Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) faced significant backlash for her planned appearance at a fundraiser for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights advocacy group, due to the involvement of other speakers known for their antisemitic and homophobic remarks. Criticism came from various quarters, including Gov. Josh Shapiro and a political figure calling for Lee to cancel her appearance and apologize. Eventually, Lee withdrew from the event, stating she was unaware of the controversial past comments made by other speakers. The controversy highlighted the ongoing concerns over antisemitism and the responsibilities of public figures to avoid endorsing or appearing to endorse hate speech.
Now it all makes sense. We now know why @ChicagosMayor refused to condemn his CORE and progressive pals who spewed anti-Semitic venom and supported Hamas. A fundraising dinner. https://t.co/sFQZYxPB6N
Pennsylvania progressive Rep. Summer Lee has bowed out of a speaking engagement with a Muslim group after intense backlash about other speakers’ antisemitic and homophobic comments. https://t.co/TLMDZ9y6Bg
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) has canceled an upcoming speaking engagement with a national Muslim group after facing backlash from local leaders over several fellow speakers’ antisemitic sentiments. https://t.co/g7r0guYEB5 https://t.co/9PYo3A1WRP
News: Summer Lee has CANCELED a planned appearance at a fundraiser for Muslim civil rights advocacy group CAIR this weekend. In a statement, she says she was unaware of past remarks made by other speakers. "I do not condone or endorse any of the other speakers’ previous comments"
NEW @J_Insider: Gov. Josh Shapiro, through a spox, reacts to Rep. Summer Lee's CAIR appearance with antisemitic speakers: “Governor Shapiro has been very clear that in the face of rising hate speech, leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity. The Governor…
Summer Lee needs to cancel this appearance and apologize for agreeing to share a stage with them in the first place. This is appalling. https://t.co/u5ir2l86bH
Sen. Bob Casey condemns CAIR, but won't criticize Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), who is headlining their event: https://t.co/VFND4p8I83
Not only has @RepSummerLee NOT returned a large donation from CAIR’s executive director who was “happy to see” the Oct 7 Hamas terrorist attack, but she’s doubling down next week! Lee will help raise funds for CAIR at an event featuring many with a history of antisemitic speech. https://t.co/mAsetU4p4V
Jeremy Corbyn's resistance to calling out anti-semitism a few years ago looked to be rooted in a deep resistance to admitting such prejudice against Jews existed among some of his most passionate supporters on the radical left, even when the evidence for this was very clear.… https://t.co/zbuvit9q5d