The College Democrats of America (CDA) Jewish Caucus called on a CDA official who is running to be vice president of the organization to step out of the race, alleging that her Twitter history shows her being “prejudiced against Jews.”
The caucus published a Medium post on September 17 stating that in 2016, CDA Vice President candidate Nourhan Mesbah, who currently serves as the CDA National Director of Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accesibility (IDEA), tweeted in October 2016, “i [sic] blame this [presidential] debate on the yahood.” “Yahood” is Arabic for “Jew.”
“This displays blatant antisemitism and also plays into centuries old tropes of Jews playing puppetmaster over the politics and media,” the CDA Jewish Caucus wrote. “It is an offensive and ignorant statement and still public on Twitter as of this letter’s publication.”
They later argued that if Mesbah’s defense was that she was joking with the “yahood” tweet, it is rooted in “centuries of antisemitic canards.” “These false accusations and subsequent Jewish conspiracy theories became popular in the Middle Ages and resulted in thousands of Jewish people being killed in pogroms. This ties into exactly what Ms. Mesbah said about Jews being at fault for Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton’s bad performance in the debate.”
The caucus also noted that in the tweet Mesbah tagged Dima Jubara, who previously tweeted out a picture stating, “God will kill the Jews” in Arabic and has also tweeted, “I say ‘I blame the yahood’ at least 25 times a day.” The caucus posted another screenshot appearing to show Mesbah exchanging text messages with Jubara where Jubara says “God will kill the Jews” in Arabic and Mesbah doesn’t push back. The caucus called this “unacceptable and show without a shadow of a doubt that Ms. Mesbah is an antisemite and closely associates with other antisemites.”
The caucus alleged that CDA President Gabrielle Harris ignored them when they reached out to her about Mesbah, which is why they decided to take matters into their own hands. They also thanked Jewish on Campus for tipping them off on the matter.
“It is for this reason that we call on Ms. Mesbah to not only drop out of the race to be the next CDA Vice President, but to also resign as IDEA director,” the caucus wrote. “This shouldn’t need to be said but we cannot have a Vice President or IDEA director who is prejudiced against Jews because antisemitism is anything but inclusive.”
Blake Flayton, Co-Founder of the New Zionists Congress and Journal columnist, called on the College Democrats to “do something about this. Right now, before the voting starts. This terrible news will not go away even if you fail to address it.”
Hey @CollegeDems, I would do something about this. Right now, before the voting starts. This terrible news will not go away even if you fail to address it. https://t.co/si1KAXyFko
— Blake Flayton (@blakeflayton) September 17, 2021
Israeli activist Hen Mazzig also tweeted, “Just because you say something extremely hateful about Jews but say Jew in Arabic (‘Yahood’) doesn’t make it any less disgusting. How is it even possible this bigot is still in leadership?”
Just because you say something extremely hateful about Jews but say Jew in Arabic (“Yahood”) doesn’t make it any less disgusting.
How is it even possible this bigot is still in leadership? https://t.co/8KPhmISUTO
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) September 17, 2021
Arizona State Representative Alma Hernandez, a Democrat, tweeted that such “behavior should not be tolerated. Whether it’s young Democrats college Democrats you name it.”
THIS ⬇️ behavior should not be tolerated. Whether it’s young Democrats college Democrats you name it. @StopAntisemites https://t.co/0XxFlnIawU
— (((Rep.Alma Hernandez))) (@almaforarizona) September 17, 2021
The CDA and Mesbah did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment by publication time. Voting for the CDA election began on September 18 and ends on September 20.
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