Screenshot from Facebook. UPDATE: Tania Singh issued a statement on Facebook claiming that her comments were aimed at Israeli government policy, not Jewish people as a whole.
“I do not hate Jewish people as a group, and I do not judge individuals negatively because of Jewish ethnicity, religious belief, or identity,” Singh wrote. “I apologize for the lack of clarity in my language and for any pain it caused anyone; I can see that someone coming across particular comments without the original context could interpret them as an attack against Jewish people generally and be entirely justified in reacting negatively.”
Singh added, “I believe people should be able to characterize the Israeli government as oppressive without being unjustifiably labeled as anti-Semitic.”
Read her full statement here.
ORIGINAL STORY:
An executive board member from the California Democratic Party suggested calling Jews “fascists” and other nasty adjectives instead of using the word “Nazi” toward Israel.
As The Israel Group first reported, Tania Singh, under the name “Tania Bhatia” on Facebook, was responding to a Facebook commenter who wrote, “Israel is the new NAZI regime!!!!”
“No,” Singh responded. “Don’t use the word Nazi for Jewish people.”
Singh then suggested a list of “alternatives,” which included the words “fascist,” “ethno-nationalist,” “genocidal maniac,” “murderer,” and “xenophobe.”
Singh later deleted her comments and acknowledged the deletions in a Facebook post.
“I have nothing to say lately that’s unique or insightful so I’ve been just sharing dank memes created by my closest friends,” Singh wrote.
Her comments have been captured in screenshots by The Israel Group.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) denounced Singh’s comments.
“Debates about Israel, including criticism of its policies, can be had without launching broad and baseless accusations against Israelis and Jews,” AJC Los Angeles Acting Director Roslyn Warren, AJC San Francisco Director Matt Kahn, and AJC Northern California Director Rabbi Serena Eisenberg said in a statement sent to the Journal. “Ms. Singh’s offensive comments demonstrate the need to strengthen coalitions across diverse communities to combat anti-Semitism and the delegitimization of Israel. AJC is responding by leveraging and growing our long-standing partnerships at every level of government and across communities to combat bigotry – whether toward Jews or toward any group of people.”
The California Democratic Party is distancing themselves from Singh’s comments, as Communications Director John Vigna told the Journal in an email that Singh is “very new to the Party” and has “very little influence” over it.
“We strongly support Israel’s right to live peacefully and securely with it’s neighbors and we believe in a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict that ensures the safety and security of the people of Israel and the integrity of Israel’s borders,” Vigna said. “We recognize that this is an issue where people have strong feelings, but we encourage all of our activists to use their first amendment rights in ways that are constructive and helpful in reaching solutions, not resorting to name-calling or ad hominem attacks against whole groups of people.”
Singh has not replied to the Journal’s request for comment.
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