Rep. Dean Phillips called out his Democratic colleagues for their collective failure to denounce anti-Semitic attacks.
“I’ll say the quiet part out loud; it’s time for ‘progressives’ to start condemning anti-Semitism and violent attacks on Jewish people with the same intention and vigor demonstrated in other areas of activism. The silence has been deafening,” Phillips wrote on Twitter.
The Democratic congressman serves Minnesota’s Third Congressional District and represents the western suburbs of Minneapolis.
Phillips’ remarks come in the wake of anti-Semitic attacks that have erupted across the U.S.
The Anti-Defamation League reports that it logged 193 possible anti-Semitic incidents in the week after fighting began in the Middle East, up from 131 the previous week.
The escalation between Hamas and Israel has elicited strong responses around the world. In New York City, pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protests have turned violent in the streets and left New Yorkers feeling highly divided.
In Illinois, a synagogue was vandalized with messages to free Palestine and left with broken windows.
A pro-Palestine mob attacked Jewish guests at a restaurant in Los Angeles, California. The demonstrators reportedly chanted, “Death to Jews.” Just blocks away from this incident, another Jewish man was chased down by two cars waving Palestinian flags as they attempted to run him over.
Phillips is one of a few Democratic representatives to denounce the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes in America. Some of his Democratic peers like Rep. Ilhan Omar have not ceased their notorious criticism of Israel and received defense from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their remarks.
I’ll say the quiet part out loud; it’s time for “progressives” to start condemning anti-semitism and violent attacks on Jewish people with the same intention and vigor demonstrated in other areas of activism. The silence has been deafening.
— Rep. Dean Phillips 🇺🇸 (@RepDeanPhillips) May 24, 2021
Katie Larsen
Katie Larsen is a cartoonist and writer for Alpha News.
