ALBANY – NYGOP Chair Ed Cox today released the following statement in response to comments made by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, in which Rep. Jayapal described Israel as a “racist state:”

“This is a false and dangerous accusation that has no basis in reality. Israel is a democracy that guarantees equal rights to all its citizens, regardless of religion or ethnicity. To claim that Israel is a racist state is to ignore the facts and to contribute to the delegitimization of the Jewish state and spread of anti-Semitism.

“Democrats’ silence on anti-Semitism in their party becomes more deafening with each of these instances. Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and New York’s Democratic congressional delegation owe New Yorkers a clear and unambiguous answer: do they stand with Israel, or do they stand with Rep. Jayapal?”

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