EXCERPT:
JAYAPAL: "Well, Kristen, I clarified this right away, not after a backlash; within 12 hours of making the statement. I clarified that what I meant is that the existence of Israel is absolutely legitimate, and I think the world has come to see it as legitimate. However, there are racists within the Netanyahu government. And there are racist policies that Israel has been carrying out. I think it is important for us to recognize that we need to be able to criticize the policies of the Israeli government and not be called anti-Semitic. I really believe that conversation is changing in a way that is not helpful. And let me say this, too, that at the end of the day, the president and the United States is absolutely responsible because we also have been the largest military backer of aid to Israel. We need to be able to question where U.S. taxpayer dollars are going and what accountability the United States has in ensuring, for example, that when the president calls for Israel to adhere to the international laws of war, that they actually are doing that. Otherwise, we are complicit in a way that almost no other country in the world is."