Nadler shoots down Tlaib claim about progressivism and Israel support: 'I fundamentally reject the notion'

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., rejected a claim from fellow Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who said support for Israel is contradictory to progressive values.

Tlaib, a frequent opponent of Israel, spoke against the Jewish state at an online event hosted by Americans for Justice in Palestine Action.

"I want you all to know that among progressives, it becomes clear that you cannot claim to hold progressive values yet back Israel's apartheid government," Tlaib said, according to The Jerusalem Post. The "apartheid" claim is an oft-repeated talking point among anti-Israel activists based on security measures taken to protect against terrorism from Palestinian territories. Within Israel proper, the Arab and Muslim populations enjoy equal rights, as well as representation in the Israeli Knesset and Supreme Court.

Sharing the Post's report on Twitter on Wednesday morning, Nadler came out against Tlaib.

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Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a frequent critic of Israel, recently claimed that true progressives cannot support the Jewish state. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"I fundamentally reject the notion that one cannot support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and be a progressive," the House Judiciary Committee chairman said.

Anti-Israel sentiment has been a hallmark of the American far-left, with notable exceptions. Nadler is not the only New Yorker in Congress who refuses to go along with the trend. Progressive Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., has frequently clashed with the left-wing group known as the "Squad," of which Tlaib is a member.

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House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler spoke out against Rep. Rashida Tlaib's claim that progressives cannot support Israel. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

"By every metric, Israel is a profoundly progressive country and enterprise, and that’s a message that needs to be driven home here in American politics," Torres said in January at the 2022 StandWithUs International Conference, as reported by the Jewish News Syndicate.

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Addressing hostility toward Jews and Israel on the far left, Torres declared, "We have to be willing to speak out against the antisemitism in our own backyard."