After ADL rebuke, DNC hopeful Ellison says Israel criticism misunderstood

WASHINGTON — Hours after the Anti-Defamation League lambasted Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison’s bid to become the next Democratic National Committee chair over newly revealed comments he made in 2010 about US policy toward Israel, the congressman insisted those remarks had been “taken out of context.”

The ADL’s rebuke came after an audio recording was published Tuesday by the Investigative Report on Terrorism website in which Ellison, speaking at a private fundraiser, argued that “United States foreign policy in the Middle East is governed by what is good or bad through a country of seven million people,” referring to Israel.

“A region of 350 million all turns on a country of seven million,” he went on, with the larger number a reference to the Arab Middle East. “Does that make sense? Is that logic? Right? When the Americans who trace their roots back to those 350 million get involved, everything changes.”

On Thursday, Ellison said the audio was manipulated.

“The audio released was selectively edited and taken out of context by an individual the Southern Poverty Law Center has called an ‘anti-Muslim extremist,'” he said, referring to Steven Emerson, who has claimed the Obama administration “extensively collaborates” with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ellison said his comments were meant to galvanize those present to be more engaged with foreign policy.

“My memory is that I was responding to a question about how Americans with roots in the Middle East could engage in the political process in a more effective way,” he said.

“My advice was simply to get involved. I believe that Israel and the US-Israel relationship are, and should be, key considerations in shaping US policy in the Middle East. Americans with roots or interests in the region should be involved in advocacy and discussions of public policy concerning the region.”

Earlier Thursday, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt responded to the release of the audio recording by calling Ellison’s 2010 comments “both deeply disturbing and disqualifying.”

“His words imply that US foreign policy is based on religiously or national origin-based special interests rather than simply on America’s best interests,” he said.

“Additionally, whether intentional or not, his words raise the specter of age-old stereotypes about Jewish control of our government, a poisonous myth that may persist in parts of the world where intolerance thrives, but that has no place in open societies like the US.”

The ADL’s criticism followed the group’s defense of Ellison last week, when Greenblatt called the congressman “an important ally in the fight against anti-Semitism” irrespective of his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “on which we strongly differ and that concern us.”

A progressive Democrat and the first-ever Muslim member of Congress, Ellison announced his intention to run for the chairmanship of the DNC on Nov. 14, shortly after the Democrats’ wipeout in the 2016 elections.

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was forced to resign as DNC chair last summer after leaked emails revealed DNC officials had discussed aiding Hillary Clinton’s candidacy against primary challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders. Longtime Democratic strategist Donna Brazile has been the interim chair since those July revelations.

Ellison’s candidacy has raised concerns from right-leaning pro-Israel groups over his past criticism of Israel, one-time affiliation with the Nation of Islam and defense of Louis Farrakhan against charges of anti-Semitism, which he later walked back when he first ran for Congress in 2006.

Ellison addressed some of those concerns in his Thursday statement.

“My record proves my deep and long-lasting support for Israel, and I have always fought anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, and homophobia — the same values embodied by the Anti-Defamation League,” he said.

He called the release of the recording “an attempt by right-wing interests to drive a wedge between long-standing allies in the fight for equal rights. We cannot allow that to happen.”

A number of powerful Democratic leaders have announced their support for his bid to chair the DNC, including Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of the most prominent Jewish members of Congress.

After the ADL released its statement this afternoon, Schumer reiterated his allegiance to Ellison and quest to lead the party’s largest umbrella group.

“I stand by Rep. Ellison for DNC chair. We have discussed his views on Israel at length, and while I disagree with some of his past positions, I saw him orchestrate one of the most pro-Israel platforms in decades by successfully persuading other skeptical committee members to adopt such a strong platform.”

After Sanders conceded the primary to Clinton, he appointed Ellison, one of his strongest backers throughout the campaign, as one of his three delegates to the platform drafting committee at the Democratic convention.

The Minnesota lawmaker took that opportunity to argue vigorously for including in that document language criticizing Israel’s military presence in the West Bank and condemning settlements.

When those efforts ultimately failed because Clinton’s and Wasserman Schultz’s appointments blocked them, he reportedly worked to include language supportive of Israel but insistent on a two-state outcome as part of comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians.

The final version of the platform called for a “two-state solution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict” that guarantees Israel’s security within recognized borders and “provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity.”

Greenblatt cited that language on Thursday, and said it was antithetical to the message Ellison conveyed in his 2010 talk with supporters, which Schumer alluded to in his press release.

“As Chair of the DNC he has committed to continuing to uphold that platform and to convince others that they support it as well,” he said.