Jeffries: Hasan Piker’s Warning To Jewish Americans Is “Dangerous, Malicious, Anti-Semitic, Should Not Be Tolerated”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned Hasan Piker’s warning that all Jewish Americans could be held responsible for the actions of the Israeli state as “dangerous, malicious, and anti-Semitic,” arguing that he would address Piker’s remarks “as forcefully as I can.” Piker warned during an August 20 livestream that people like Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss and Jewish institutions directly tying Jewish identity to the Israeli state put everyday American Jews in danger. “I don’t know how people don’t recognize how dangerous this predicament is, how dangerous this is for Jews,” Piker said. “You’re running around basically tying your entire identity to a country that inevitably will be seen as Jewish ISIS and you’re saying, as Jews, this is all we care about. You’re making antisemitism worse.”
WOLF BLITZER, CNN: Leader Jeffries, you issued a statement yesterday slamming what you called the malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves as, quote, dangerous and anti-Semitic. Was that in reference to far-left influencer Hasan Piker and his recent, very controversial comments? HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Yes. Those comments were dangerous, malicious, and anti-Semitic and should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square. What we’ve seen is a startling rise of hate crimes all across the United States of America, but particularly in this moment directed against our Jewish brothers and sisters. And everybody, regardless of ideological perspective, should be willing to denounce this rise of anti-Semitic rhetoric, hate crimes, and bigotry, and actually try to move us to a society where we embrace everyone. Even where there are differences on issues, be they foreign or domestic, the notion that people should be targeted because of their religious beliefs or ethnicity or race, whatever the case may be, that’s fundamentally inconsistent with who we are in this country. BLITZER: Yes, indeed. Hasan Piker’s clout among Democrats, though, particularly some younger Democratic voters, seems to be growing. We saw, for example, his prominence in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary. So why not call him out by name in your statement if you feel so passionately about this issue? HAKEEM JEFFRIES: I’ve just addressed Hasan Piker’s comments as it relates to the Jewish community as forcefully as I can, and I will continue to do that. BLITZER: Yes, but in your original statement he was not addressed by name. That’s why I was raising the question.
