Democrats’ Islamophobia Problem is Worse Than You Think

Last week, prominent House Democrats appealed for “both parties to come together”¹ to prevent a shutdown four days from today. In a perplexing strategy for bipartisanship, caucus members threw a tantrum over a laundry list of alleged MAGA extremist sins. They accused Republicans of weakening America’s world leadership and wasting “time on baseless and partisan impeachment.”²

Both problems would be better directed at their party’s failed, possibly compromised and corrupt president. Biden’s questionable support for Israel’s war against Hamas is a shameful rebuke of our friend and ally’s determination to put an end to future Hamas terror attacks from Gaza.

Democrat Lieu finally acknowledges Jewish man’s killing

In a surprising departure from the left’s trending pro-Palestinian narrative, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA) stepped back from the appropriations blame game and acknowledged the death of Paul Kessler.

The president has failed to mention Kessler publicly, much less offer a statement. He seems more concerned with placating the anti-Jewish elements in his radical voter base who believe their time has come by equating antisemitism with Islamophobia. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If a Palestinian demonstrator was killed instead of a Jewish man, would the White House response be the same? Not likely. The 2024 election is less than a year away. Biden would submit to radical left outrage.

To his credit, Lieu took a stand. He condemned America’s burgeoning antisemitism problem:

We’re also seeing a stunning rise in antisemitism across the world and in America. That is completely unacceptable. It is antisemitic to rip down posters of hostages that Hamas has taken. Some of those hostages, by the way, are Americans. It is antisemitic to deface restaurants, Jewish delis and synagogues, such has happened in my district. It is antisemitic to link any Jewish American with the governmental actions of the State of Israel. It is antisemitic to treat any Jewish American differently because they are Jewish. ⁴

Except for the unwarranted jab at Israel, there is little to disagree with in his remarks.

White House seeks to level the antisemitic-Islamophobic political field

Even more surprising, the congressman does not mention Islamophobia. By contrast, the Biden administration discusses antisemitism and Islamophobia as if the two are inseparable. This is a shamelessly transparent effort to level the political playing field after activists and censured Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) threatened battleground state ballot box retaliation over administration support for Israel.

Government figures confirm what we’re seeing across the country. Islamophobia is much less of a threat than antisemitism.

Karine Jean-Pierre clarified the administration’s position during a November 8, 2023 press conference:

Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate have no place in America. And we strongly condemn anyone who seeks to harm Jewish, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American or any — or any other communities. And we will certainly continue to speak out.⁵

Jewish vs. Muslim + Arab + Palestinian? Is the White House stacking the deck?

184 Democrat Party lawmakers refuse to censure genocidal propaganda

Two days after Lieu’s antisemitism remarks House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) stood in front of an easel with another list of extreme MAGA Republican threats to America that included “censuring House Democrats.”⁶

Only one Democrat was censured and with good reason. Most conservative Americans know this, but our politics trends towards deception in lieu of the truth.

Jeffries ignores repeated House Democrat attacks and censure threats against Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who also called for Tlaib’s censure. More telling is his disregard for why the congresswoman was punished, which is at the core of the Democrat Party’s disturbing Islamophobia problem.

Antisemitism is not the same as radical left’s Islamophobia narrative

Unlike feckless Republican lawmakers who derail conservative efforts by siding with their opposition, Democrats stand together even when one of their members endorses the genocidal destruction of Israel after an unprecedented terror attack and loss of life that didn’t get the job done.

Congresswoman Tlaib is neither stupid nor naive about the meaning of “from the river to the sea,” the antisemitic dog whistle that sealed her fate with 212 members of the GOP House majority and only 22 Democrats.

If she hoped Americans would not understand the meaning behind those words, then she despises our intelligence more than we feared. On the other hand, she wisely relied on colleagues she partnered with on legislation to combat Islamophobia three months before the October 7, 2023 terror attack:

U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), alongside U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), reintroduced the Combating International Islamophobia Act, legislation to address the staggering rise in incidents of Islamophobia worldwide. The bill requires the State Department to create a Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Islamophobia. It will also establish a comprehensive strategy for establishing U.S. leadership in combatting Islamophobia worldwide.⁷

21 Democrats sponsored the bill, including Ilhan Omar (D-MN),⁸ another outspoken critic of Israel with a history of antisemitic remarks.

