Seattle, WA
Rantz: Seattle’s Rep. Jayapal dismisses terrorism as ‘ongoing situation’
Seattle’s U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal is dismissing the terrorist attack against Israel as an “ongoing situation in the Middle East.” In return, the Jewish community and all reasonable voters should dismiss her next reelection campaign.
“Amid the ongoing situation in the Middle East, I wanted to share some resources to assist with any concerns you may have regarding security for U.S. citizens in the region,” Jayapal wrote in an email to constituents, many of whom are Jewish and have friends or families victimized by Hamas terrorists. She makes no reference to terrorism or even the war against Israel. It’s merely a “situation.”
The grandmother to the Squad has gone out of her way to avoid talking about Israel, a country she routinely demonizes and foments hatred against. Her base of progressive supporters hate Israel as much as she does. That means she won’t even offer empty words for fear that she’ll offend her constituents who celebrated the Hamas terrorist attacks by rallying in Kirkland over the weekend.
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Pramila Jayapal embraces antisemitism
Jayapal has always tried to walk the line of flirting with antisemitism, without fully committing to it. But she’s done a poor job.
The radical Democrat routinely partners with the pro-Hamas caucus of the Progressive Democrats, like U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (Michigan). Jayapal was one of only a handful of radicals refusing to condemn the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement. It exclusively blames Jews for all conflicts in the Middle East and has financial ties to Hamas.
I remember the phone call Jayapal made to me after that BDS vote. She had appeared on my show several times, hoping to use my platform to appeal to voters after she was challenged by an equally far-left candidate when she first ran for office. She called when I was on the air, so she ended up leaving a voice mail that I listened to as I walked home that night.
Jayapal assured me she wasn’t embracing BDS or antisemitism. But she has proven to embrace antisemitism both in her positions, statements, and embrace of radicals within her movement. I regret that, even for a moment, I gave her the benefit of the doubt back then.
Additional Jason Rantz content: Second councilmember wants director to step down for antisemitism
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