Disgraceful American political behavior. Members of both parties have been intimidated for too long. For a Muslim congresswoman to speak out in behalf of Palestine and say a negative word about Israel opens her up to vicious attacks. Israel is not sacrosanct. Congresswoman Ilhan is to be applauded for having the courage to voice her opinions and telling the truth to power.
Excerpted from Haaretz 2.10.2019
The Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives said he would take action against two Democrats who have sharply criticized Israel if the Democratic majority did not do so.
“If they do not take action I think you’ll see action from myself,” Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader, said according to Capitol Hill reporters writing for a number of newspapers. “This cannot sustain itself. It’s unacceptable in this country.”
It’s not clear what statements McCarthy particularly found offensive, but both lawmakers embrace the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, and both have been accused of tweets that cross the line to anti-Semitism: Rashida Tlaib in January when she appeared to accuse senators of dual loyalty for advancing a bill that would protect states penalizing commercial Israel boycotts; and Ilhan Omar in 2012 when she said Israel was “hypnotizing” the world. Omar has in recent days apologized multiple times for that tweet.
