Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is accused of anti-Semitism for sharing Drake meme suggesting Zionism controls Congress: Chuck Schumer calls it ‘disgusting’ and White House demands GOP leadership condemn him
Top Democrats condemned Rep. Thomas Massie for posting a meme of rapper Drake that said Congress has done more to support Zionism than American patriotism.
‘Representative. Massie, you are a sitting member of Congress. It’s anti-Semitic, it’s disgusting, it’s dangerous, and it’s exactly what I said in my State of the Union address. Take it away,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in response to the meme.
Massie’s post comes as the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution affirming that anti-Semitism is a synonym, in yet another vote supporting Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip.
The vote was 311 to 14, with 92 Democrats voting “present” and 17 members not voting.
Thirteen Democrats, including Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Cori Bush, D-Mo., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., voted against the measure.
Only Massie voted against it on the Republican side.
“All Americans, including @HouseGOP leadership, must condemn this virulent anti-Semitism from a sitting Member of Congress,” White House Deputy Communications Director Herbie Siskend wrote in response to Massie’s meme.
Massie and Tlaib were the only House members to vote against a resolution affirming Israel’s right to exist last week.
This resolution stated: “Denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of anti-Semitism,” with which Massie disagreed.
“Anti-Semitism is deplorable, but expanding it to include criticism of Israel is unhelpful,” Massey wrote on X.
The resolution, introduced Tuesday by Jewish Republicans David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, and Max Miller, R-Ohio, both condemns anti-Semitism and “states clearly and firmly that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”
Top Democrats condemned Rep. Thomas Massie for posting a Drake meme that said Congress has done more to support Zionism than American patriotism.
‘Representative. Massie, you are a sitting member of Congress. It’s anti-Semitic, it’s disgusting, it’s dangerous, and it’s exactly what I said in my State of the Union address. Take it away,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in response to the meme.
Thirteen Democrats, including Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Cori Bush, D-Mo., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., voted against the measure.
A group of Jewish Democrats, including Representatives Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman (both of New York) and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, voted “present” on the resolution and called it “the latest half-hearted attempt by Republicans to weaponize Jewish pain.”
They noted that last week the House of Representatives had already passed a resolution making a similar statement.
The group also noted that there are Jewish anti-Zionists, including the Satmar sect, who are “clearly not anti-Semitic.”
Some liberals have expressed concern that such sentiments could lead to any criticism of the Israeli government being labeled as anti-Semitism.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of anti-Zionism is “opposition to the establishment or support of the State of Israel.” The definition of anti-Semitism is stated as “hostility or prejudice against the Jewish people.”
The resolution came after the Anti-Defamation League reported a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
This came after House Republicans invited Jewish students to talk about anti-Semitism on their college campuses.
One MIT student said she had to leave her doctoral group because members told her that “the people at the Nova music festival deserved to die because they were having fun on stolen land.”
A New York University student told reporters: “I hear calls to gas the Jews, and they tell me Hitler was right.”