NEWS
Congressional Black Caucus Condemns Palestinian Journalist, Rula Jebreal Over ‘Monkey’ Remark About Hakeem Jeffries
The Congressional Black Caucus has condemned Palestinian journalist and political commentator, Rula Jebreal over remarks she made about House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, describing her language as “openly bigoted” and accusing her of trafficking in anti-Black racism.
The controversy erupted after Jebreal referred to Jeffries as an “AIPAC monkey” and an “errand boy” while criticising the Democratic leader over his support for Israel.
The Congressional Black Caucus strongly rejected the comments, arguing that the use of the word “monkey” against a Black man carries an unmistakable racial history regardless of the speaker’s stated intention.
“To be clear, there isn’t a non-racist way to call Leader Jeffries, a Black man, a ‘monkey’ or ‘errand boy,’” the caucus said.
The group made the remarks while addressing podcast host Wajahat Ali, adding: “This is what happens when we hold ourselves to such low standards for what’s allowable in our discourse. People get comfortable being openly bigoted.”
The caucus further warned against normalising language it considers racist within political debates, regardless of whether such remarks come from conservatives or progressives.
“We have to stop platforming and trafficking in anti-Black racism, whether it’s on the political right or the left,” the group added.
Jebreal made the controversial comments during an appearance on Ali’s “The Left Hook” podcast, where she was discussing Jeffries’ position on Israel and his relationship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
“He is a bought and paid by AIPAC monkey,” Jebreal said during the discussion, before immediately insisting that she did not mean the description “in a racist way.”
She subsequently characterised Jeffries as “basically an errand boy,” further intensifying the backlash over her choice of words.
Ali, who was hosting the programme, intervened during the exchange and pointed out that the term “monkey” has “terrible racial connotations” when directed at a Black person.
Jebreal attempted to explain the context of her statement, saying she was referring to the traditional depiction of the three wise monkeys, associated with the principle of seeing, hearing and speaking no evil.
The explanation, however, did little to prevent the controversy from spreading, with critics arguing that the historical racial meaning of the term could not simply be separated from its use against a Black political leader.
Jonathan Chait, a staff writer at The Atlantic, also criticised Jebreal’s explanation, arguing that her attempt to frame the remark as non-racist still left a troubling implication concerning Jews and Israel.
“The ‘not racist’ version is that the Black Speaker of the House is a brainless puppet of the Jews,” he wrote on X.
The comments also drew condemnation from Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley, a prominent figure in the party’s progressive wing.
“Calling Leader Jeffries or any Black man a monkey or errand boy is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable under any circumstances,” Pressley wrote on X.
New York Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres was similarly unequivocal in his response, arguing that the racial implications of the language were beyond dispute.
“Calling a Black man a ‘monkey’ is racist. Full stop.”
Torres also accused sections of the political left of applying a double standard when responding to controversial remarks, suggesting that language condemned when used by the political right should not be excused when it comes from the left.
The backlash has therefore expanded beyond a dispute over Jebreal’s criticism of Jeffries’ position on Israel, becoming a broader debate over racism, political rhetoric and the boundaries of acceptable criticism within the Democratic Part
y and the wider American political left.