The College Democrats of America’s decision to platform far-left, antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker at its recent conference was “a direct threat to Jewish safety and inclusion,” the group’s Jewish Caucus said on Tuesday. 

Piker, who has a long-standing history of antisemitic rhetoric — including justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, calling Orthodox Jews “inbred” and asserting that America deserved 9/11 — was announced on Friday as the convention’s “surprise speaker,” just hours before it began. CDA is the official collegiate arm and student outreach branch of the Democratic National Committee

In his speech on Saturday, Piker distanced himself from the mainstream wing of the Democratic Party, condemning “Democrats who compromise, who conciliate and who betray us,” to loud applause. “No more to the Democrats who collaborate and cooperate with the fascists, who will fund ICE, who will fund Israel … we don’t need those Democrats anymore,” Piker said.

“The normalization of Piker and his rhetoric in CDA-sanctioned programming is a direct threat to Jewish safety and inclusion within the College Democrats community,” the CDA Jewish Caucus said in a statement. “Elevating Piker at this convention sent Jewish students a clear message that they were not welcome.”

“The same standard CDA would rightly apply to bigotry on the right must also be applied within our organization,” the statement continued.

According to the caucus, attendees were prevented from conducting a walkout during Piker’s appearance by national board members, who cited security concerns. Delegates from at least one state were advised not to post photos with Piker on official accounts to avoid further controversy, the caucus said. 

The caucus called on CDA’s national leadership to issue a formal apology for platforming Piker and for restricting members from exiting the room. The group also urged the CDA to commit to ongoing dialogue with all caucuses, including the Jewish Caucus, regarding future programming.

J Street U, the student organizing arm of J Street, was a sponsor of the convention, though the group told Jewish Insider it had no role in speaker selection. 

Neither the CDA nor the DNC responded to requests for comment about their decision to invite Piker.