The nation has seen White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fumble her way through press conferences on numerous occasions. It seems any time she is asked a tough question, she collapses like the proverbial house of cards.
But when the topic of conversation turns to antisemitism, one would not normally think it difficult to knock these questions out of the park – especially given the current situation in Israel and Gaza. Yet, Jean-Pierre gave a rather bizarre response to a reporter asking about President Joe Biden’s concern about the potential rise of anti-Jewish bigotry.
Jean-Pierre replied to the question by immediately delving into the scourge of Islamophobia.
JEAN-PIERRE: So a couple of things. Um, look, we have not seen any credible threats. I know there's been always questions about credible threats and so, I just want to make sure that's out there.
But look, Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks, and certainly, President Biden understands that many of our Muslim, Arab, Arab-American, and Palestinian-American loved ones are worried about the hate being directed at their communities, and that is something you heard the president speak to in his address just last Thursday.
And so, one of the things that the president has done is directed his team, Homeland Security team to prioritize prevention and disruption of any emerging threats that could harm the Jewish, the Muslim, Arab Americans, or any other communities, and that is something the president has sought to do since day one. As you know, the president ran on, on, you know, bringing, protecting communities but also bringing communities together, protecting the soul of the nation. And so, that is something the president takes very, very seriously, and we're going to continue to denounce any sort of hate toward any American here, and that's what we're going to continue to be steadfast on.
"What is [Biden's] level of concern right now about a potential rise of antisemitism?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 23, 2023
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: "Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks" pic.twitter.com/q1WYkpbKmn
So, let’s get this straight. A reporter asks about a possible increase in antisemitism, and Jean-Pierre’s solution is to discuss how anti-Muslim bigotry is bad.
It would be funny if this type of dissembling wasn’t par for the course when it comes to addressing antisemitism. This was not a mere dodge, it was a telling look into how high-profile leftists tend to downplay anti-Jewish bigotry while magnifying other types of prejudice. If the reporter had asked about a potential increase in Islamophobia, there is no way Jean-Pierre would have deflected to antisemitism, right?
This tendency to equivocate reveals something that has been apparent for ages: Progressives don’t actually care about bigotry – unless it helps them advance their political agenda. In their minds, a little bit of antisemitism is acceptable as long as it enables them to focus on anti-Black racism or Islamophobia.
We already know why, don’t we?
Since most on the right support Israel, it is more difficult to apply the antisemitic label on them. But with other forms of bigotry, they might just be able to make that stick in the minds of their followers. Indeed, when there is a rare case when someone on the right does express antisemitic thoughts, they go to great lengths to feign outrage and prattle on about white supremacy. But if the antisemitism comes from folks on the left or Muslims, they take a “see no evil hear no evil” approach.
Moreover, Jean-Pierre’s comments on the rate of anti-Muslim hate crimes are even more telling. She apparently doesn’t do much reading on the topic. “Hate crimes,” in general, have been on the rise over the past few years. But when it comes to religious hate crimes, it is Jews who suffer the most.
The FBI's report, analyzed by the ABC7 Data Team, shows that while more than half of religion-motivated hate crimes were targeted against Jews in 2022, and 8% against Muslims, nearly two thirds of hate crimes committed nationally were still racially motivated.
This raises a question for yours truly: Why the hell is it so hard to condemn all bigotry instead of picking and choosing which types to discuss based on political expediency? For people who claim to stand for marginalized groups, these people are rather selective about which groups deserve to be defended.
