Congressional push back intensifies over comments by 'the Squad' on Israel-Gaza war

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) showed support for Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) amidst growing criticism and possible censure by the House of Representatives, referring to her as “loving and protective.”

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) initiated a censure resolution against Tlaib, criticizing her for remarks he deemed as “anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli.”

This reaction stemmed from Tlaib's statement after the October 7 attack on Israel, in which she did not explicitly condemn the involved militant group. Bergman emphasized the importance of condemning acts of extreme violence and the atrocities associated with them.

“While we don’t all have to see eye-to-eye on every issue, I’d hope we can all agree that the terrorists raping women, murdering festivalgoers, and decapitating babies is a crime against all of humanity, and we must be able to call out that kind of unbridled evil in the world,” said Bergman in a statement.

Highlighting his concerns, Bergman commented on Tlaib's response to the situation in Israel, expressing his disagreement with her perspective.

“As Hamas terrorists beheaded infants, paraded dead Jewish teenagers through town, and attacked innocent concert goers in the most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, Rep. Rashida Tlaib chose to place the blame solely on Israel and the Jewish people,” he continued. “There is no moral equivalence between Israel defending itself and Hamas attacking innocent Israeli civilians. Tlaib’s long history of anti-Semitic tropes and blatant anti-Jewish propaganda is both disturbing and evil – and should have no place in the halls of Congress.”

Another representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), further criticized Tlaib with a censure resolution of her own, emphasizing that lawmakers should stand united against terror organizations.

https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1717549494408016039

Omar backed her fellow Squad member Tlaib in a post on X, referring to the latter as “Mama Bear, because she is loving and protective."

“She shows humanity to colleagues who constantly dehumanize her and those who share our faith. She loves the people she represents regardless of who they are,” wrote Omar. “I am my sister’s keeper and I will walk through fire for her. I admire her leadership and conviction. People can harass or try to censure her, but she will never be forced into submission. None of us will.”

https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1717665585360683242

Recently, controversy arose when Rep. Omar made a statement about an incident involving a hospital, suggesting that it was targeted by Israeli forces, the Daily Wire reported. However, U.S. Intelligence indicated that the explosion near the hospital resulted from a rocket launched from within Gaza. Further, claims were made regarding photos of children affected by conflicts, which were later clarified to be unrelated to the current Israeli-Palestinian situation.

https://twitter.com/KareemRifai/status/1713274561804828817