Washington DC - Senator Raphael Warnock said the Democratic Party believes the State of Israel has a "right to exist," amid growing public outrage over the atrocities in Palestine.
"We are a party that believes in Israel's right to exist," Warnock said in a CNN interview on Wednesday.
The Georgia Democrat had been asked to share his thoughts on the future of the party after several Democratic Socialists of America members won their congressional primary elections in New York on Tuesday.
"Everyday people aren't caught up in the weeds of these ideological arguments. They want to know who sees them," Warnock responded, calling the Democratic Party a "big tent party" that is "currently expanding the bounds of our family."
Host Kasie Hunt then asked the senator what he thought about "some Jewish Americans or pro-Israel Americans" saying they feel "not welcome in the Democratic tent."
"Do you think the Democratic Party should be fundamentally pro-Israel?" Hunt questioned.
That's when Warnock affirmed Israel's supposed "right to exist."
"What I want is an Israel that is safe and secure and that is at peace with its neighbors – and a two-state solution that honors the humanity of all the people in that region," he said.
Raphael Warnock's past comments about Israel resurfaced
Warnock's comments came as Israel continues to slaughter people in Gaza despite a so-called "ceasefire," while also expanding settlements and moving to annex large portions of the West Bank.
Numerous human rights organizations and experts warn of an ongoing genocide against the Palestinian People. Nevertheless, the US continues to provide military aid and diplomatic cover to Israel.
After the interview, a video circulated online of Warnock denouncing Israeli apartheid during a 2016 sermon.
"You cannot have a Jewish democracy," Warnock says in the video. "The state will either be Jewish or it will be a democracy. It cannot be both if you do not have a Palestinian state. You will have to have apartheid in Israel that denies other citizens – sisters and bothers – citizenship, or you will have a democracy that is not a Jewish state."
Warnock also compared Benjamin Netanyahu to notorious segregationist George Wallace, calling the Israeli prime minister's rejection of Palestinian statehood "tantamount to saying occupation today, occupation tomorrow, occupation forever."
Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Several ICC judges sued Trump administration officials this week over measures seen as direct reprisals for investigations into Israel.