A Brooklyn lawmaker who tweeted last week that Palestine does not exist could be removed from his City Council committee, sources told NY1 on Monday evening.
Members of the council's leadership met Monday afternoon to discuss his removal, according to sources. Officials say there was a "broad consensus" that Yeger's views should prevent him from sitting on the Immigration Committee.
Speaking in his weekly "Mondays with the Mayor" segment on Inside City Hall on Monday evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he agreed with the council members.
"He had a chance to apologize, and as far as I've heard he didn't. I think that was a huge mistake. Certainly, the Immigration Committee is nowhere for someone who can say the things that he said," the mayor said. "I would say the best time to apologize is very soon after you make a mistake, but even if it's days after you still can set the record straight. This is one where he still should."
Yeger did not return a request for comment.
Yeger has also tweeted about "so-called 'Palestinians,'" suggesting that Palestinian people do not exist. He later deleted that tweet, seen below:
In an off-camera interview Friday, Yeger said he stood by his tweet that Palestine does not exist and said he would not apologize for it. He said he did want to clarify that he never meant to make a statement about people, only about Palestine as a place.
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