On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) responded to a question on the actions of House Democrats by stating there’s “a question of double standards of the kinds of speech and conduct that feel acceptable when it’s targeted towards Jews or Israelis that doesn’t feel acceptable against other protected classes in the United States and it’s also a question of insufficiently separating criticism of the Israeli government with criticism of the Jewish people or of all Zionists period. And then the third element is, we have to fully condemn October 7 and put the culpability where it belongs, which is with Hamas.”
Auchincloss also said that “members of the party who encourage and egg on protesters who have taken on an antisemitic bent are making the environment on these campuses worse for Jewish students.”
Auchincloss began by stating that “the left” in the Democratic Party has had a “role in fomenting this antisemitism.”
Later, host Kasie Hunt asked, “You mentioned that you think that the president has to call out or speak to the left of your party, and it is your party, as well as the president’s party. And many of the people who are the loudest voices on this in the Democratic Party are actually members of the House of Representatives. Who do you — how do you think their actions, some of the actions of the people in the House, Democrats in the House have impacted this debate?”
Auchincloss responded, “It’s a question of double standards of the kinds of speech and conduct that feel acceptable when it’s targeted towards Jews or Israelis that doesn’t feel acceptable against other protected classes in the United States and it’s also a question of insufficiently separating criticism of the Israeli government with criticism of the Jewish people or of all Zionists period. And then the third element is, we have to fully condemn October 7 and put the culpability where it belongs, which is with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization that has promised to repeat the atrocities of October 7, which include rape, torture, and the murder of children. And the party right now in the Middle East working for a permanent ceasefire, despite what these protesters may think, is actually Israel. Because, Israel, by trying to architect a post-war governance in Gaza that excludes Hamas is setting the conditions for a permanent ceasefire and peace in that region. Whereas Hamas wants time to rest and refit so that they can attack Israel again. And that’s not my opinion. That’s what Hamas’ leadership has said, we will do this again, as they did five times previously.”
Hunt then asked, “Do you think that there are members of the House in your party who are antisemitic?”
Auchincloss responded, “I’m not going to speak to what’s in people’s hearts. What I will say [is] that members of the party who encourage and egg on protesters who have taken on an antisemitic bent are making the environment on these campuses worse for Jewish students.”
He added that the Democratic Party, “overall, is strongly in the American tradition of pluralism and tolerance.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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