DeSantis, Haley and Pence attack Democrats in speeches supporting Israel

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Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday sharply criticized the Biden administration’s policies on Israel, calling them shameful, seeking to highlight his pro-Israel credentials as he takes on former President Donald J. Trump over the evangelical voters.

In Washington, at the Christians United for Israel Summit, an annual gathering of Israeli right-wing conservatives, DeSantis also vowed never to waver on Israel’s claim to Jerusalem and to oppose forcefully to the boycott of Israel movement which, according to him, promotes prejudice. against the Jewish people.

Three Republican presidential candidates, including Mr. DeSantis, took part in the event, which took place when President Biden invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday and was due to meet in Washington later this week. Isaac Herzog, the Israeli President. . The Netanyahu government has a long history of ties with evangelical Christians, whose belief that Israel is special to God has led many to hold hawkish views in favor of the Jewish state.

You are free as a person to have whatever opinions you want, DeSantis told the crowd. But when you cook up a movement that focuses all your anger on the only Jewish state in the world, to the exclusion of all these other things, he added, that’s anti-Semitism.

Mr. DeSantis never once mentioned the progressive Democrats who said they would boycott a speech by Mr. Herzog at a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. But he used his speech to underscore his strong support for Israel and attack White House policies, as many conservatives have sought to paint Democrats who criticize Israel as anti-Zionists or even anti-Semites.

Her Republican presidential rivals who also spoke at the event Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and United Nations ambassador to the Trump administration, and former Vice President Mike Pence took direct aim at progressive women congressional Democrats who pushed for a change in mentality. on the conflict in the Middle East, focusing the debate on human rights.

Ms Haley attacked Mr Biden over how long it took to extend a White House invitation to Mr Netanyahu after he returned to power in December. In reminders of the public fights between Mr Trump and the Squad, she singled out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is considering skipping Herzog’s speech, and said the Democratic Party is the definition of extreme . She added: It’s time to censor the Squad and eradicate anti-Semitism from America for good.

Anti-Semitism has increased in recent years. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime Democratic presidential candidate who was asked by House Republicans to testify on Capitol Hill on censorship, recently falsely claimed that the Covid-19 virus was designed to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, prompting accusations of anti-Semitism and racism.

And senior House Democrats rushed to dismiss comments from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who described Israel as a racist state at a progressive conference over the weekend.

In a statement Sunday, Ms. Jayapal, who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, sought to clarify her remarks. I don’t believe the idea of ​​Israel as a nation is racist, she said. I believe, however, that Netanyahu’s far-right government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving this policy within the current government leadership.

At the summit in Washington on Monday, Mr. Pence criticized Ms. Jayapal, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota for using what he described as anti-Semitic tropes and anti-Semitic remarks.

The words of these congresswomen are a disgrace, Pence said, adding that they are beneath the dignity of US-Israel relations. President Biden and every Democratic member of Congress should speak out and speak out against them today.

In 2019, Ms Omar apologized for implying that US support for Israel was being fueled by money from a pro-Israel lobby group, remarks that were swiftly condemned by her fellow Democrats, including the President Nancy Pelosi. Ms. Tlaib, the first Palestinian American elected to Congress, has also been criticized by pro-Israel Republicans and Democrats for calling Israel an apartheid regime.

Supporting Ms Jayapal on Monday, Ms Tlaib said: “The Israeli government is committing the crime of apartheid.

Apartheid is a system of racist oppression, she added.

On Monday, Mr. DeSantis, who received loud applause and a standing ovation, rejected a two-state solution establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, which has been the basis of peace talks for decades but which s proved difficult to achieve. And he denounced efforts that he said used economics and business to impose a radical leftist agenda on Israeli politics.

The way they treat a powerful ally like Prime Minister Netanyahu, he said of the Biden administration, what they are trying to do to force Israel into bad policies is shameful.

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