CIJR | Canadian Institute for Jewish Research
L'institut Canadien de Recherches sur le Judaisme

Analysis

Progressive Jewish Lawmakers Caught in the Middle of Bitter Democratic Divide Over Israel

Annie Grayer
CNN, Mar. 29, 2024

“It’s really turned into two separate camps. The more you try and carve out a middle, the more neither camp really feels like home.”

A month into the raging war between Israel and Hamas, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland was facing a moral dilemma.

As a Jewish lawmaker, he did not support Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s use of the pro-Palestinian chant “from the river to the sea” and had told her that. But as a former constitutional law professor — and fellow member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — he deeply believed in her right to free speech.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked Raskin to represent the Democratic caucus in defending Tlaib on the House floor against a GOP-led effort to censure the congresswoman, and in the end, Raskin’s allegiance to the Constitution won out.
“If I can’t stand up for somebody’s right to just express themselves in Congress without being censured, then I have lost my way constitutionally,” Raskin said.

… [To read the full article, click here]
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