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Republican Congressman Darrell Issa told Fox News Digital it would be a “huge help” if President Biden disavowed and rejected donations from progressive groups that are fueling the anti-Israel protests nationwide, while also explaining that the tepid response from Democrats shows the rise of antisemitism within the party.
“If the president would come out, whether it’s George Soros or a host of other supporters and be honest and say that, you know, not only would he send the money back but he wants them to stop funding people who support violence it would be a huge help,” Issa said. “I don’t expect him to do it.”
The anti-Israel protests have been organized by groups fueled by progressive donors, including George Soros, some of whom have also donated to the Democratic Party and Biden, Fox News Digital reported last month.
Soros recently gave $250,000 to help Biden win re-election and Politico reported earlier this month that some major Biden donors have also funded groups associated with the college protests.
L- Columbia anti-Israel protest R- President Biden (Getty Images)
Issa told Fox News Digital that the response to the protest from Democrats has been an example that antisemitism has found a home within the party.
“The growth of The Squad and people who think the same and are willing to talk the same, or at least support them has certainly caused people to realize that the party of the Democrats of Robert F Kennedy, John Kennedy and for that matter of Steny Hoyer is gone,” Issa told Fox News Digital this week.
“They’re no longer willing to stand up for Israel or against antisemitism and it’s now coming home to be seen in these incredible amounts of votes where they won’t support Israel.”
Issa told Fox News Digital he is “deeply disappointed” by President Biden’s response to the anti-Israel protests on college campuses nationwide and explained that the president’s desire to “placate” both sides is an indicator that antisemitism has been festering in the Democratic Party for years.
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Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I think President Biden is trying to placate both sides, tell both sides that he’s in the middle,” Issa said. “He’s managed to upset the Middle Eastern community many of whom wanted decisive action and the Israel and pro-Israel community who see him as hurting the effort to bring to an end, if you will, Hamas and their allies.”
“I’m really sad because, historically, they’ve enjoyed both Arab and Israeli pro-Israel votes, Jewish votes and the Republicans have always been the party that has supported Israel. George W Bush, no stronger friend, President Trump, no stronger friend. You know, president after president promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem. President Trump did it. So, when you really look at it you realize that for a long time we’ve been the pro-Israel party. Only now are people realizing that real antisemitism exists in the Democratic Party, and it’s condoned there.”
President Biden waited 9 days before giving on-camera remarks about the anti-Israel violence on campus which Issa said was a key reason why the protests spread the way they did.
“President Biden needed to say on day one to all the governors of either party that you act or I will act because, in fact, the civil disobedience that turns into violence is a federal issue,” Issa said. “Had he done that, had he challenged the governors to go in aggressively and quickly, this would be over instead of watching it grow.”
Issa, who was in high school in Ohio during the unrest and shootings at Kent State University in 1970, told Fox News Digital he is concerned that history is repeating itself.
“As someone who was in high school when Kent State had its riot and not only did they close after May 4th but so did almost every university around the country, I see history repeating itself in a nasty way,” Issa said. “The protests against the Vietnam War were fine, violence wasn’t fine, and they were slow to get past it because many of the professors were on the same side as the students.”
A protester holds a Palestinian flag during a march on Columbia University campus in support of a protest encampment supporting Palestinians (REUTERS/David Dee Delgado)
Issa continued, “This is the same situation, the antisemitism on campus, the elite are part of that. They’ve been teaching it for a long time, and as a result, they have a hard time enforcing. Very few states, even governors have been willing to do what Governor Youngkin in Virginia and others did, which was act quickly and if it didn’t work, act again. In my home state of California, it’s amazing that UCLA was able to build a building faster than anyone in California is allowed to get a permit. They built it out of plywood and everyone watched as they did it and then they finally tried to slow it down or stop it, and it was too late.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
