Rep. Soto responds to NRCC criticism he was ‘hanging out’ with ‘antisemitic’ group
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The National Republican Congressional Committee slammed Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., for “hanging out” with members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has been under fire after the group’s director made controversial comments.
Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he was “happy” following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, according to Fox News.
In his speech, Awad also said Israel “does not have that right to self-defense” but the people of Gaza “have the right to self-defense – have the right to defend themselves.”
“The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege – the walls of the concentration camp – on October 7,” Awad said in a speech on Nov. 24. “And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not free to walk in.”
“Antisemitism has no place in Florida. Hanging out with antisemitic groups tells you all you need to know about Soto’s extreme agenda,” a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee said.
The White House also condemned Awad’s statement, as reported by the New York Times.
“We condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
In response to the committee’s attack, a spokesperson for Soto told Florida’s Voice the representative “condemns antisemitism in any form.”
“Rep. Soto has chartered one of the most pro-Israel records in Congress,” the statement said. “He has supported Israel’s right to defend itself, key funding, and resolutions against antisemitism.”
Soto’s spokesperson said the congressman will also meet with various Muslim constituent groups to “hear their concerns.”
Following the controversial comments, Awad issued a statement to Fox News that said his comment on feeling “happy” on Oct. 7 were not referring to the terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Israelis.
“What I actually said while discussing international law: Ukrainians, Palestinians and other occupied people have the right to defend themselves and escape occupation by just and legal means, but targeting civilians is never an acceptable means of doing so,” Awad said.
Awad said he has “again and again condemned the violence against Israeli civilians.”
He also said the Palestinians who “briefly walked out of Gaza and set foot on their ethnically cleansed land in a symbolic act of defiance against the blockade and stopped there without engaging in violence were within their rights under international law.”
Awad said the “extremists who went on to attack civilians in southern Israel were not” and that targeting civilians is “unacceptable, no matter whether they are Israeli or Palestinian or any other nationality.”
