U.S. Democratic Representative Andy Levin is a proud Jewish lawmaker and one of Israel’s biggest critics in Congress, according to this 2021 Haaretz article. He said: “I am really Jewish, but I insist on keeping my moral clarity. It comes from my Judaism—what can I do? […] My Judaism is all about justice.” Levin argues that Palestinian rights must be respected in order to combat antisemitism.
In this interview with Jewish Insider, U.S. Representative from Michigan Andy Levin describes how his Judaism informs his views. He says we “can’t win the battle against antisemitism unless we Jews fight against racism against Black people, against Islamophobia, against anti-LGBTQ feelings, against anti-immigrant xenophobia.”
In discussing charges of anti-Semitism leveled against Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman who represents another Detroit-area district, Levin says, “I’ve known Rashida since long before either of us thought about running for Congress. And she has been a comrade in the battle for racial and economic justice,” he said. “Rashida is not antisemitic, full stop.” Levin feels that “unless Palestinian human rights are respected, we cannot fight antisemitism” and has called annexation and settlement expansion counterproductive to the peace process.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has also written about Rep. Levin in this article entitled, “Why This Proudly Jewish Lawmaker Is One of Israel’s Biggest Critics in Congress.” Haaretz also wrote this about Levin’s view that “Antisemitism Can’t Be Beat Unless Palestinian Rights Are Respected.”
In his own statement of Israel-Palestine conflict, he wrote, “As a Jew who rejects tribalism of all kinds and takes seriously the duty to love the stranger as myself even and especially under the most difficult of circumstances, we must do everything we can to halt the killing of innocent civilians on both sides.” He goes on to discuss how it is systematic Israeli policy to try to uproot Palestinian families.
