Americans for Peace Now opposes Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s (R-PA) resolution, which absurdly characterizes comments critical of Israeli policies by a fellow member of the House of Representative’s as “antisemitic.”  

Reschenthaler is introducing a congressional resolution to condemn Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) for saying that because Israel is more powerful than its Palestinian adversaries in the Gaza Strip, it bears more responsibility for maintaining peace in the region. Jayapal, who spoke in an interview with CNN, also said that as a tool to induce a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Biden administration should hold a US arms sale to Israel.  

APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “You may agree or disagree with Rep. Jayapal’s views, but to characterize them as antisemitic is both absurd and very damaging. It undermines both efforts to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and the fight against the very real problem of antisemitism. 

We urge members of Congress to refrain from using the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis to score partisan points and condemn those who do that, particularly when they intentionally and cynically conflate legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies with antisemitism.”