House Republicans have scheduled a vote for later Tuesday to state America's strong support for Israel in response to the strains between the country and the White House and after Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called Israel a "racist state."
The vote comes on the same day Israeli President Isaac Herzog is meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House and one day before Herzog's speech to Congress Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Biden has also said he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this year after the administration's criticism of his push to expand territory settlements and overhaul the Israeli judicial system. However, the administration has confirmed that Netanyahu has not been invited there for a private meeting.
The House resolution says Israel is "not a racist or apartheid state; Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia; and the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.
The resolution was drafted when Jayapal, the head of the progressive caucus, drew fire from both parties this wekeend after referring to Israel as "racist" during a Netroots Nation panel discussion in Chicago.
Dozens of Democrats signed a letter saying that they "will never allow anti-Zionist voices that embolden antisemitism to hijack the Democratic Party and country," and Jayapal has issued a statement walking back her comments. She insisted she intended to say that the government of Israel is pursuing racist policies toward Palestinians but isn't a racist state.
However, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., pointed out comments from Democrats that he says show a pattern of antisemitism.
"She's not just elected as a Democrat in their conference, she is a leader of their caucuses and she's making these comments," the California Republican said about Jayapal.
The United States has been a staunch ally of Israel for years, but there are indications that the times are changing, notes The Wall Street Journal, pointing out that a recent Gallup study shows that 54% of Americans sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians, but more Democrats sympathize with Palestinians.
Some Democrats, ahead of Tuesday's vote, said they will vote for the resolution, even though it is intended to embarrass Jayapal and their party.
"If the Republicans are trying to plan a gotcha moment, I think they'll find strong bipartisan support for it," Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-N.H., who chairs the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said.
But progressives defended Jayapal and said the Republican-led resolution is an attack on her because of her race and politics.
"She's a woman of color who's a Democrat and a progressive," said Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. “She represents everything that they despise, and they're going to find every opportunity to attack people like her."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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