On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN Newsnight,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said that many believe that the phrase “From the river to the sea,” is a call for genocide, but “if there is antisemitism in Congress, it is coming from the Republican Party, not the Democratic Party,” and also argued that Israel is guilty of “mass murder,” and war crimes.
Bowman said, “First of all, if there is antisemitism in Congress, it is coming from the Republican Party, not the Democratic Party, number one. Number two, I introduced a resolution condemning the great replacement theory as a freshman in Congress for the first time in history that had been done, and that resolution passed because we had a [Democratic]-controlled House. Not one Republican voted for my resolution condemning the great replacement theory. So, once again, they are not serious about addressing the issue of antisemitism.”
In another part of the segment, host Abby Phillip asked, “I just want to be specific here, because one of the issues at hand here is this phrase ‘From the river to the sea,’ this is something that was spoken by your colleague, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), it’s something that is chanted on some of these college campuses. That is a phrase that Jewish people believe is a call for the genocide of Jewish people. Do you think that that should be something that is off-limits in the halls of Congress and on college campuses?”
Bowman responded, “It is not a phrase that I use, it is not something I subscribe to, and it is something that absolutely needs to be addressed –.”
Phillip then cut in to ask, “Do you believe it is a call for genocide?”
Bowman answered, “It’s not a phrase I use, because I know many of my Jewish brothers and sisters believe that it is, so I don’t want to encroach upon what they feel that is. And I don’t even use the phrase. So, what I’m saying is, when we talk about dealing with antisemitism, condemnation of a phrase or an action is not enough. The Republican Party is looking to cut…the Department of Education. They’re looking to cut the department of civil rights. They’re looking to cut the departments where you actually address the issue of antisemitism, and then, lastly, we can’t deal with antisemitism in and of itself without also addressing the issue of Islamophobia.”
Phillip also asked, “Do you believe, as some of your colleagues have said, what Israel is doing in Gaza is a genocide?”
Bowman responded, “It is a mass murder, it is a war crime what is happening in Gaza right now. You talk about Hamas having control over the Palestinians in Gaza. There has been a blockade of Gaza for several years. The people in Gaza cannot leave one way or the other. The water, the food, the energy [are] controlled by Israel. So, do not say one side of it, Hamas is controlling its own people — and I agree with you, the people of Gaza do not want that — [while] leaving out the Israel blockade.”
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