Someone we haven't heard much from in the aftermath of Rep. Rashida Tlaib's (D-Mich.) release of a self-produced video Friday in which the antisemitic "from the river to the sea" chant was referenced has been House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who has repeatedly played the dodge and weave game in response to questions about the undeniable meaning behind it.

Exhibit A:

Election Denier Hakeem Jeffries blames "extreme MAGA Republicans" for the pushback to Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib's call for genocide against Israel pic.twitter.com/USW80S0vuZ

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 7, 2023

Exhibit B was from a tweet he posted Tuesday morning proclaiming that "MAGA" Republicans in Congress were "not fit to govern" because they wanted to censure Tlaib.

But on Tuesday afternoon, as the floor debate on censuring Tlaib was underway, Jeffries finally decided to speak on the issue - not by way of addressing it on camera but instead by issuing a written statement in which he emphasized Israel's right to exist and how the words members of Congress utter matter and, oh, by the way, can't we all just get along?

In a cowardly move, Jeffries declined to mention Tlaib directly:

Israel has an absolute right to exist as a Jewish, Democratic state and the ancestral homeland for the Jewish people who have faced pogroms, persecution and antisemitism for centuries. The State of Israel, a safe haven for Jews, was viciously attacked on October 7. Echoing slogans that are widely understood as calling for the complete destruction of Israel - such as from the River to the Sea - does not advance progress toward a two-state solution. Instead, it unacceptably risks further polarization, division and incitement to violence. There are millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who legitimately aspire to peaceful self-determination and economic dignity. The continued presence of Hamas undermines that cause, further making clear that the ongoing effort to decisively defeat this brutal terrorist regime must succeed. 

[...]

As public officials serving in Congress, the words we choose matter. It is my strong belief that we must all take care to respect each other personally, even when strongly disagreeing on matters of policy or legislation. We should be able to agree to disagree on domestic or foreign policy issues, without being disagreeable with each other or the President of the United States. If the end goal following the defeat of Hamas and safe return of all hostages is a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people, as I believe it should be, ad hominem attacks against colleagues will never accomplish that objective. 

The searing moment of turbulence in our society and throughout the world calls for us to tackle the challenges we confront in a serious, sober and substantive manner. Let us all recommit to doing just that for the good of everyone.

Full statement below:

New Jeffries statement on Israel (doesn't mention Tlaib by name): "Echoing slogans that are widely understood as calling for the complete destruction of Israel - such as from the River to the Sea - does not advance progress toward a two-state solution." pic.twitter.com/zSaWNz8n8a

— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) November 7, 2023

This... ain't it, and we know that for two main reasons:

1) Tlaib's video was blatantly antisemitic, no matter the spin put on it by her apologists and coddlers who have tried to gaslight voters by claiming that "from the river to the sea" means different things to different people.

2) We know that if a Republican House member had done this, Jeffries and other Democrat "leaders" would have rushed to the cameras ten minutes after the video went up to denounce and condemn and call for a national conversation - with the media dutifully following suit immediately after.

As I said before, when the hate reveals itself in no uncertain terms, as Tlaib did Friday, the condemnations from party members need to be a little more forceful than "Pretty please take it back, Rashida." I mean in Jeffries' case, he did not even have the guts to call her out by name.

Pathetic.

There are defining moments in politics where it's crucial to be on the right side, as well as line-in-the-sand issues that everyone should be able to reasonably agree should not be crossed. 

The fact that Democrats, especially those in leadership positions, still can't unequivocally (and without any "pretty please" wording) denounce their side when the antisemitism can no longer be denied at this stage in the game just further proves the point that absolutely no lessons will be learned by them on this issue, and that's something the American people will need to take into consideration before heading to the ballot box in November 2024.

Related: Rashida Tlaib Tells on Herself in Latest Statement on Blast Near Gaza Hospital