Journalist's remarks on Jeffries draw lawmaker criticism

Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal has ignited a significant controversy after referring to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as an "AIPAC monkey" and an "errand boy" during a podcast interview. The remarks, made earlier this week on Wajahat Ali's "The Left Hook" podcast, quickly drew widespread condemnation from Democratic lawmakers and organizations. Jebreal, who was born in Haifa and holds Israeli and Italian citizenship, made the comments while discussing US-Israel relations and the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). She stated, "He is a bought and paid by AIPAC monkey," adding, "With all due respect, and I don't mean it in a racist way. He is just basically an errand boy, and we're done and tired." Jebreal later explained her remarks were made amidst her disgust with Jeffries taking money from AIPAC during the conflict in Palestine, and she also referenced the imagery of the three monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. The Congressional Black Caucus issued a strong denouncement, stating on X that "there isn't a nonracist way to call Leader Jeffries a Black man a monkey or errand boy.