White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre again condemned the ‘alarming rise’ of anti-Semitic threats in the US as tensions soar in the Middle East – but stopped short of labeling anti-Israel protesters as ‘extremists’ then he was asked to put a label on them. .
Jean-Pierre said last week that she had “misunderstood” a question when asked about rising reports of anti-Semitism. She responded by directing her comments at Muslims and those “considered Muslim.”
On Monday, she began her daily briefing by speaking about an “alarming increase in the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents in schools and college campuses.”
The Anti Defamation League did that reported a more than fourfold spike in anti-Semitic attacks in the US since the Hamas terror attack in Israel on October 7, and Israel’s subsequent devastating military strikes on targets in Gaza. This comes amid anti-Semitic violence in hotspots around the world.
“There is no place for hatred in America and we condemn every anti-Semitic threat or incident in the strongest, strongest terms,” Jean-Pierre said.
“There is no place for hate in America,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Monday’s news conference, following reported threats against Jewish students at Cornell University.
She said the administration was “closely monitoring and concerned” about reports of anti-Semitic threats at Cornell University.
Anti-Semitic graffiti was sprayed on the campus sidewalks there last week, prompting a professor — who has now taken a leave of absence — to publicly call the Hamas terror attack “exciting” and “enervating.”
Jean-Pierre then gave a message to students. “To the students at Cornell and on campuses across the country, we are closely monitoring these threats. We are thinking of you and we will do everything we can, both at Cornell and across the country, to combat terrorism and anti-Semitism.
She was less direct. Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked her if President Biden thinks anti-Israel protesters are extremists.
‘What I can say is that we have been very clear about this. When it comes to anti-Semitism, it has no place. We need to make sure that we speak out very loudly against it, and be very clear about that.
Jean-Pierre, who attended a Halloween party on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, condemned anti-Semitic threats at the top of Monday’s White House briefing
Students from Baruch College march to a demonstration in Times Square to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., October 13, 2023
A New York State Police Department cruiser is parked Monday in front of Cornell University’s Center for Jewish Living in Ithaca, NY.
Gov. Hochul met with Jewish Cornell students Monday morning and issued ‘despicable’ anti-Semitic threats
Doocy then tried to counter that President Biden and the White House regularly call out “MAGA extremists.”
“We call out any form of hatred, any form of hatred is unacceptable. It shouldn’t be acceptable here. And we will continue to emphasize that,” she said.
Then Doocy tried again, asking if Biden looked at the anti-Israel protests and thought, “It’s nice to see the youth of the country so engaged,” or thought otherwise.
She didn’t buy it and told him again, “There is no place for hate in America.”
Biden himself is one long-time supporter of Israeland recently said he met every Israeli prime minister again at Golda Meier.
He said emphatically after October 7 that the US has “Israel’s back” and has proposed billions in additional military aid, and that his administration has avoided publicly telling Israel how to respond to the attacks, other than general comments urging the country people are urged to follow the ‘rules of the land’. war.’
Jean-Pierre on Monday also denounced Republicans in the House of Representatives who called for compensating $14 billion in funds for Israel by diverting the funds from IRS enforcement funds. These funds are used to tackle tax fraud and improve taxpayer services. New Speaker Mike Johnson has demanded offsets to prevent the deficit from widening, saying aid to Israel should not be tied to aid to Ukraine, as President Biden has proposed.
“Politicizing our national security interests is a nonstarter. Demanding compensation for meeting the United States’ basic national security needs — such as supporting Israel and defending Ukraine against atrocities and Russian imperialism — would be a break from the normal, bipartisan process and could have devastating consequences for our security and alliances in the years to come. ‘ she said.
“Threatening to undermine America’s national security unless Republicans in the House of Representatives can help the rich and big corporations cheat on their taxes — which would increase the deficit — is the definition of decline,” she added.