Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal has drawn sharp criticism from Black lawmakers for referring to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as an "AIPAC monkey" during an appearance on the podcast "The Left Hook." Jebreal made the comment while criticizing Jeffries' support for Israel and accusing him of acting on behalf of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

During the podcast, Jebreal stated, "He is a bought and paid by AIPAC monkey," adding, "With all due respect — and I don’t mean it in a racist way." She continued, "He is just basically an errand boy, and we’re done and tired."

Podcast host Wajahat Ali interjected, noting the "terrible racial connotations" of the term "monkey," but suggested Jebreal had clarified she did not intend racial animosity.

Jebreal later attempted to explain her remark by referencing "the three monkeys – one, I cannot hear, I cannot see, I cannot speak." However, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) rejected her defense, stating on X (formerly Twitter), "To be clear, there isn’t a non-racist way to call Leader Jeffries—a Black man—a ‘monkey’ or ‘errand boy.’"

The CBC also criticized Ali, writing, "this is what happens when we hold ourselves to such low standards for what’s allowable in our discourse — people get comfortable being openly bigoted." The caucus added, "We have to stop platforming and trafficking in anti-Black racism, whether it’s on the political right or the left."

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) echoed this sentiment in an X post, asserting, "Calling a Black man a ‘monkey’ is racist. Full stop." He further contended that "If Wajahat Ali and Rula Jebreal were on the far right, no one on the far left would have any trouble condemning them for dehumanizing a Black man in racist terms. The silence is deafening."

Jebreal subsequently issued an apology on X. "I am disgusted and horrified that Hakeem Jeffries is taking money from AIPAC amidst Israel’s genocide in Palestine," she wrote. "That said, a term that I used to describe him was inappropriate and offensive and should never have been used. I apologize unconditionally."

Jeffries' office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.