Democrats are waking up to the American far left’s antisemitism problem

For months, much of the Democratic Party seemed determined to look the other way when it came to Hasan Piker. Not anymore. He can’t avoid the spotlight now.

A growing collection of prominent Democrats is finally speaking out against the hugely popular far-left political commentator and Twitch streamer after Piker suggested that American Jews who strongly identify with Israel are helping create the conditions for antisemitic violence against themselves.

Piker, who has millions of followers across social media, has become one of the most influential voices on the far left, particularly among younger progressive voters.

The comments appear to have crossed a line even for Democrats who, for months, have tried to carefully navigate the party’s growing divide over Israel, antisemitism and the rise of the socialist left.

So far, Bernie Sanders, the godfather of the modern progressive and socialist movement, has remained conspicuously quiet. But he’s looking a bit isolated nowadays.

Meanwhile, Democrats, including Senate leaders, House members, and candidates, are beginning to say enough is enough.

Piker created the latest firestorm while discussing American Jews and Israel on his Twitch stream.

“If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone’s going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker said.

He later added, “You’re running around, basically tying your entire identity to a country that inevitably will be seen as basically Jewish ISIS, and you’re saying, as Jews, this is all we care about. You’re making antisemitism worse.”

Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who is Jewish, blasted Piker.

“Hasan Piker has been trafficking in antisemitic tropes for a while but even this is a new low. Blaming Jewish Americans for the violence and hate they’re facing is not just wrong, it provides an excuse to those perpetuating these anti-Jewish hate crimes.”

“Let me be absolutely clear: crimes against Jews for being Jews are antisemitism plain and simple. There’s no excuse for it.”

Senate Democrats weren’t finished with their criticism. Cory Booker of New Jersey also weighed in, saying in part that, “No American should be told that their political beliefs make them responsible for hatred or violence directed against them.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries was even more explicit.

“The malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” Jeffries wrote. “There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate. We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now.”

A day later, Jeffries confirmed that he was specifically referring to Piker.

“Those comments were dangerous, malicious and antisemitic and should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square,” Jeffries told CNN. He added that Americans of every ideological stripe should condemn antisemitic rhetoric, hate crimes and bigotry.

Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Hillary Scholten unloaded as well.

“Piker is a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance,” Scholten said. “It’s dangerous for everyone. We should all be calling out this disgusting rhetoric so it loses its grip on our politics once and for all. It has no place in Michigan, and no place in our country.”

Michigan is exactly where this controversy becomes politically explosive. Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has appeared repeatedly with Piker and used his enormous online following to reach younger progressive voters. Now El-Sayed is trying to put some distance between himself and the streamer.

“Nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” El-Sayed said. “I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate for what they believe without fear of violence. This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past. My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters. Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk.”

Piker has become something of a cultural ambassador for the socialist left – enormously influential among young progressive voters and closely associated with candidates and activists challenging the Democratic establishment. His influence is catching on like wildfire.

That is precisely what worries Jon Cowan, president of the centrist Democratic organization Third Way.

“If we cede the party to the far left, they’ll take it over, they’ll destroy it, and Democrats will hold only the bluest seats in the deepest blue places and be locked out of the White House for a generation,” Cowan tells me.

His warning about the Democratic Socialists of America is even more dramatic.

“Right now, I feel like Thomas Paine standing on a soapbox, screaming for people to pay attention to what’s happening. Because I’ll tell you, the British are coming to destroy the Democratic Party. In this instance, the British are the DSA and their fellow travelers, and they have one objective: destroy and take over the Democratic Party. They don’t care what the consequences of that are.”