ADL leader says ‘Squad’ have ‘marginalized themselves,’ lost influence with radical positions on Israel

EXCLUSIVE – Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said members of the far-left "Squad" of Democrats should be kept "on the fringe where they belong" and suggested their "influence has waned and weakened" because of extreme ideology related to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., have irked supporters of Israel on both sides of the political aisle since Hamas’ devastating terror attacks on Oct. 7 that killed hundreds of civilians, including women, children and babies. Tlaib accused the Biden administration of funding a "genocide" against Palestinians and has spread the debunked claim that Israel bombed a Gaza hospital, Ocasio-Cortez has accused Israel of war crimes and Omar seemed to equate the Israeli victims killed by Hamas terrorists and Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli response. 

"I think Rashida Tlaib has been so marginalized in her own district. And like, AOC, I don't even see her in the media anymore. I think these individuals with their radical ideas have marginalized themselves," Greenblatt told Fox News Digital. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., have irked supporters of Israel on both sides of the political aisle since Hamas’ devastating terror attacks on Oct. 7 that saw hundreds of civilians brutally slaughtered, including women, children and babies.  (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

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Greenblatt was in Washington, D.C. last week and attended a meeting of Jewish communal leaders, the Jewish community and congressional leadership. He was pleased to see influential people from all sides standing with Israel, and believes the "Squad" should be disregarded on the topic. 

"Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer and Steve Scalise and Mitch McConnell all said exactly the same thing. So, I just think AOC doesn't matter that much. She's one of 430-something people, or Tlaib or Ilhan Omar, and we don't need to assign them any more influence because already you see that their influence has waned and weakened in the last few years as their positions have become more radical, and they've reduced their ability, I think, to reach a wider audience," Greenblatt continued. "There are extreme voices on all sides. Let's leave them on the fringe where they belong."

Greenblatt also ripped Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for holding up funding to Israel "every chance he gets," but said the political leadership in the United States is overwhelmingly behind Israel. 

"Yes, it's true that AOC and Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, have made absurd claims about the Jewish state that are libelous and wrong. Yes, it's true that like Rand Paul, every chance he gets holds up aid to Israel for whatever his explanations are," Greenblatt said. "But the vast majority of Democratic leadership in Congress, of Republican leadership in Congress, this executive branch, this administration, [President] Biden's trip to Israel in the middle of the fighting, I mean, at the highest levels, the support is rock solid."

The offices of Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said members of the far-left "Squad" of Democratic should be kept "on the fringe where they belong" because of their extreme anti-Israel rhetoric on the heels of the Hamas terror attacks.  ((Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/AP)

In a Thursday letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, accused Tlaib of spreading "misinformation" when she repeated Hamas' claim Israel was behind the hospital explosion. U.S. and Israeli intelligence officials have repeatedly said it was caused by a rocket fired from Gaza.

Tlaib also ignited outrage when she called for U.S. assistance to Israel to end at the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, and placed blame on the "apartheid" Israel government for the "cycle of violence." White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre even spoke out against the "Squad" on the heels of the terror attack. 

"We're going to continue to be very clear. We believe they're wrong, we believe they're repugnant, and we believe they're disgraceful," Jean-Pierre said. "Our condemnation belongs squarely with terrorists who have brutally murdered, raped, kidnapped hundreds, hundreds of Israelis. There can be no equivocation about that. There are not two sides here. There are not two sides." 

The office of Sen. Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Fox News' David Rutz, Brandon Gillespie, Lindsay Kornick and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

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Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @briansflood.