House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats are condemning streamer Hasan Piker for suggesting American Jews face violence. The backlash follows a livestream where Piker claimed that Jewish support for Israel invites harm against them in the United States. At least ten congressional Democrats have publicly criticized the far-left streamer for his remarks.
Piker made these comments during a stream on August 20, according to the Washington Times. A photo of Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democrat from Michigan state senate running for Congress, was shown by him. Piker told his viewers that if Jews keep pushing their investment in Israel, "eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews," per reports.
Jeffries joined the chorus of criticism on Monday, though he did not name Piker initially. When asked on CNN if he was referring to the streamer, Jeffries confirmed that he was. He stated, "Those comments were dangerous, malicious and antisemitic and should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square," according to Fox News Politics.
Rep. Brad Schneider was among the first to label Piker an "unapologetic antisemite" back in March. He renewed his criticism on Tuesday regarding the latest outburst. According to The Washington Times, Piker has held the American Israel Public Affairs Committee responsible for the surge of condemnations he faces.
On the social media platform X, Piker wrote that an "AIPAC boss call was made" and claimed lawmakers were "unanimous in their hatred." He added that he welcomed the backlash. In a second post, he suggested tallying the campaign money the Democrats who denounced him received from AIPAC. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency noted that Piker also referred to Israel as "Jewish ISIS" during the stream.
Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and Rep. Josh Gottheimer are among the ten lawmakers who have spoken out. Rep. Ritchie Torres, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, and Rep. Greg Stanton also joined the condemnation. Rep. Hillary Scholten and Rep. Brad Schneider completed the list of ten critics identified by the Washington Times.
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed offered a softer response to the controversy. He told reporters, "Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms," according to Townhall. However, El-Sayed did not explicitly call Piker's comments antisemitic or promise to stop campaigning with him.
Piker had previously asked Democrats to defend him just two weeks before the incident. He insisted he was "not this dangerous, toxic radical force."
Now, the political landscape has shifted as midterm elections approach. Piker's latest warnings about violence have drawn sharp rebukes from the very party he claims to support. Jeffries pledged to fight antisemitism "with the fierce urgency of now," according to the Washington Times. The streamer's comments remain a focal point for Democrats trying to unify their base before the vote.