Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) revealed on Tuesday that senior Emirati leaders expressed concern to him about rising antisemitism in the United States during his trip to the United Arab Emirates last week.

Gottheimer made the comments while appearing alongside Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum in Washington, where the two delivered remarks to the crowd about their work combating antisemitism.

“I returned from the UAE a couple days ago, and one of the most shocking parts of my meeting with some of their senior leadership was when they said to me in the middle of the meeting, ‘What is going on with antisemitism in your country?’” said Gottheimer, who visited the Gulf nation in his capacity as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

“Think about that: You have a leader of a Gulf nation saying to us, ‘What is going on with antisemitism in your country?’” he continued. “This is not who we are as a country, it’s not our values, it’s not what we’re based on, but it is the reality right now. We can beat this back, I know we can, and we must.”

The duo warned in their remarks that antisemitism has been normalized in U.S. politics, with both lawmakers referencing a recent incident involving Lawler being verbally accosted by William Paul, the adult son of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), at a bar on Capitol Hill last month.

“When you look at the challenges we are facing today politically in an ever-divided country, it is the Jewish Americans who are under attack — whether you talk about antisemitism, the fact that people are under attack simply for going to shul, going to Yeshiva, being physically violated. Hate crimes are on the rise when it comes to Jewish Americans,” Lawler said. “Sadly, this has been normalized in the halls of Congress. People are being elected to public office on both sides of the aisle that think it is okay to traffic in antisemitic tropes.”

Gottheimer noted that, “The good news about this moment in history is we can see the field clearly. We know who’s with us and who’s against us. We see the challenges, whether they’re in the halls of Congress or online, the massive disinformation being put out there, whether it’s by our foreign adversaries or people in the United States. We see what they’re doing and what their intentions are and what their tactics are.”

About the incident with Paul, Lawler told the crowd that he is “no stranger to experiencing antisemitism firsthand.”

Gottheimer also took a dig at the younger Paul while discussing “how shocking it is, of how blatantly naked it is, to be an antisemite right now in this country.”

“When you see the numbers — and it’s not just in a bar when Rand Paul’s son is accusing Mike of being a Jew, it’s in every corner of our country — those numbers are astounding,” Gottheimer said. “As we saw, antisemitic incidents are up 75% since the 7th [of October 2023]. There’s not a single Jew in America who can avoid this right now.”