GOP Rep. Zeldin: AOC, The Squad Need to Call out Antisemitism Regularly, Not Only When ‘Shamed, Guilted’

Jeff Poor

Monday, during an appearance on FNC’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) called on his fellow New York State colleague Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other members of the Squad to call out antisemitism regularly and not just when pressured.

Zeldin said this was especially true in the case of support of Israel.

“Yes, we’ve seen it, exactly, from coast to coast across this country,” he said. “And really, the volume of confronting anti-Semitism needs to always be ramped up. We don’t want to see elected officials and others having to get shamed, guilted into making strong statements to condemn anti-Semitism. You’re seeing Jewish-Americans not just confronted with violence but also on college campuses. They are — they’re being targeted, and it’s not just by fellow students. It could be by faculty, administrators. We hear those stories on college campuses.”

“As you point out, you have these older Americans and others who are speaking up on different platforms, and they’re being targeted as well. So the desire to educate as part of the tactic to confront anti-Semitism is actually resulting in more people being targeted with blatant anti-Semitism,” Zeldin continued. “And for those members of The Squad who are desiring to say the right thing now, it’s important that 365 days of the year that you are strong and emphatic with your statements and your policies. You can’t be voting in favor of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement targeting Israel and filled with blatant anti-Semitism and then be surprised when this is happening.”

“You have a country like Israel which uses rockets to protect its people, and they’re being targeted by Hamas, a terrorist organization, Iranian proxy that uses people to protect its rockets,” he added. “So on so many fronts, on the policy and the statements, the inconsistency and oftentimes the silence, it contributes to this climate of what we’re seeing where right now Jewish people are being violently targeted for being Jewish.”

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