Democrat slams White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for ‘weak answer’ on antisemitism: ‘Must do better’

Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz slammed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday for downplaying the potential for antisemitic hate crimes as Israel wages war against Hamas terrorists. 

Jean-Pierre argued that the White House hasn’t seen “any credible threats” against the Jewish community before flipping through her notes during Monday’s press briefing and declaring that Muslims and Arab Americans “have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks.”

“What a weak answer. And why are you looking in the book? What’s the approved answer?” Moskowitz, who is Jewish, said in an X post.  

“The simple answer is yes, you are concerned about the rise of antisemitism. Of course we are also worried about hatred against Muslim Americans. Must do better,” the Florida lawmaker added. 

President Biden’s spokeswoman clarified after the briefing that the 80-year-old commander in chief is indeed “very concerned” about an increase in antisemitic violence. 

“To be clear: the President and our team are very concerned about a rise in antisemitism, especially after the horrific Hamas terrorist attack in Israel,” Jean-Pierre tweeted. 

“That’s why the President mobilized his homeland security team to address any potential threats that could harm Jewish communities, as well as Muslim, Arab American, and Palestinian American communities,” she added, noting points she highlighted during her briefing. 

Since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, there have been 107 recorded antisemitic incidents across the US, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

It also found that there were 347 messages on Telegram from extremists calling for violence against Jews, Israelis and Zionists in just the first 18 hours after Hamas’ surprise attack — up approximately 488% from just the day before.

Jean-Pierre’s comments came days after FBI Director Christopher Wray warned about a possible rise in domestic threat reports amid Israel’s effort to rid Gaza of terrorists.

“We’re particularly vigilant to the possibility that lone actors in the United States could in some way, out of inspiration, misguided inspiration that they draw from the conflict in the Middle East,” Wray said in an interview with Fox News last Thursday. 

During a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in San Diego earlier this month, Wray said there is “no question” that antisemitic threats are on the rise.

“History has been witness to antisemitic and other forms of violent extremism for far too long. Whether that be from foreign terrorist organizations, or those inspired by them, or domestic violent extremists motivated by their own racial animus, the targeting of a community because of their faith is totally unacceptable,” he told the crowd, according to the Hill.