In 2017, Democratic leaders denounced the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us.” In 2022, Democrats took Donald Trump to task for having dinner with Nick Fuentes, an antisemite and a white supremacist. Across the Democratic Party’s ideological spectrum, right-wing hate is consistently condemned.
But today, too many Democrats are noticeably and shamefully silent when antisemitism comes from the far left — at a moment when the Anti-Defamation League is reporting a surge of antisemitic incidents in the past three years.
It’s a glaring double standard.
Consider the response to — really, the embrace of — Hasan Piker, a prominent left-wing commentator with millions of online followers. He referred to Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and said “America deserved 9/11,” both statements he halfheartedly walked back. He said that Hamas — a designated terrorist organization that has killed Americans and taken Americans hostage — is “a thousand times better” than Israel, America’s ally, which he called a “fascist settler colonial apartheid state” — a statement he stands by. None of this should be waved away as mere edgy commentary. Mr. Piker traffics in antisemitic and anti-American extremism that has been met by silence from many on the Democratic left.
Sadly, we’ve seen several prominent Democrats appear on his show and even campaign with him, granting his views legitimacy.
I’ve spoken to congressional colleagues who have privately told me that many things Mr. Piker has said are disgusting. Yet they’ll say nothing about it in public, even as they rightly rush to condemn President Trump for his unending barrage of offensive comments and social media posts. I understand that speaking up isn’t easy — if you do, there are many on the left who will heckle you in public and troll you online. But whether we’re elected officials, candidates, organizers or activists, we should remember that our constituents don’t expect us to take the easy path. It takes far more courage to stand up to those who have long claimed to be in your corner than to oppose your political opponents. That’s what principled leadership is all about. But we’re not always seeing it.
At their recent party convention, Michigan Democrats nominated a candidate to run for a seat on the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents who had shared a social media post praising the former leader of Hezbollah as a martyr and another post that invoked age-old antisemitic tropes by referring to Israelis as “demons” who “lie, steal, cheat, murder and blackmail.”
Last month, most Senate Democrats voted for two measures that would have blocked sales of military equipment to Israel, with some arguing that among the reasons for their votes was their assessment of Israel’s human rights record. Is this turnabout a legitimate departure from decades of American foreign policy? Or — more likely — is it a politically convenient stance that coincides with a small but vocal and growing segment of the political left making opposition to support for Israel a new litmus test?
If this is now the standard for supporting military aid and arms sales, then Democratic members of Congress should at least be consistent. Do they also believe we should block weapon sales to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, given the history of human rights abuses in those countries?
The Democratic condemnation piled on Israel’s government is overwhelming in comparison to other allies. It’s also louder than Democrats’ condemnation of Iran’s regime for the slaughter of thousands of Iranians in December and January. Israel has been decried by some leading Democrats as an “apartheid” state. But I haven’t heard any of them claim apartheid when it comes to how women and L.G.B.T.Q. people are treated across the Middle East.
One Democrat, a very likely presidential hopeful, recently argued that Israel can afford its own security and that Israelis don’t need America’s “financial aid” — even though Israel has been a stalwart partner in America’s fight against Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations. Wouldn’t the logical extension of that point of view mean that we should also pull our military installations out of well-resourced allied countries like Germany, Japan and Kuwait?
Democrats have justly denounced the Trump administration for its broadsides — in some cases, threats — toward some of America’s closest allies. But many increasingly excuse, or join, feverish denunciations of Israel, our longstanding, democratic and strategic ally.
When we’re talking about which allies to support or which communities we defend, our principles shouldn’t shift.
When Mr. Trump lashes out at Pope Leo XIV in ways that millions of Catholics rightly find deeply offensive, none of us should look the other way. When a Republican congressman tries to dehumanize Muslims, we should all speak up. When Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson use hateful rhetoric, they should be rebuked. The same should go for Hasan Piker. Everyone has a right to express his or her views, however repugnant those views may be. But Democratic leaders have the same right — and a duty — to challenge them.
There should be one response to those who express hatred toward any American: condemnation. Hate is hate. It doesn’t get a pass because it comes from your side of the aisle.
Josh Gottheimer is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a vice chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
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