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Representative Pramila Jayapal, who heads a large group of progressive Democrats in the U.S. Congress, made a public apology on Sunday, after calling Israel a racist state, after Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives pushed back. "I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist," Jayapal said in a statement.
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"I do, however, believe that Netanyahu's extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government," she added.
On Saturday, Jayapal labeled Israel a "racist state" - at a conference held in Chicago where pro-Palestine protesters were interrupting a panel discussion, according to media reports.
In the one-minute clip, Jayapal can be heard stating, “As somebody who’s been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations, I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy.”
In a separate statement on Sunday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and three of his top leadership aides said "Israel is not a racist state," in an apparent rebuke to Jayapal. "There are individual members of the current Israeli governing coalition with whom we strongly disagree," he said, adding it was just as they often disagree with U.S. House Republican lawmakers. But Jeffries did not specifically mention Jayapal.
The controversy surfaced as the U.S. House and Senate have invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to address a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, one day after his visit with President Joe Biden. Some members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have signaled that they might not attend the event.
Jayapal said that she has long supported a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians, but pointed out her opposition to Israel's continued expansion of settlements in disputed areas.
"I in no way intended to deny the deep pain and hurt of Israelis and their Jewish Diaspora community that still reels from the trauma of pogroms and persecution, the Holocaust, and continuing anti-Semitism and hate violence that is rampant today," Jayapal said.
The Democratic lawmaker is Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and is known for her anti-Israel positions and has previously opposed a resolution condemning the BDS movement. She has also been dubbed a “mentor” to the Squad – the term used colloquially to refer to anti-Israel members of Congress such as Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
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