Landsman Leads Letter to Marco Rubio on Malaysia Hunting Down and Removing Jews

Cincinnati, OH - Today, Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH-01) and Congressman Josh Gottzheimer (D-NJ-05) led a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for answers after Malaysia said it will deport all Israeli citizens found in their country.

Late last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced his government would track down and immediately deport any Israeli citizen found in the country.

Reps. Landsman, Gottheimer, and six other House Democrats sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting that his department clarify what steps it is taking in response to these remarks. The members add if Malaysia refuses to reverse this antisemitic policy within 15 days, Rubio should suspend International Military Education Training (IMET) funding the United States provides to Malaysia.

The letter reads, in part:

"For millennia, Jews around the world have seen this playbook. The demonization and expulsion of Jews eventually leads to the worst case outcomes. It is necessary that the United States push back on this antisemitism…

"Malaysia's refusal to recognize Israel is troubling enough. But, it is totally unacceptable that a head of government has publicly declared that his country will hunt down and expel citizens of our close ally based solely on their nationality. It should not be underwritten by the American taxpayer.

"This is also a government that maintains open ties with Hamas. Hamas fighters have even trained on Malaysian soil. The Malaysian government welcomes terrorists while targeting Jews.

"Given these points of diplomatic leverage, we believe the United States should make clear to Prime Minister Ibrahim and his government that, with our aid and support, comes an expectation that they won't target the nationals of one of our closest allies."

Read the full letter HERE.

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