Between the Women’s March’s deep ties embracing those with anti-Semitic views and open anti-Semitism of Democratic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (MN) and Rashida Tlaib (MI), the Democratic Party had a lot to answer for on their side. So, doing what the liberal media seemed reluctant to do, Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier pressed Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez on the “threads” of hate running through his party.
Towards the end of an interview during Tuesday’s Special Report, Baier told Perez: “I want to ask you two tougher questions about some threads of, what critics call anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party.” Baier cited a detailed investigation into Tlaib conducted by The Daily Caller’s Peter Hasson, who discovered that “Tlaib’s ties to anti-Semitism run deeper than previously known.”
“Tlaib is a member of the Facebook group ‘Palestinian American Congress,’ where members often demonize Jews,” Hasson found. “The group’s founder, Palestinian activist Maher Abdel-qader, was a key fundraiser for Tlaib and organized campaign events for her around the country.”
Hasson added: “In January 2018, Abdel-qader shared an anti-Semitic video that claimed Jews aren’t actually Jewish, and invented their historical claim to Israel and secretly control the media.”
Perez’s response started off with vague platitudes about how the party was “clear” in its “values” and its stance on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He then deflected to attacking President Trump for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. “A two-state solution negotiated directly by the parties, that is what we have to do. And frankly, I think this administration, through their wedge actions, their divide and conquer actions, has made that reality – or that possibility of a two two-state solution that much more remote,” he decried.
Pointing to someone who gave a more full-throated denouncement of anti-Semitism, Baier quoted former DNC Chair Debbie Wassermann Schultz:
One of your predecessors at DNC chair, Debbie Wassermann Schultz did release a statement about that Women’s March saying, “while I still firmly believe in its values and missions, I cannot associate with the national march’s leaders and principals, which refuse to completely repudiate anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry. I cannot walk a shoulder to shoulder with leaders who lock arms with outspoken paddlers of hate.”
“We have seen the concerns about Louis Farrakhan and others. I'm asking you kind of straight. Is there a concern in your party about this threat,” Baier grilled.
Perez once again fell back onto those same platitudes before deflecting back to Trump. “We were very clear; it was not hard after Charlottesville to condemn what took place. Unfortunately, for the president of the United States, it was hard.” He also cited his own history as a civil rights lawyer and spouted off about how the Democratic Party “reflects America.”
Despite the damaging findings of the Daily Caller investigation, Perez did not say if the Democratic Party would take action or reprimand the Congresswoman.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel’s Special Report
January 29, 2019
6:17:33 p.m. Eastern(…)
BRET BAIER: I want to ask you two tougher questions about some threads of, what critics call anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party. Representative from Michigan, Rashida Tlaib is coming under criticism for her interactions, members of a “Facebook group ‘Palestinian American Congress’ where members demonize Jews.” A long article about that with specifics in The Daily Caller. You recently pulled the DNC out of a Women’s March. Was it because of concerns about anti-Semitism?
TOM PEREZ: Well, we were – We had a host of concerns, and we wanted to make sure that we were clear in our values. And the Democratic Party, our platform has been very clear about Israel, it's been very clear about dignity for both Israel and the Palestinian people. A two-state solution is the way to go. A two-state solution negotiated directly by the parties, that is what we have to do. And frankly, I think this administration, through their wedge actions, their divide and conquer actions, has made that reality – or that possibility of a two two-state solution that much more remote.
BAIER: One of your predecessors at DNC chair, Debbie Wassermann Schultz did release a statement about that Women’s March saying, “while I still firmly believe in its values and missions, I cannot associate with the national march’s leaders and principals, which refuse to completely repudiate anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry. I cannot walk a shoulder to shoulder with leaders who lock arms with outspoken paddlers of hate.”
We have seen the concerns about Louis Farrakhan and others. I'm asking you kind of straight, is there a concern in your party about this threat?
PEREZ: We've been very clear in the Democratic Party about inclusion, about fighting anti-Semitism. We were very clear; it was not hard after Charlottesville to condemn what took place. Unfortunately, for the president of the United States, it was hard. We have been very clear. As a civil rights lawyer, I have spent my entire career making sure that opportunities exist, Bret, for everyone. And that has been the mantra and the values of the Democratic Party. And I am proud to be part of that. That is why you look at the face of the Democrats in Congress, they reflect America. And not only in Congress, but in state houses across this country.
(…)
