In a sign that fractures in the Democratic coalition aren't just regional, a Florida based group is bashing the President for campaigning in Tampa.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) is denouncing Joe Biden for his political sojourn to the Sunshine State.
CAIR objects to Biden's visit on the grounds of "ongoing atrocities and genocide in Gaza," and contends the White House's "failure to address these grave violations of human rights is deeply concerning and stains the moral fabric of our nation."
CAIR-Florida's Policy Manager Mari Marks took specific issue with the President calling protesters "antisemitic" earlier in the week, in a statement from Biden that seemed to lay blame on both rhetorical extremes on the domestic sphere of debate.
"President Biden's characterization of Palestinian Human Rights activists as 'antisemitic' is inappropriate and disparaging. True antisemitism is gravely concerning and watered down every time someone uses the word unjustly," Marks said.
"It is an insult to every Jewish American activist standing shoulder to shoulder with Christian, Muslim, and Atheist protestors. If Biden wants to win this election, he needs to stop condemning human rights activists, ostracizing Gen Z voters, and ignoring a huge portion of his base that do not want their government complicit in human rights crimes," Marks counseled the President, who was elected in 2020 with the most popular votes of any presidential candidate in history.
Biden's full statement Monday on the demonstrations at American universities was short and truncated by a reporter's interruption.
"I condemn the antisemitic protests," Biden said in a Washington suburb. "That's why I've set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians."
In a longer statement regarding Passover, Biden offered a stronger condemnation of campus protesters who have reminded some Jewish students and faculty of troubling times historically, with violent words and actions driving some from campuses at Yale and Columbia Universities.
"The ancient story of persecution against Jews in the Haggadah also reminds us that we must speak out against the alarming surge of antisemitism — in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity," Biden said.
"Even in recent days, we've seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."
Ironically, Biden is taking heat from the right as well as the left, as evidenced by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott's contention that the administration's measured approach to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict emboldens hate groups.
Writing in "The Hill," Scott said Biden "has shown the American people that he will pander to his antisemitic base over supporting Israel, one of America's greatest allies and the only democracy in the Middle East."
"President Biden is ceding his party to radical pro-Hamas extremists. While these anti-Israel mobs call for the destruction of Israel and threaten Jewish Americans, Biden doubles down in his criticism of Israel, terrified to anger the extremists in his base because he cares more about winning in places like Michigan than standing up to violent antisemitism," Scott added.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis is sounding off about antisemitism on college campuses, saying the federal Justice Department and Department of Education should be tasked to handle protests that have devolved into threats against Jewish students. DeSantis has contended that Biden has "been very weak and basically allowing that to happen."
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