‘AIPAC Monkey,’ ‘Errand Boy’ Remarks About Hakeem Jeffries Draw Widespread Condemnation, Spark Debate Over Progressive Racism

A pro-Palestinian activist and academic is apologizing and fending off criticism after using offensive language to disparage one of the most prominent Black officials in the Democratic Party. The comments were made about Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in relation to the conflict in Gaza.

The remark has sparked widespread condemnation as well as a conversation about racism within progressive circles.

Public anger after Jeffries called ‘AIPAC monkey’ and ‘errand boy’

Rula Jebreal, a Palestinian journalist and analyst as well as a visiting professor at the University of Miami, made the offensive comments during a conversation with writer Wajahat Ali on Ali’s “The Left Hook” podcast. Jebreal, criticizing Jeffries for his support for Israel, referred to him as a “bought and paid by AIPAC monkey, with all due respect,” referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has supported Jeffries and other pro-Israel politicians. She immediately qualified her remark, saying “and I don’t mean it in a racist way,” but then called Jeffries “just basically an errand boy.”

Jebreal’s comment drew widespread outrage. “To be clear, there isn’t a non-racist way to call Leader Jeffries—a Black man—a ‘monkey’ or ‘errand boy,’” posted the Congressional Black Caucus. The organization also criticized Ali, writing “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 CBC ended with a call “to stop platforming and trafficking in anti-Black racism, whether it’s on the political right or the left.”

Ohio State University Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries, the congressman’s brother, called out Jebreal and Ali, saying that his brother Hakeem “is a man, a BLACK Man, and nobody’s monkey.”

Journalist Eric Michael Garcia wrote “if you want to know why Black voters do not trust progressives or pro-Palestine advocates (aside from the fact Kamala Harris lost Michigan), calling the potential first Black speaker of the House a ‘monkey’ is proof positive of that mistrust.”

Some posters pointed out that Jebreal herself once called out Ron DeSantis for “blatant racist rhetoric” when he used a similar “monkey” comment against Andrew Gillum, a Black politician, when the two men competed in the race for Governor of Florida.

Apologies, explanations have not quenched outrage over remarks

Jebreal apologized for her words while maintaining her criticisms of Jeffries. “I am disgusted and horrified that Hakeem Jeffries is taking money from AIPAC amidst Israel’s genocide in Palestine,” she wrote on X. “That said, a term that I used to describe him was inappropriate and offensive and should never have been used. I apologize unconditionally.”

Ali, meanwhile, defended himself and his conduct of the interview, asking viewers to watch “the full exchange where I made it clear that no one should ever use the word monkey, even as a slip of the tongue, because of the racist history.” In the longer clip he posted, he goes back to the “monkey” remark in an attempt at “clarifying” her comments.

Jebreal and Ali also appeared on the Joy Reid Show in an attempt to further address the controversy surrounding her comments. Reid defended them to her audience, saying “Sometimes even our friends can get it wrong. They can stumble over trying to make a point,” blaming a “cultural disconnection” for the offensive remarks. However, many people have rejected Jebreal’s apologies and explanations for her comments.

In short, it appears that the controversy over Jebreal’s remarks about Jeffries, a man likely to become the first Black Speaker of the House, has not gone away. Rather, the insults hurled at Jeffries have overshadowed any substance of the debate about policy toward Israel and Gaza while also leading to conversations about cross-racial and ethnic solidarity, left-wing racism and the type of rhetoric employed against Black political figures.

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