The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday declaring that Israel is not a “racist state.”

The 412-9 vote reaffirmed broad bipartisan support for Israel ahead of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s scheduled speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. But the measure, which has no practical effect, also gave Chairman Kevin McCarthy a chance to paint Democrats as divided, embarrass Jayapal and demonstrate his party’s unity after weeks of power struggles.

Jayapal,

the president of the Congressional Progressive Caucus

and an emerging leader in her party apologized on Sunday for the “racist state” comment and voted in favor of the resolution. But nine Democrats opposed the measure.

The resolution is less than 100 words and makes three central claims: that Israel is not a racist or apartheid state; that Congress rejects anti-Semitism and xenophobia; and that the US will always be “a staunch supporter” of Israel.

The vote wasn’t that complicated, said Representative Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), one of the top Democrats in the House.

“It’s a pretty simple solution,” he told reporters

on

Tuesday morning. “I don’t disagree, so I’m going to vote for it.”

But the vote allowed the Republicans

highlight single from the group of

Democrats that

remain public

critical of

the

Israel

i government

. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Andr Carson, Delia Ramirez, and Ayanna Pressley voted against the measure, and Rep. Betty McCollum voted present. Most of the Democrats who voted against the resolution are members of “the Squad,” a group of progressive lawmakers known as one of the most left-wing in the House.

Voting against a resolution that described Israel as non-racist in turn forced these Democrats to vote against a resolution condemning anti-Semitism.

Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, criticized the resolution Tuesday in a pun.

“This week we will consistently hear… ‘This is bipartisan support here,’” Tlaib said. “Remember, this body, this Congress, supported an apartheid South African regime. It was also bipartisan.”

Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez, Bush,

Archer

and Omar have all said they will skip Herzog’s address on Wednesday morning.

move that

McCarthy has described

their decision

as anti-Semitic.

Aguilar said no

reporters told him he didn’t

consider his caucus divided over Israel

about the issue

.

“There is unity in the Democratic caucus,” he said. “I think you’ll see that with a strong turnout from our colleagues on the House floor to see the President of Israel address us. I don’t think there’s anything more about that.”

On the House floor Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Northridge) that the Republicans’ focus on Jayapal’s comment illustrated a double standard.

“Israel is not a racist or apartheid state,” Sherman said, echoing the language of the resolution. “Congress must and will reject all forms of antisemetism and xenophobia, and the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel. But why are we addressing this today?”

Sherman argued that the House should have passed the resolution when Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier, was received by the former president

Donald

Trump, or when Reps. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke at a conservative conference

S

offered by Fuentes.

“We should believe in this resolution every day,” Sherman said. “If we are going to allocate floor time, it should be when Holocaust deniers are honored by our colleagues and the former

P

President of the United States.”

Since making the comment, Jayapal has since backtracked and TKTK reported calling several colleagues to apologize. But she did not take a final position on Monday afternoon’s vote. “You’ll see when I vote,” she told reporters when asked about the resolution outside the House.

The US relationship with Israel is perhaps its strongest foreign bet, with Israel receiving billions of dollars in US aid virtually without question. And while that relationship remains rock solid, as US officials like to say, under President Biden, there have been a few tensions.

Israel’s toughest critics

have long

accused it of practicing a form of apartheid in its treatment of the Palestinians. Government officials do not use that term, and some critics attack the government for not rebuking Israel vigorously, especially when Palestinian civilians are killed in Israeli military counterterrorism raids or by

furious

settlers.

Late last year, Israel installed its most right-wing government in history, with a number of cabinet members expressing support for openly racist anti-Arab policies. Government officials say they have no intention of interfering in Israel’s domestic politics, but have warned of some of the more extreme measures the Knesset or Israeli parliament is considering.

These include a major overhaul of the Israeli legal system

,

that even many Israelis view as eroding the nation’s highest independent institution

,

and the additional construction of Jewish settlements on land in the West Bank claimed by Palestinians striving for an eventual independent nation.

In rare admonitions, Biden, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and other officials have told the Israeli government to avoid radical moves that

avoid blundering showing off

the will of the public, as the judicial changes apparently would, or that would permanently undermine the formation of a Palestinian state, such as additional settlements or de facto annexation.

Doing.

The officials strongly remind Israel to continue to protect the shared democratic values ​​it has with Washington.

The US has issued similar warnings to the Palestinian Authority

about , mainly having to do with

violence and attacks by Palestinian militants against Israelis, but the criticism of the Israeli government is more unusual.

The legal changes are highly controversial in Israel. It comes as

Tens of thousands of Israelis

held en masse

normal

enormous

street protests against the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fixture in Israeli politics

currently

on trial for corruption charges. American Jews have also held demonstrations in the US in support of the Israeli protesters.

Asked if the White House would like that

more

strong support for the House resolution, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that Biden would make it clear during his meeting with Herzog that the U.S. commitment to Israel is “unwavering and unwavering” and that the two countries share a “special bond”. “

When asked if the White House condemned Jayapal’s comments, Jean-Pierre said the administration was “glad to have apologized”.

“Any time anti-Jewish hatred is expressed, it is anti-Semitism. And we find that unacceptable.”

The Biden administration has also taken the unusual step of refusing to meet with at least one member of Netanyahu’s cabinet: Itamar Ben Gvir, an ultranationalist who was once convicted of inciting anti-Arab hatred and whom Netanyahu has appointed as Minister of National Security. And until this week, Biden had broken the habit of refusing to invite Netanyahu to the White House.

In the West Bank, most of the nearly 3

three

million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation. About half a million Jewish Israelis also live in the West Bank in heavily guarded settlements considered illegal by most of the world.

Palestinians living in Israel are considered equal citizens on paper, but human rights groups say these residents are routinely discriminated against or treated as second-class citizens.

As Israeli president, Herzog, the scion of a legendary Israeli family, holds a largely ceremonial position. Under the Israeli parliamentary system, he initiates the formation of each government by inviting the political party or coalition that won the most votes in elections. take steps to build a cabinet. If the parties fail, the president may invite other election participants to perform. Herzog has tried to be a mediator in the political turmoil now plaguing Israel and has tried to soften Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul. But so far he has not succeeded. Asked Tuesday about a bill in the Knesset that would restrict Palestinian activism at universities, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated values ​​that Israel should respect. In general, Miller told reporters, the United States government firmly believes that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and a strong civil society are critical to responsible, responsive and democratic governance.