Washington, DC -- Today, Rep. Frankel (FL-21) released the following statement:

"Debate about policy is legitimate, necessary and a healthy function of our democracy. When I disagree with the decisions of my government – which I’ve done a lot throughout the Trump administration – that does not make me anti-American, just as criticizing the actions of a foreign government doesn’t make someone a bigot. In fact, sharing ideas and debating policy make our nation stronger.

However, when that debate crosses into hateful rhetoric, whether it’s anti-Semitism, racism, or Islamophobia, we must quickly identify and reject it. Recent statements that have been made regarding the anti-Semitic myth of dual loyalty are especially harmful because throughout Jewish history, accusing Jews of harboring allegiances to a foreign country has resulted in discrimination and violence. In 1894, a French-Jewish officer was wrongly charged with passing military secrets to Germany, leading to mobs screaming “Death to the Jews.” Nazi propaganda in the 1920s and 1930s accused Jews of “stabbing Germany in the back” during World War I. And then in 1952, Stalin charged Russian Jewish doctors with plotting to poison and kill the Soviet leadership, leading to the innocent men being arrested and tortured. And these are just a few examples.

As we’ve seen over the past few years, anti-Semitism is increasing both abroad and here in the United States. In 2017, there was a 57 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in this country, and last October’s Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh was the deadliest attack Jews have faced in American history. There is no place for hate in our country – I will always condemn all forms of prejudice and work with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to combat the alarming rise in anti-Semitism."

###