Democrats falsely accused President Trump of antisemitism despite his historic Middle East policy success that culminated with the September 2020 Abraham Accords. Now, with one of their own censured for advocating genocide, 184 Democrats voted “nay” alongside caucus leader Jeffries, who like Jean-Pierre linked antisemitism to Islamophobia and hypocritically claimed on the same day as the censure vote:

People of goodwill should unequivocally condemn this vile terrorism, as well as the deeply disturbing rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in America.⁹

House Democrats failed as a voice to do that or to live up to Jeffries’ lofty rhetorical commitment:

As public officials serving in Congress, the words we choose matter.¹⁰

Like BLM terrorists during the summer of 2020, the left’s anti-Jewish foot soldiers are spreading their protest threat at a frightening pace

We know how this will play out. Like the George Floyd riots and looting, Democrats portray growing antisemitic demonstrations as peaceful First Amendment protests:

The [Tlaib censure] hypocrisy is staggering. This resolution is filled with despicable lies against peaceful protesters, who were called terrorists for practicing the principles of their faith for justice and peace.¹¹

They will ignore violence, vandalism, and the death of Paul Kessler while using the death at a Charlottesville, Virginia rally in 2017 as proof of a massive, Trump-inspired white supremacy threat.

Antisemitism is an ideology of hate. Pro-Palestinian protests are a radical political movement that manipulates this hate to justify terrorism and grow power

We can’t compare antisemitism and Democrats’ Islamophobia narrative. The latter supports pro-Palestinian protests and relies on the ignorance of Americans whose knee-jerk response to propaganda about a violent Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza give the appearance of legitimacy to the terrorist agenda of Hamas, Iran, and other terrorist actors.

Whether or not they understand this, Democrats who support these protests are willing dupes for Islamic terrorists because votes come before ethics, morality, or keeping Jewish Americans safe.

Like white supremacist rallies, the First Amendment may protect radical pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas free speech. The big difference is that outside of partisan propaganda and misinformation few, if any lawmakers support neo-Nazism and white supremacy. The same cannot be said for backing protests that demonize Israel and the Jewish people.

Democrats buy into politically-motivated hate because it aligns with party priorities and their increasingly radical agenda. Lawmakers who endorse it are just as guilty of inciting antisemitism and violence as the protesters who tear down U.S. flags and demand the destruction of Israel as a warning to America to accept their pro-Hamas cause, or else.

Sources

¹“Chairman Aguilar: the Only Way Forward is for Both Parties to Come Together.” dems.gov. November 7, 2023. https://www.dems.gov/newsroom/press-releases/chairman-aguilar-the-only-way-forward-is-for-both-parties-to-come-together, retrieved November 10, 2023.

²Ibid.

³Photo by Azagury, David/US Embassy Jerusalem. “President Joe Biden Tel Aviv, Israel October 18, 2023.” Il.usembassy.gov. October 18, 2023. https://il.usembassy.gov/president-joe-biden-tel-aviv-israel-october-18-2023/, retrieved November 13, 2023.

⁴“Chairman Aguilar: the Only Way Forward is for Both Parties to Come Together.” dems.gov. Op. cit.

⁵“Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby.” whitehouse.gov. November 8, 2023. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/11/08/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-nsc-coordinator-for-strategic-communications-john-kirby-28/, retrieved November 12, 2023.

⁶“Leader Jeffries: “House Democrats are Not Going to Pay a Single Right-Wing Random Demand.” democraticleader.house.gov. November 9, 2023. https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/leader-jeffries-house-democrats-are-not-going-pay-single-right-wing-ransom, retrieved November 10, 2023.

⁷“Schakowsky, Omar, Booker Reintroduce Combating Global Islamophobia Bill.” schakowsky.house.gov. June 9, 2023. https://schakowsky.house.gov/media/press-releases/schakowsky-omar-booker-reintroduce-combating-global-islamophobia-bill, retrieved November 13, 2023.

⁸Ibid.

⁹“Jeffries Statement on Israel-Hamas War.” democraticleader.house.gov. November 7, 2023. https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/jeffries-statement-israel-hamas-war, retrieved November 10, 2023.

¹⁰Ibid.

¹¹“Congressman Carson Speaks on Censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib.” carson.house.gov. November 8, 2023. https://carson.house.gov/media/speeches/congressman-carson-speaks-censure-rep-rashida-tlaib, retrieved November 13, 2023.