Congressional Progressive Caucus chair, Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), clarified a comment she made on a Sunday CNN segment during a conversation about the sexual assault of Israeli women by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
Jayapal’s follow-up statement came on a subsequent Tuesday CNN segment.
On Sunday, Jayapal told CNN’s Dana Bash, “I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians” as Bash attempted to focus on those who have been “downright silent” on the rape and sexual assault experienced by Israeli women.
Dana Bash pointed out that she didn’t see Israeli soldiers engaging in rape.
"A hierarchy of oppressions"
“I don't want this to be the hierarchy of oppressions,” Jayapal responded, emphasizing the large numbers of Palestinians so far killed or displaced.
Jayapal’s comment sparked outrage among Jewish and Israeli advocates. Brooke Goldstein, founder and Executive Director of The Lawfare Project,
On @seanhannity show we address the stunning display by Rep. Jayapal who is unable to unequivocally condemn the mass, rape, torture, and murder of Israel women. She really showed the true colors of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. The fact that it took UN women… pic.twitter.com/oPPH9ge16A
— Brooke Goldstein (@GoldsteinBrooke) December 5, 2023
“As what we saw with the congresswoman really was a stunning display of insensitivity and really showed the true colors of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party,” Goldstein told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday. “They don’t care about women. They don’t care about minority rights. She can’t even bring herself to unequivocally condemn the rape of women in a war context.”
Co-host of “The Five” on Fox, Judge Jeanine Pirro took to X, formerly Twitter, to castigate Jayapal.
“Congresswoman Jayapal is an embarrassment to the United States Congress,” Judge Pirro wrote. “In her twisted mind, “Believe all women” must exclude Jewish women. She is her own biggest hypocrite. How can we justify keeping an anti-semite in the halls of Congress?"
https://t.co/E3lqKkeRUC Congresswoman Jayapal is an embarrassment to the United States Congress. In her twisted mind, “Believe all women” must exclude Jewish women. She is her own biggest hypocrite. How can we justify keeping an anti-semite in the halls of Congress?
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) December 4, 2023
On the Tuesday CNN segment, the progressive congresswoman clarified her comments, saying her comment “about balance was not about rape, and not intended to minimize rape and sexual assault in any way.” Rather, Jayapal said, “It was about recognizing the tremendous pain and trauma of so many—Israelis, Palestinians, and their diaspora communities—in this terrible war.”
The Washington representative went on to object to accusations that she would “say or act in any way that equivocates on rape,” calling insinuations that she would, “outrageous and completely inconsistent with my record and life’s work,” CNN quoted Jayapal as saying.