The Congressional Black Caucus rejected Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal’s defense after she called House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, 54, an “AIPAC monkey” during a podcast appearance last week.
Jebreal, 51, used the slur on “The Left Hook,” a show hosted by commentator Wajahat Ali, while attacking the Brooklyn Democrat’s support for Israel and accusing him of serving the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The episode aired as progressive criticism of Democratic leadership on Gaza policy has intensified heading into the fall election season.
“His name is Hakeem. ‘Hakeem’ is an Arabic name which means ‘healer.’ He’s not a healer, he’s a divider,” Jebreal raged on the program.
“He is a bought and paid by AIPAC monkey,” she continued. “With all due respect — and I don’t mean it in a racist way.”
Ali, a frequent critic of Israeli policy, interjected to note that “monkey” carries “terrible racial connotations” but added that he believed Jebreal “caught yourself and said you didn’t mean it with any racial animosity.” Jebreal then attempted to clarify her intent by referencing the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” proverb: “There are these three monkeys – one, I cannot hear, I cannot see, I cannot speak – it reminds me of these three monkeys.”
The CBC dismissed the explanation outright in a statement posted to X. “To be clear, there isn’t a non-racist way to call Leader Jeffries—a Black man—a ‘monkey’ or ‘errand boy,'” the group wrote. The caucus broadened its criticism to include Ali himself, warning that “this is what happens when we hold ourselves to such low standards for what’s allowable in our discourse — people get comfortable being openly bigoted.” The statement concluded with a call to “stop platforming and trafficking in anti-Black racism, whether it’s on the political right or the left.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres, 36, the Bronx Democrat who has frequently clashed with progressive critics of Israel, echoed the caucus on X. “Calling a Black man a ‘monkey’ is racist. Full stop,” he posted. Torres added that “if Wajahat Ali and Rula Jebreal were on the far right, no one on the far left would have any trouble condemning them for dehumanizing a Black man in racist terms. The silence is deafening.”
Jebreal later posted what critics called a backhanded apology on X, embedding her regret within continued attacks on Jeffries. “I am disgusted and horrified that Hakeem Jeffries is taking money from AIPAC amidst Israel’s genocide in Palestine,” she wrote. “That said, a term that I used to describe him was inappropriate and offensive and should never have been used.”
The episode marked the latest flashpoint in tensions between progressive critics of Israel and Black Democratic leaders, several of whom have faced primary challenges backed by groups critical of AIPAC’s influence in Democratic politics. Jeffries’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the exchange.
Jeffries is scheduled to appear at a Democratic fundraising dinner in Philadelphia later this month.