Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal called House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries an “AIPAC monkey” during a podcast, drawing swift condemnation from the Congressional Black Caucus and leading Democrats who called the language racist and unacceptable.

During a recent appearance on Wajahat Ali’s “The Left Hook” podcast, Rula Jebreal launched a harsh attack on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, labeling him “a bought and paid by AIPAC monkey.” The comments immediately set off a firestorm, as the Congressional Black Caucus and prominent Democrats denounced her language as racist and degrading. Jebreal later posted an unconditional apology on X, admitting her words were “inappropriate and offensive.”

Jebreal, a Palestinian journalist and frequent critic of American policy toward Israel, used her podcast platform to accuse Jeffries of doing the “bidding” of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). “His name is Hakeem. ‘Hakeem’ is an Arabic name which means ‘healer.’ He’s not a healer, he’s a divider,” Jebreal said, before adding, “He is a bought and paid by AIPAC monkey.” She attempted to explain, “With all due respect, and I don’t mean it in a racist way,” and further compared Jeffries to the “three monkeys” who “cannot hear, cannot see, cannot speak.”

Host Wajahat Ali, himself a progressive commentator, interjected on air to flag the “terrible racial connotations” of the term, acknowledging that Jebreal claimed she “didn’t mean it with any racial animosity.” But the damage was done. The Congressional Black Caucus issued a statement: “To be clear, there isn’t a non-racist way to call Leader Jeffries, a Black man, a ‘monkey’ or ‘errand boy.’” The group warned, “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.” They added, “We have to stop platforming and trafficking in anti-Black racism, whether it’s on the political right or the left.”

Representative Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York and member of the Congressional Black Caucus, was even more direct: “calling a Black man a ‘monkey’ is racist. Full stop.” He pointedly called out progressive circles for their silence, saying, “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 apologizes but doubles down on Israel criticism

As the uproar grew, Jebreal turned to social media to apologize for her language. On X, she wrote, “I am disgusted and horrified that Hakeem Jeffries is taking money from AIPAC amidst Israel’s genocide in Palestine,” but conceded, “That said, a term that I used to describe him was inappropriate and offensive and should never have been used. I apologize unconditionally.” Her apology was quickly referenced in multiple outlets, including the New York Post, Breitbart, and Fox News. The Congressional Black Caucus and lawmakers like Torres rejected any attempt to qualify or excuse the language as merely political, insisting that such terms are inherently racist, regardless of intent.

The incident comes as Jeffries faces mounting pressure from both the left and right. While he continues to position himself as a staunch supporter of Israel, left-wing critics have targeted him for his ties to AIPAC and his resistance to the party’s most progressive demands. As seen in the ongoing party friction over leadership, including uncertainty about his support for Speaker and the rise of socialist-backed challengers, Jeffries finds himself in an increasingly polarized role even within his own party.

Hypocrisy and silence on the left

What sets this controversy apart is the response from Democrats themselves. The Congressional Black Caucus and members like Torres did not hesitate to call out the racism in Jebreal’s language. Even left-leaning publications, such as the Washington Examiner, highlighted this unusually strong rebuke from the party’s own base. Yet, as Torres pointed out, the silence from some progressive circles was “deafening.” The episode exposes a double standard: when people on the left cross the line into open racism, the outrage and calls for accountability often lag behind the reaction reserved for conservatives who make similar missteps.

This is not the first time Jeffries has been at the center of heated intraparty disputes. His leadership has been tested by challenges from the left, most recently when he threatened discipline for Democrats who crossed the aisle and in his calls for Supreme Court reform. Yet, as this episode shows, the left’s internal policing of its own rhetoric around race and Israel is far from consistent.

Bigotry cannot be excused, no matter the politics

Jebreal’s defenders attempted to reframe her words as clumsy rather than malicious, citing her own clarification during the podcast and her subsequent apology. But both the Congressional Black Caucus and lawmakers like Torres made clear that intention is not enough, language with a racist history cannot be waved away simply because it comes from the left. As Breitbart and Fox News reported, the condemnation from Black leaders was blunt: “There isn’t a non-racist way to call Leader Jeffries, a Black man, a ‘monkey’ or ‘errand boy.’”

Jeffries himself did not issue a personal response to the slur, but the controversy adds to the storm of criticism and division swirling around his leadership. With Democrats increasingly split on Israel, and with the party’s left flank emboldened to challenge the establishment, episodes like this reveal the cracks in Democratic unity, and the cost of tolerating ugly rhetoric, even when it comes from within. For more on Jeffries’ handling of internal party dissent, see his response following the defeat of party incumbents by socialist-backed challengers.

When the left’s own activists resort to racial slurs to attack their opponents, it’s a reminder that bigotry is not confined to any one side of the aisle, and that true accountability means confronting it, not making excuses.