College Democrats of America announced Friday that far-left streamer Hasan Piker would serve as a "surprise speaker" At its national convention in Washington, D.C., on July 17-19. Piker has called Orthodox Jews "inbred" And said that Hamas is "1,000 times" Better than the Israeli government.
A Jewish former leader of the organization expressed alarm at the decision. "Hasan Piker has, on multiple occasions, voiced sentiments that are deeply antisemitic. We've had members of Congress, like Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), explicitly call him out for his antisemitism," The student said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The former leader criticized the organization's stated commitment to inclusivity, saying: "The College Democrats bill themselves as an organization that's a big tent, that's open to being inclusive of many different people of various different backgrounds, and I think that in the Democratic Party as a whole, we have seen that Jewish people are being further and further excluded because of our inherent ties to Israel, and I think that the College Democrats cannot effectively be a big tent organization open to all people if Jewish people are being excluded."
The student added: "This organization would not bring in somebody who is so openly discriminatory against other groups, but because of this rising sentiment in College Democrats' leadership that is just hatred for Jews, it really is just highly concerning that they would do something like this."
The concern about antisemitism within the organization predates the Piker announcement. The student described feeling unsafe disclosing his Jewish identity within College Democrats leadership, where support for Palestine and keffiyehs have become increasingly visible. "Within College Democrats, I am afraid to tell people that I am Jewish, and I would often hide that," He said.
While acknowledging pushback against the Piker decision, the student attributed the organization's direction to "a small subset of young people who have taken the reins of this organization." He stated: "They really do need to be stopped" While maintaining belief in the organization's original mission.