removed from context, although he did not dispute the contents of the quote. “I did not and Amnesty takes no position on the legitimacy of any state.”
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