A.G. Gancarski
In a sign that fractures in the Democratic coalition aren’t just regional, a Florida based group is bashing the President for campaigning in Tampa.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) is denouncing Joe Biden for his political sojourn to the Sunshine State.
CAIR objects to Biden’s visit on the grounds of “ongoing atrocities and genocide in Gaza,” and contends the White House’s “failure to address these grave violations of human rights is deeply concerning and stains the moral fabric of our nation.”
CAIR-Florida’s Policy Manager Mari Marks took specific issue with the President calling protesters “antisemitic” earlier in the week, in a statement from Biden that seemed to lay blame on both rhetorical extremes on the domestic sphere of debate.
“President Biden’s characterization of Palestinian Human Rights activists as ‘antisemitic’ is inappropriate and disparaging. True antisemitism is gravely concerning and watered down every time someone uses the word unjustly,” Marks said.
“It is an insult to every Jewish American activist standing shoulder to shoulder with Christian, Muslim, and Atheist protestors. If Biden wants to win this election, he needs to stop condemning human rights activists, ostracizing Gen Z voters, and ignoring a huge portion of his base that do not want their government complicit in human rights crimes,” Marks counseled the President, who was elected in 2020 with the most popular votes of any presidential candidate in history.
Biden’s full statement Monday on the demonstrations at American universities was short and truncated by a reporter’s interruption.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests,” Biden said in a Washington suburb. “That’s why I’ve set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
In a longer statement regarding Passover, Biden offered a stronger condemnation of campus protesters who have reminded some Jewish students and faculty of troubling times historically, with violent words and actions driving some from campuses at Yale and Columbia Universities.
“The ancient story of persecution against Jews in the Haggadah also reminds us that we must speak out against the alarming surge of antisemitism — in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity,” Biden said.
“Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.”
Ironically, Biden is taking heat from the right as well as the left, as evidenced by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s contention that the administration’s measured approach to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict emboldens hate groups.
Writing in “The Hill,” Scott said Biden “has shown the American people that he will pander to his antisemitic base over supporting Israel, one of America’s greatest allies and the only democracy in the Middle East.”
“President Biden is ceding his party to radical pro-Hamas extremists. While these anti-Israel mobs call for the destruction of Israel and threaten Jewish Americans, Biden doubles down in his criticism of Israel, terrified to anger the extremists in his base because he cares more about winning in places like Michigan than standing up to violent antisemitism,” Scott added.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis is sounding off about antisemitism on college campuses, saying the federal Justice Department and Department of Education should be tasked to handle protests that have devolved into threats against Jewish students. DeSantis has contended that Biden has “been very weak and basically allowing that to happen.”
19 comments
Dont Say FLA
April 24, 2024 at 3:07 pm
Is Israel really now the child that repeats the cycle of violence it endured from its parents without realizing what they’re doing?
Nah. I call bullshit on that.
It’s just right wingers doing what they always do: trying to stay out of prison!
Demos destroy themselves
April 24, 2024 at 3:25 pm
Makes you wonder who’s signing those checks. Democrats would rather see Trump elected than have to band together to keep him out. Demos attack from within and destroy themselves before any general election. The only time dems win is when they fully band together against some external actor/event but it takes an extraordinary amount of energy for that to happen. Ironically now after Biden in office for 4 years the Demo party has gotten too comfortable and gone soft. People don’t turn out to vote, whether “in protest” or “I had a headache”. Many will actually perversely vote for Trump “just because X” or throw away their vote. G0P voters, on the other hand, will run over grandma to get to the poles, and will hold their noses and vote Party line regardless, putting God and Country (and their own interests) second to Party. THAT, folks, is the difference. NO I am not a bot, I am a pissed off voter tired of hearing people complain their vote doesn’t count when they don’t even bother to show up then complaining about nothing changing.
Rick Whitaker
April 26, 2024 at 5:49 pm
demos, trump has changed your party. now many gop are waiting for a chance to go to a private voting booth and vote against the guy who destroyed their party. some of the same gop don’t have the balls to speak out against trump out of cowardice and fear. us dems are counting on the privacy of a voting booth to make a gop cultist do the right thing.
