Jayapal Calls Israel ‘Racist State,’ Supports ‘Two-state Solution’

At the Netroots Nation conference Saturday in Chicago, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the “Progressive Caucus” in the House, called Israel a “racist state” — but then said that she supported a “two-state solution” for Israel and Palestinians.

At the gathering of left-wing online activists, Jayapal was heckled by anti-Israel demonstrators who waved Palestinian flags. She addressed them directly: “I want you to know that we have been fighting to be clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us,” she said.

She did not explain why a “racist” state, if Israel were such a state, would deserve to exist at all.

Jayapal’s remarks came ahead of a week in which Israel’s ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, is set to address Congress on Wednesday. Herzog is a former left-wing politician who was elevated to head of state in 2021.

Jayapal has a history of extremist anti-Israel rhetoric. In 2018, she accused Israel of “war crimes” after visiting Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, prompting then-U.S. Ambassador David Friedman to walk out of a meeting with her. In 2021, she tried to justify rocket attacks by the Palestinian terror group Hamas against Israelis civilians by suggesting that Israel had “prompted” such attacks with its own policies.

Friedman responded via Twitter to Jayapal’s latest comments, tweeting, “I’ve been fighting to make it clear that Jayapal is a racist congresswoman.“