Dem Senator SLAMS His Party for Double Standard on Antisemitism

U.S. Sen. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) issued a stinging rebuke to the Democratic Party, slamming his political brethren for their double standard on antisemitism, in an opinion piece for the New York Times Sunday titled, “I’m a Democrat. My Party Has a Double Standard on Antisemitism.”

The senator reminded readers that the Democrats were quick to condemn the “Unite the Right Rally,” the infamous 2017 neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va. During that rally, Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal and counterprotester was killed when a car was deliberately driven into the crowd.

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He also pointed out his party’s immediate condemnation of President Donald Trump’s dinner with white nationalist Jew hater Nick Fuentes.

But when it comes to antisemites within their own ranks, not only do the Democrats stay silent — they embrace them, Gottheimer argued.

He pointed to Hasan Piker as a case in point.

Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer, has hosted such prominent Democrats on his show as Bernie Sanders, Tim Walz, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani.

The Turkey-born influencer, known as HasanAbi on the streaming platform Twitch, has successfully faced down criticism for his antisemitic commentary and his support for Hamas after Oct. 7, as his popularity continued to grow.

After Oct. 7, he outright dismissed allegations of sexual violence by Hamas, calling them “rape fantasies” and “rape hallucinations.”

“It doesn’t matter if rapes happened on Oct. 7,” he said in a May 22, 2024, livestream. “It doesn’t change the dynamic for me.” He also said on Twitch that “in a totally just world, regardless of your background, any kind of f—— Zionist tendency should be treated in the same way as being a f—— rabid neo-Nazi … You shouldn’t even let someone be the f—— local dog catcher … if they have exhibited any sort of positive feelings about the state of Israel.”

He has called Orthodox Jews “inbred,” and in a grammatically challenged X post last May, wrote: “there’s no comparison between israel & hamas, one is a militant resistance comprised of orphaned soldiers born into a 77 year occupation, the other is a ethnoreligious supremacist apartheid state w nukes doing a genocide backed by the usa!”

Gottheimer noted with disappointment the Democratic leaders who had appeared on Piker’s podcast.

“I’ve spoken to congressional colleagues who have privately told me that many things Mr. Piker has said are disgusting. Yet they’ll say nothing about it in public,” he wrote.

He also raised what he described as his party’s double standards in its disproportionate condemnation of Israel and blocking of arms sales to the U.S. ally over alleged human rights abuses.

“Democratic members of Congress should at least be consistent,” he said. “Do they also believe we should block weapon sales to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, given the history of human rights abuses in those countries?”

“The Democratic condemnation piled on Israel’s government is overwhelming in comparison to other allies,” he added. “It’s also louder than Democrats’ condemnation of Iran’s regime for the slaughter of thousands of Iranians in December and January.”

Gottheimer concluded with a declaration that hate is hate, and it must be called out even when it emerges from your side of the aisle.

“When Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson use hateful rhetoric, they should be rebuked. The same should go for Hasan Piker. Everyone has a right to express his or her views, however repugnant those views may be. But Democratic leaders have the same right — and a duty — to challenge them,” he wrote.

“There should be one response to those who express hatred toward any American: condemnation. Hate is hate. It doesn’t get a pass because it comes from your side of the aisle,” he concluded.