Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke said yesterday that the relationship between Israel and the United States "must transcend" a "prime minister who is racist."

The Hill:

"The US-Israel relationship is one of the most important relationships that we have on the planet, and that relationship, if it is successful, must transcend partisanship in the United States, and it must be able to transcend a prime minister who is racist, as he warns against Arabs coming to the polls, who wants to defy any prospect for peace as he threatens to annex the West Bank, and who has sided with a far-right racist party in order to maintain his hold on power," O'Rourke said, referring to Netanyahu seeking to form a coalition with the Otzma Yehudit party. Netanyahu, O'Rourke said, does not represent either the best interests of the U.S.-Israel relationship or a path to peace in the region. "We must be able to transcend his current leadership to make sure that the alliance is strong, that we continue to push for and settle for nothing less than a two-state solution, because that is the best opportunity for peace for the people of Israel and the people of Palestine," O'Rourke said.

Music to the Palestinians' ears. But why is Bibi a "racist"? Is there anything "racial" about his policies at all?

If Beto means that Bibi is "anti-Arab," well, that's just not true. Netanyahu is "anti-terrorist," for sure, and in that part of the world, Palestinian Arabs have a corner on the terrorism market. So O'Rourke is accusing Netanyahu of being a racist by proxy.

That's what's so wonderful about being able to call anyone a "racist." You don't have to define it. You don't have to identify it. All you have to do is throw the term out there and see if it sticks.

The idea that "Arabs" are a separate "race" is ridiculous. Why can't the Irish be a separate "race"? Or the Germans? In fact, Arabs, like Israelis born in Israel, are a Semitic people:

In other words, Beto, Arabs and Israelis are as white as you are.

I know that all this science stuff is rejected by those who play the game of identity politics. It's inconvenient because you can't very well call someone a "racist" if they're from the same race. But just once, wouldn't you like it if someone like Beto O'Rourke actually took a little time to explain why someone is a racist, rather than just casually smearing them with the epithet?

Don't hold your breath.