NC progressive Democrat says Jewish caucus would ‘end’ the party: ‘They control everything’

A North Carolina Democratic progressive caucus leader has come under fire for declaring that allowing a Jewish caucus would “end” the party because “they control everything.”

Ryan Jenkins, who is president of the state party’s progressive arm, took aim at the North Carolina Democratic Jewish Caucus after Democrats voted last week against recognizing the group as an affiliated organization, WFAE reported.

“If the Democratic Party caves to it, that’s the end of the Democratic Party. We’re not Democrats, we’re the Jewish Caucus. We’re a Zionist group. Because they control everything,” he told the outlet Friday regarding the vote.

Since the vote, Jenkins claimed members of the Jewish caucus — whom he described as “rich white people” — had been attacking Democrats who had abstained. Seventeen Dems voted no, while there were 16 yes votes and 17 abstentions or no-shows.

“(If we approve the caucus) we’re telling them very clearly they are allowed to threaten and bully us and they will get their way every single time and that our rules don’t apply,” Jenkins said.

In the wake of the failed vote, several Jewish caucus members emailed supporters with the subject line “North Carolina Democratic Party to Jews — Drop Dead!” and said the meeting had been hijacked by what they slammed as the anti-Jewish left.

“What you are seeing is basically a very small group of rich white people who have never been held accountable for anything, who have never faced consequences for anything, throwing a temper tantrum because they are facing consequences for once,” Jenkins said.

“And their only mode is, ‘Oh well you must be antisemitic — because I’ve never done anything wrong.’ ”

The Jewish caucus’s leader, Jeffrey Bierer, was among those to slam Jenkins’ statements as “baseless incendiary remarks.”

“We are deeply disappointed to see these attacks from someone whom we believe should be an ally,” Bierer said. “The Jewish Caucus was started to combat antisemitism, help fight fascism, and support a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.”

The state’s Democrat Party also distanced itself from Jenkins’ statements, saying they are a “big tent party united by our shared values.”

“Despite the procedural issues that caused many of the no-votes during this attempt, we remain committed to helping the Jewish Caucus achieve recognition under the NCDP,” the state’s party spokesman, Tommy Mattocks, said in a statement.

“We recognize the sinister rise of antisemitism and we will continue to listen to the voices of our Jewish brothers, sisters and friends. We stand with them and will fight everyday to ensure they feel safe and welcome in North Carolina.”

He added: “Ryan Jenkins doesn’t speak for the party nor does his statement reflect an accurate depiction of what occurred.”

Jenkins didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment about his statements.

He addressed his remarks over the weekend following the backlash, apologizing to “anyone who misinterpreted (his comments) as playing to antisemitic tropes about secret cabals and other racist nonsense.”

“Seeing it in print, I realize that I chose my words poorly and should have been more exact,” he added.