U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke out against the rise of anti-Semitism at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference in Washington, Monday.
Pence blasted Democratic freshmen in the House of Representatives on Monday, in addition to certain candidates on the 2020 presidential campaign trail, the former for using "rank anti-Semitic language" and the latter for declining to attend the AIPAC conference.
At the same time, Pence touted the White House for its pro-Israel policy that has seen Washington withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018 after declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel six months earlier.
Without explicitly mentioning her by name, Pence pointed to the fact that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was "traffick[ing] in repeated anti-Semitic tropes." Omar has repeatedly tweeted anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments and accused AIPAC of paying members of Congress to support the pro-Israel lobby's agenda.
"Anti-Semitism has no place in the Congress of the United States of America," the vice president said to thunderous applause.
Pence also called for Omar to be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Pence also criticized the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who announced that they would not be attending this year's AIPAC conference, even though they were not invited by the organization to address the event.
"Anyone who aspires to the highest office in the land should not be afraid to stand with the strongest supporters of Israel in America," he said.
Pompeo referred the spike in anti-Semitism as a "cancer metastasizing" in the Middle East, Europe and in the United States, where he said the Trump administration would vigorously oppose it.
Pompeo accused Britain's opposition Labour Party of tolerating anti-Semitism, calling it a "national disgrace."
He said attacks against Jews were increasing in France and Germany and hate crimes against Jews in the United States were up by one third in 2017. He slammed the "multiple attacks" on the Orthodox Jewish community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Pompeo said anti-Zionism – opposition to the existence of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people – was a form of anti-Semitism that was on the rise.
"The Trump administration opposes it unequivocally and we will fight it relentlessly," he said, "Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism."
Earlier on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Israel's 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights in a boost for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election on April 9.
Some political analysts say that Republicans hope support for Israel will attract Jewish voters and note Republicans in Congress were outspoken in condemning anti-Semitic comments by Omar.
At the same time, critics have credited Trump's confrontational, nationalistic rhetoric with encouraging right-wing extremists and feeding a surge in activity by hate groups in the United States. The administration has flatly rejected that charge.
After a counter-protester was killed in 2017 at a white supremacist rally in Virginia where demonstrators chanted "Jews will not replace us," Trump said there was blame on "both sides."
In Britain, Labour has been battling accusations of anti-Semitism for over two years. Nine lawmakers have quit the party, citing the leadership's handling of anti-Semitism in the ranks as well as its Brexit stance as their reason for leaving.
In France, home to the largest Jewish community in Europe, anti-Semitic attacks increased 74% in 2018 to 500, according to figures released in February.
