The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, the consensus public affairs voice for Minnesota’s Jewish community, is appalled that U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and state Sen. Omar Fateh have decided to appear with Hasan Piker in Minneapolis on Oct. 26. They are giving a platform to a demagogue with a longstanding record of dehumanizing Jews and excusing extremism.
Star Tribune Opinion: DFL leaders must condemn Hasan Piker’s upcoming appearance in Minneapolis
A need to win votes cannot excuse antisemitism, bigotry or hate.
As published in the Minnesota Star Tribune
By Steve Hunegs, Executive Director
October 24, 2026
Omar’s spokesperson defended her participation by saying, “Early voting among people under 40 is down.” Reaching younger voters is essential, but it is unacceptable to make room for bigotry just to attract a few votes.
Piker once said, “America deserved 9/11.” He also lauded Mao Zedong, cast doubt on some documented sexual violence during the Oct. 7 attacks and has repeatedly defended Hamas.
In an October NPR interview, Piker defended using “inbred,” a term he has directed at Orthodox Jews, calling it “an apt pejorative.”
This August, Piker warned that our community’s identification with Israel could lead someone to “take action” against “American Jews.”
This type of demagoguery reminds us of a troubling era of Minnesota Jewish history. In a nationally broadcast speech in September 1941, Charles Lindbergh, who grew up in Minnesota, accused the Roosevelt administration, Britain and American Jews of pushing America toward war. He spread conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the press, radio and movies. He warned that Jews would be “among the first to feel its consequences” if the country entered the war.
Our organizational predecessor, the Jewish Anti-Defamation Council of Minnesota, wrote to the America First Committee’s chairman demanding that it repudiate Lindbergh’s antisemitism. The letter drew national attention. The St. Paul Pioneer Press condemned Lindbergh under the editorial headline “Imitator of Hitler.” America First’s leaders refused to repudiate him.
Eighty-five years later, JCRC remains committed to defending public discourse against hatred and disinformation.
A Jewish Federations of North America survey released in February found that 88% of American Jews believe Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. Blaming our community for violence directed against us because of our connection to the people, land and state of Israel is obscene. Responsibility belongs to those who perpetrate, encourage and excuse antisemitic violence. Never to its victims.
Piker’s cruelty extends beyond our community. When CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan challenged his preference for Hamas by citing its restrictions on women and homophobia, Piker said: “I don’t think anyone actually cares about their domestic policies. I certainly don’t.”
Minnesotans can criticize Israel’s government, advocate for Palestinians and debate American foreign policy. None of those commitments requires dehumanizing Jews, rationalizing hatred and exclusion or shrugging at Hamas’ oppression.
In Minnesota’s competitive elections, with emotions running high, giving a platform to toxic rhetoric and falsehoods is an accelerant. It inflames prejudice, poisons political debate and undermines democracy.
Jewish constituents receive a blunt message: Your community is expendable if an election is on the line.
That message deepens our political alienation. An AP-NORC poll released in July found that just 15% of American Jewish adults believe the Democratic Party supports their community extremely or very well. Only 16% say the same of Republicans.
Those findings should trouble both parties. Jews deserve to participate fully in political life without being forced to disregard hostility toward our community or check an essential part of our identity at the door.
Republicans who excuse antisemitism and other bigotry must face the same public scrutiny. If prominent Republicans brought antisemites such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens or Nick Fuentes to Minnesota, our response would be the same.
We are grateful to the many Democratic elected officials and party leaders who have spoken out and commend U.S. Rep. Angie Craig for taking the lead, saying: “Hasan Piker’s rhetoric is polarizing and dangerous, and embracing him as a party is a mistake.”
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s spokesperson quickly followed, calling several of Piker’s statements “reckless and unacceptable.” Since then, U.S. Reps. Betty McCollum and Kelly Morrison, Secretary of State Steve Simon, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, state Sens. Ron Latz, Jim Carlson, Steve Cwodzinski, John Hoffman, Matt Klein, Ann Rest and Bonnie Westlin, and state Reps. Larry Kraft and Cheryl Youakim have also spoken out. So have congressional candidates Matt Little and Jake Johnson, DFL Chair Richard Carlbom, DFL Senate District 46 Chair Dianne Blake, and the DFL’s Jewish and feminist caucuses.
While some of these statements have been stronger than others, they all at least directly address Piker and deserve recognition. Together, these voices help affirm that Jewish Minnesotans belong fully in our state’s civic life and within the DFL.
At this pivotal moment, Minnesotans needs to know whether Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Attorney General Keith Ellison agree with their colleagues that Piker’s demagoguery and hateful rhetoric have no place in Minnesota.
Omar and Fateh must withdraw Piker’s invitation. Other DFL leaders, including candidates and party officials, should condemn his antisemitic rhetoric and oppose his appearance.
We urge leaders of both parties to confront antisemitism with the same resolve whether it comes from their political opponents or their own members. No community’s safety and dignity should be subordinated to partisan convenience. Jews are no exception.
Steve Hunegs is executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
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As the public affairs voice of the Jewish community, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC) fights antisemitism and prejudice, safeguards the Jewish community, advocates for Israel, provides Holocaust education, promotes tolerance and social justice, and builds bridges across the Jewish and broader communities.