Jewish Insider: Jewish Dems react to division over resolution to condemn Rep. Omar’s anti-Semitic rhetoric
By Jacob Kornbluh
Halie Soifer, Executive Director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA): “Clearly, there has a been a robust discussion within the party about the best way to go forward with this condemnation and it appears as though there will be wide support for a condemnation of anti-Semitism, along with the addition of a denunciation of other forms of hatred. So I don’t want to feed into this, what I think is a false narrative, that somehow Democrats who wanted to see this resolution expanded in any way were opposed to denouncing anti-Semitism. I don’t think that’s the case. It is very important that the provisions with regard to denouncing anti-Semitism not be watered down. I have every reason to believe and trust that the Democratic leadership will do its very best to ensure that the final resolution will be a strong denunciation of anti-Semitism and a denunciation of other forms of intolerance and hatred in a way that indicates where Democrats are on this issue.”
Soifer added: “We certainly don’t share the views on Israel of those who have initiated these discussions but it is different and there should be a distinction made between opposing anti-Semitism and engaging in a legitimate debate about U.S. policy towards Israel. It’s important even for those who are engaging in these conversations to recognize that distinction, and that is actually one of the principle goals I believe of this resolution. By defining these anti-Semitic tropes, I hope people will be more careful in the language that they use when engaging in political debate to avoid using anti-Semitic references going forward.”