US House passes pro-Israel resolution claiming it's 'not a racist' state

The United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday (18 July) claiming that  Israel is "not a racist or apartheid state," a move sparked by recent comments by Rep Pramila Jayapal, reports Aljazeera.

The vote was 412-9-1 to endorse the measure, rejecting antisemitism and condemning progressive critics.

"The United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel," says the bill introduced by Republican Congressman August Pfluger. It also condemned "all forms of anti-Semitism and xenophobia".

Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic Congresswoman from Michigan, was the only member to speak out against the resolution. "I am the only Palestinian American serving in Congress and I have family members all throughout the West Bank — what many people call the illegally occupied territories."

Jaypal, who is critical of Netanyahu and Israel's human rights records toward, made the comments on Saturday calling Israel a "racist state."

She has subsequently apologised while mentioning Isreal's "extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies".

"Sadly, Congress overwhelmingly passed this resolution, once again landing on the wrong side of history, as the leading and most respected human rights organisations in the world, after extensive research, have labelled Israel as apartheid," Palestinian-American comedian and activist Amer Zahr told Al Jazeera.

Israel has been accused of committing apartheid against Palestinians by major human rights groups such as Amnesty International.

"As we grow stronger in advocating for Palestinian rights, for Palestinian liberation, so does the opposing side that is oppressing us; it grows more forceful in trying to silence us," said Laura Albast, a Palestinian-American organiser in the Washington, DC area.