Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called Israel a "racist state" while addressing pro-Palestinian protesters who interrupted a panel discussion at the Netroots Nation conference on Saturday.
"As somebody who's been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations, I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it 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, that it does not even feel possible," Jayapal said.
"I want you to know that while you may have arguments with whether or not some of us on stage are fighting hard enough, I do want you to know there is an organized opposition on the other side and it isn't the people who are on this stage," Jayapal added.
After being admonished and accused of antisemitism, Jayapal issued a statement on Sunday, saying that her comments were meant "to defuse a tense situation during a panel where fellow members of Congress were being protested."
Jayapal also said that she intended to accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government as racist, rather than Israel itself, stating that "words do matter, and so it is important that I clarify my statement. I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist. I do, however, believe that Netanyahu's extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government. I believe it is incumbent on all of us who are striving to make our world a more just and equitable place to call out and condemn these policies and this current Netanyahu government's role in furthering them.
"On a very human level, I was also responding to the deep pain and hopelessness that exists for Palestinians and their diaspora communities when it comes to this debate. But I in no way intended to deny the deep pain and hurt of Israelis and their Jewish diaspora community that still reels from the trauma of pogroms and persecution, the Holocaust, and continuing antisemitism and hate violence that is rampant today."