The leader of the North Carolina Democrat Party’s Progressive Caucus is under fire for “antisemitism” after voting against recognizing a Jewish caucus because “they control everything.”
Ryan Jenkins, president of the state party’s progressive wing, slammed the North Carolina Democratic Jewish Caucus in a controversial statement to WFAE after a November 12 vote on whether or not to recognize the group as an affiliated organization.
“If the Democratic Party caves to it, that’s the end of the Democratic Party. We’re not Democrats; we’re the Jewish Caucus. We’re a Zionist group. Because they control everything,” he said Friday.
The state party did not approve the measure, with 17 Democrats voting “no” to recognizing the caucus, 16 voting “yes,” and 17 abstaining, according to the New York Post.
Several Jewish caucus members emailed supporters with the subject line “North Carolina Democratic Party to Jews — Drop Dead!” and claimed antisemitic leftists had hijacked the vote, the Post reported.
If North Carolina Democrats accept the Jewish caucus, “we’re telling them very clearly they are allowed to threaten and bully us, and they will get their way every single time and that our rules don’t apply,” Jenkins said to WFAE.
He went on to claim that the “rich white people” of the Jewish caucus have been attacking Democrats who did not support their recognition.
“What you are seeing is basically a very small group of rich white people who have never been held accountable for anything, who have never faced consequences for anything, throwing a temper tantrum because they are facing consequences for once,” the progressive leader said.
“And their only mode is, ‘Oh, well you must be antisemitic — because I’ve never done anything wrong.’”
Jeffrey Bierer, leader of the Jewish caucus, was among those to condemn Jenkins’ “baseless incendiary remarks.”
“We are deeply disappointed to see these attacks from someone whom we believe should be an ally,” Bierer said to the local outlet. “The Jewish Caucus was started to combat antisemitism, help fight fascism, and support a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.”
The North Carolina Democrat Party also spoke against antisemitism, saying it is a “big tent party united by our shared values.”
“Despite the procedural issues that caused many of the no-votes during this attempt, we remain committed to helping the Jewish Caucus achieve recognition under the NCDP,” party spokesman Tommy Mattocks said in a statement shared to X.
“We recognize the sinister rise of antisemitism and we will continue to listen to the voices of our Jewish brothers, sisters and friends. We stand with them and will fight everyday to ensure they feel safe and welcome in North Carolina.”
He went on to distance the party from Jenkins’ statements.
“Ryan Jenkins doesn’t speak for the party nor does his statement reflect an accurate depiction of what occurred.”
Jenkins apologized to “anyone who misinterpreted [his comments] as playing to antisemitic tropes about secret cabals and other racist nonsense.”
“Seeing it in print, I realize that I chose my words poorly and should have been more exact,” he added.