A New York city councilor named Kalmen Yeger has been booted from the city's Immigration Committee because he tweeted, "Palestine Does Not Exist" in a series of tweets criticizing the anti-Semitism of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
NY City Council President Corey Johnson stated, “I found Council Member Yeger’s comments completely unacceptable. They were dehumanizing to Palestinians and divisive, and have no place in New York City.” NYC Mayor de Blasio demanded Yeger apologize for his remarks or be removed from the committee.
Yeger has nothing for which to apologize. There are Palestinians and there is a Palestinian Authority, but there is no state of Palestine. There is nothing in his statement that dehumanizes Palestinians in any way and thus has every place in New York City.
It should be noted that Yeger is a Democrat. But for how long? How is it that the Democratic Party can tolerate someone who says American Jews pledge allegiance to a foreign country on its Foreign Relations Committee, but cannot tolerate someone on an Immigration Committee who states a fact of geography? The only explanation is that the Democratic Party holds Jews to a standard to which they don't hold Muslims. How else does one explain House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's excuse that Omar didn't understand the import of what she was saying?
There might not be a "Jexodus" to the Republican Party anytime soon, but the Democratic Party cannot expect to treat Jews with such disrespect while turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism without consequence.
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