ST PAUL, Minn. — A DFL state senator in Minnesota is drawing sharp criticism from members of his own party because of his rhetoric about Palestinians on Wednesday.
"Palestinian youth dream of the opportunity to achieve glory and even martyrdom by killing as many Jews as possible," said DFL Senator Ron Latz, of St. Louis Park, during a press conference to condemn a movement that seeks to boycott or divest in Israel ahead of a meeting of the State Board of Investment.
The rhetoric was enough to draw a sharp rebuke from a group of DFL legislators.
"The language we use, especially at this moment, matters. As such, we denounce and condemn the dangerous language and rhetoric used by Sen. Latz at his press conference in the strongest terms," said the statement, which was cosigned by 13 DFL legislators.
The Chairman for the Minnesota DFL Ken Martin, released a neutral statement blaming "inflammatory rhetoric" from elected officials for rising Islamophobia and antisemitism without naming Latz.
"All DFLers should set a better example and avoid applying broad generalizations to entire groups of people. Part of our values as DFLers is our recognition of the humanity of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples," said Martin's release in part.
Latz responded on social media on Thursday afternoon, saying the quote was taken out of context, and that his speech leading up to that statement "make it clear that I am not referring to all Palestinian youth."
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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