A staffer for Minnesota Sen. Erin Maye Quade remains an employee in the DFL caucus after publicly attacking one of its senior members and blaming “Israeli terrorism” for creating Hamas.
Legislative assistant Ayana Smith-Kooiman’s comments were called “unacceptable” by Republican Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia.
“It’s not an easy time to be raising children with Jewish blood pumping through their veins. I see growing antisemitism everywhere, unchecked and in some cases, embraced. Now I have to see it at the Senate too. This behavior is unacceptable,” Coleman said.
It’s not an easy time to be raising children with Jewish blood pumping through their veins. I see growing antisemitism everywhere, unchecked and in some cases, embraced. Now I have to see it at the senate too. This behavior is unacceptable. https://t.co/Zd4nYZrmGS
— Julia Coleman (@JuliaEColeman) May 15, 2024
She was referencing social media posts written by Smith-Kooiman throughout November and December of last year following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.
“Hamas this, Hamas that, I do not give a flying f– about Hamas because the root of the problem is a colonial government segregating, ethnically cleansing, murdering Palestinians, stealing their land with impunity and not expecting a resistance group to violently fight back,” Smith-Kooiman wrote in a Nov. 23 tweet, according to screenshots of her social media posts published by former Crystal City Councilmember Jeff Kolb.
The fact that @ErinMayeQuade employs, at taxpayer expense, a virulent anti-Semite is not particularly noteworthy, as that is the mainstream DFL position now.
But the fact that the staffer remained employed after publicly attacking a fellow Senator is noteworthy. pic.twitter.com/xOcFiaSn5y
— Jeff Kolb (@jpkolb) May 15, 2024
“Israeli terrorism created Hamas and the cycle will go on and on until Israel, Britain and the US are held accountable for their violence and thievery,” she added.
In another post, Smith-Kooiman wrote: “Personally, I think Zionists should f– off.”
That comment was made on Nov. 29, the same day DFL Sen. Ron Latz of St. Louis Park held a press conference to condemn Hamas and the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. At that press conference, Sen. Latz denounced Hamas’ attacks against Jews and decried the atrocities that Hamas terrorists committed during the Oct. 7 assault against Israel.
The day after the press conference, Sen. Latz released a statement on X addressing individuals who he said were attempting to take his remarks out of context. Smith-Kooiman quote-tweeted Sen. Latz’s statement, saying, “Please cite your sources and explain why they’re credible.”
“The way that nearly everything Senator Latz said in that press conference can be easily debunked with Google and critical thinking — both of which are free btw — is crazy. Why are we letting Zionists use a party platform to spread blatant misinformation and anti-Arab propaganda?” Smith-Kooiman said.
After the Nov. 29 press conference, several DFL senators condemned Sen. Latz’s remarks, claiming he “recited a litany of hateful, prejudicial and demonstrably false claims.” This prompted Sen. Latz to issue another statement responding to his colleagues’ assertions.
In the days after Sen. Latz’s press conference, Smith-Kooiman put out a social media post that said, “Israel and Zionists want you to believe this issue is complicated, but once you recognize and accept the premise that a bunch of Europeans went and colonized Palestine, this conflict becomes a lot less ‘complex.’”
Several Republican legislators have joined Coleman in condemning the comments, including Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, who called them “beyond inappropriate.”
“And it’s more problematic that the term ‘Zionist’ is used disparagingly. Abhorrent conduct,” he said.
“I’m old enough to remember when anti-semitism was not welcomed in either chamber,” added Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria. “Today, it appears one needs to be an anti-semite to be part of the cool kids club in the democrat party.”
Alpha News reached out to the Minnesota Senate DFL caucus for comment but did not receive a response. However, a spokesperson told Fox 9 that the caucus “became aware of the issue last fall and addressed it.”
“We take matters such as this seriously. As this is a personnel issue, we have no further comment,” the spokesperson said, confirming that Smith-Kooiman remains employed as a legislative assistant for Maye Quade.
Smith-Kooiman is still listed as Maye Quade’s legislative assistant on the Minnesota Senate website.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
