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Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/jayapals-myopic-view-of-israel-obscures-the-reality/
Rep. Jayapal's Myopic View of Israel Obscures the Reality
(Seattle Times) Regina Sassoon Friedland - Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told demonstrators on Saturday, "I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state." Jayapal has implied in the past that Israel is at fault for there not being a two-state solution. She forgets to mention that the Palestinians rejected every peace plan offered, and that there could have been an independent Palestinian state as far back as 1947. The facts are that Zionism is deeply rooted in Jewish history and tradition. It is the right to self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland. False claims that Israel is a racist state serve to advance hatred, including right here in Seattle. On April 16, the day before Holocaust Remembrance Day, Temple De Hirsch Sinai, the region's largest congregation, was defaced with antisemitic graffiti. Antisemitic incidents across Washington state hit record numbers last year. Jewish places of worship are vandalized, Jewish schools receive bomb threats and Jewish leaders are targeted by extremists. Many of these incidents are directly tied to libelous claims about Israel. The writer is director of the American Jewish Committee, Seattle region.