Guam Might Tip
April 24, 2024 at 4:18 pm
Slo Joe with more problems. He has the Southern Border issue, high fuel prices and inflation. Record crime in this country and now a fractured Demo party. Hope you Dems don’t mind if I LMFAO at this.
MH/Duuuval
April 24, 2024 at 8:06 pm
As usual: talking points taken from MAGA TV and radio.
Crime generally trending downward, with exceptions in some cities.
Southern border was solved until Peachy’s Idol put the kibosh on it.
And Slo Joe is superseded by Farting Sleepyhead DJT.
Guam Might Tip
April 24, 2024 at 9:39 pm
On day one of his Presidency Joe Biden signed an executive order killing the border wall. Since that day millions have crossed into this country. Many of them we have no idea who they are. Joe and giggles along with Mayorkas looked the other way for years. Now it’s election time and it’s a big issue with the American voter. Suddenly Joe is interested. I think even your news source like MSNBC, CNN, and NPR are starting to pay attention to the chaos down south. They too ignored it for years. Care to talk about fuel prices and record inflation? Still waiting on that Scott and Mucarsel-Powell wager. Come on MH don’t be a coward like Joe Biden.
Guam Might Tip
April 25, 2024 at 5:18 am
Slo Joe solved the Southern Border on day one of his Presidency by signing an Executive Order killing the Border Wall. He, Ka Mana, and Impeached Mayorkas ignored the millions crossing until it became an election year issue. Suddenly the Three Stoogies are interested and zombies like yourself are trying to put the blame on the Repubs. Your spin won’t work.
MH/Duuuval
April 25, 2024 at 9:03 am
You do go on …
Sen. Lankford says you’re wrong: When given the chance to get most of what they wanted, MAGAs turned it down. FACT, not fable.
Tom
April 26, 2024 at 1:45 pm
“Your spin won’t work.”
Neither will your circular logic. It just makes your arguments, such as they are, look ridiculous.
Rick Whitaker
April 26, 2024 at 5:41 pm
GUAM, SEN. LANGFORD IS A RANKING REPUBLICAN, DO YOU KNOW MORE THAN HE?
rbruce
April 24, 2024 at 4:32 pm
Where is Palestine exactly? What defines a Palestinian person? When these citizens of a place unknown chant, “Death to Israel.”, or “From the river to the sea”, or “Death to America”, do they really mean it or are they just lashing out against the Western colonizers forcibly imposing modernity upon a unwilling people?
MH/Duuuval
April 24, 2024 at 8:07 pm
It’s about the land and whether the state of Israel should consist of only Jews controlling all the territory of Israel and Palestine.
rbruce
April 26, 2024 at 12:40 pm
Where is Palestine? Where is Palestine’s seat of Gov’t? What type of Gov’t does Palestine have? What does a Palestine passport look like?
Tom
April 26, 2024 at 1:47 pm
Dude – try google if you don’t know.
“Generally, Palestine is used to refer to the geographic region spanning from the Mediterranean Sea in the east to the Jordan River in the west. Historical Palestine is made up of the current Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank—referred to as the State of Palestine—and the country of Israel.”
Rick Whitaker
April 26, 2024 at 5:39 pm
TOM, i have many palestinian postage stamps in my collection, but they are all pre-ww2. so maybe rbruce will believe in palestine if he saw one of their governmental documents, such as a stamp.
Monday news
April 27, 2024 at 9:38 am
If I heard history right Muslim created the Hitler ww2 Geno.
I also heard neo or balbaric Nazi is being orchestrate like a come back. Burn the country ,burn the flag
Confused
April 27, 2024 at 10:30 am
He is Catholic and Catholic is cousin to Israel freedoms and Jesus defended the oppressor on rose up from the dead
Confused
April 27, 2024 at 10:32 am
Well that came out wrong. Jesus defeated the oppressor and rose from the dead and declared more victory
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 11:22 pm
CONFUSED, all that bible christian stuff is a pack of lies. you didn’t get the memo?