Israeli lawmaker Miri Regev apologized for calling African migrants in Israel “a cancer in our body.”

Regev apologized in a statement that was posted on her Facebook page, though she did not specify the migrant community in her apology.

Regev made the original statement during a May 23 rally against migrants in south Tel Aviv’s Hatikvah neighborhood. The protest later turned violent as rioters attacked passing Africans, set trash bins on fire and threw firecrackers at police, Ynet reported.

The rioters also broke into and looted shops associated with the African migrant community.

American Jewish organizations condemned the anti-migrant violence. — jta