Joint Statement from Virginia JCRCs on Delegate Sam Rasoul

The following is a joint statement from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington; the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater; the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond’s Jewish Community Relations Committee; and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Jewish Peninsula.

“As the chair of the Virginia House of Delegates education committee, Sam Rasoul has had the opportunity to provide children with a supportive learning environment and the responsibility to help keep them safe in their classrooms. He has repeatedly failed on both counts and is no longer fit to serve. We call on him to resign his chairmanship immediately.

“Delegate Rasoul uses his position and platform to regularly spew vitriol toward the Jewish people - calling Israel “depraved” and “evil” while re-defining Zionism to falsely disparage it as a “supremacist ideology”. Delegate Rasoul’s words are precisely the type of destructive rhetoric that fuels antisemitic attacks. Virginia has one of the highest rates of antisemitism in the country, with more than 60% of incidents last year related to Israel.

But rather than easing tensions and bringing people together, Delegate Rasoul seeks further division by fanning the flames of hatred.

“In recent years, we have worked with Virginia lawmakers from both parties and with schools around the Commonwealth to strengthen education and bring people together for dialogue and understanding. That’s the type of leadership the education committee needs and Virginia families deserve.”