You’ve probably heard this defense proffered for progressives who support Hamas in its war against Israel, particularly as it pertains to the so-called “squad” in the U.S. House of Representatives: Being against the Jewish state or Zionism doesn’t mean one is anti-Semitic.
Whether this is true or a line for leftist activists and their liberal fellow travelers to hide behind is a matter of debate. However, when it comes to the “squad,” it couldn’t be more clear: These are anti-Semites, and their records on the matter before and after the attacks of Oct. 7 are worse than you think.
Before we commence, it’s probably worth noting what the “squad” is and who comprises it. The original four members, all women who were elected in 2018, are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Since then, four other hard-left Democrats have been added as a kind of second-team “squad:” Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, Greg Casar of Texas and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania. All eight refused to vote for a resolution condemning Hamas for the attacks of Oct. 7.
It’s worth noting that pretty much from the start of the “squad’s” history, there were credible allegations of anti-Semitism, particularly involving Omar. First, just weeks after her inauguration in 2019, she was forced to apologize for a 2012 tweet in which she accused Israel of “hypnotiz[ing] the world.”
“Those unfortunate words were the only words I could think about expressing at that moment,” she said at the time, according to the Times of Israel. However, she came close to being censured after a series of similar remarks which echoed anti-Semitic tropes; she accused Congress of being bought off by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (“all about the Benjamins,” as she put it, implying that Jewish money was purchasing American influence) and then she accused certain American Jews of having dual loyalties.
That didn’t earn her a censure, although she came close to it; an eventual resolution prompted by her comments was so watered down by House Democrats that it was practically meaningless. Nor did Omar face censure in 2021 for tweeting that Israel and Hamas were essentially equivalent.
Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism.
Palestinians deserve protection.
Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don’t exist to protect Palestinian civilians.
It’s unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid. https://t.co/vWWQfMqBkT
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 10, 2021
Instead, the “squad” member who did finally get censured over her remarks on the matter was Tlaib, with some Democrats joining Republicans in the censure vote.
As The Associated Press reported, Tlaib was censured last month after the Michigan representative “came under heavy reproval after she failed to immediately condemn Hamas after the attack” and “because of a slogan she has used frequently that is widely seen as calling for the eradication of Israel.”
That slogan, quite obviously, is “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — essentially saying that, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, Palestinian people will be in command of the land. That area, of course, would include all of Israel.
She used the first six words of the slogan in an Instagram video, according to the Times of Israel, then tried to explain away her actions by saying that it was merely “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.”
Both Tlaib and Omar were banned from visiting the Palestinian Authority-controlled territory in Israel in 2019, something that prompted the two legislators to compare the government to apartheid South Africa. Not that either one — or any other member of the “squad,” for that matter — has backed down on the “apartheid” rhetoric since Oct. 7. On the contrary, they’ve only intensified their attacks on the Jewish state.
“I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity,” Tlaib wrote on Instagram. “The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”
My statement on the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NIt9G7aLMI
— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@RepCori) October 8, 2023
“Violations of human rights do not justify more violations of human rights, and a military response will only exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” Bush said on social media. “As part of achieving a just and lasting peace, we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”
And both Omar and Tlaib bought the Hamas-fed lie that an Israeli rocket had targeted a hospital in the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds. (It later turned out the missile was likely a malfunctioning rocket from a Hamas ally and that the impact killed far fewer than Palestinian authorities claimed it did.)
Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate.
Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many… https://t.co/mZYoifT7bj
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2023
Bombing a hospital is among the gravest of war crimes. The IDF reportedly blowing up one of the few places the injured and wounded can seek medical treatment and shelter during a war is horrific.@POTUS needs to push for an immediate ceasefire to end this slaughter. https://t.co/dPJ48dyDe8
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 17, 2023
Even after the misinformation was unmasked, Tlaib continued to stick by the story, insisting Israel had a history of lying.
Breaking News: Israeli PM Netanyahu has lied to the public before.
Source: https://t.co/s5wJSCqsyK https://t.co/cI3onFqcvx pic.twitter.com/T3BRFU1h4V
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2023
“Media outlets and third-party analysts have raised doubts about claims and evidence offered by both Israel and the Gaza Ministry of Health, and I agree with the United Nations that an independent investigation is necessary,” Tlaib said in a statement after the incident.
“I cannot uncritically accept Israel’s denials of responsibility as fact, especially in light of confirmation from the World Health Organization that Israel has bombed numerous medical facilities in Gaza and reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of ongoing threats from the Israeli military to evacuate hospitals.”
But what about the most famous member of the “squad?” Ocasio-Cortez has been seen by many as the voice of reason on the matter, at least within the group of progressive lawmakers, and came out immediately to condemn the attack.
“Today is devastating for all those seeking a lasting peace and respect for human rights in Israel and Palestine,” AOC said in a statement days after the slaughter.
“I condemn Hamas’ attack in the strongest possible terms. No child and family should ever endure this kind of violence and fear, and this violence will not solve the ongoing oppression and occupation in the region. An immediate ceasefire and de-escalation is urgently needed to save lives.”
What AOC wasn’t willing to do, however, was unilaterally condemn anyone in the “squad.” However, she has been willing to smear AIPAC in terms that make Omar’s “Benjamins” comment seem relatively quaint, claiming the group is “an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy.”
The statement came after AIPAC called her and other progressive lawmakers out for refusing to vote for the resolution condemning Hamas’ attacks.
AIPAC endorsed scores of Jan 6th insurrectionists. They are no friend to American democracy.
They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color.
They are an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy. https://t.co/I7KeLBHttJ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 1, 2023
“AIPAC endorsed scores of Jan 6th insurrectionists,” she claimed in the social media post last month. “They are no friend to American democracy. They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color.”
Furthermore, AOC’s words in the wake of this attack don’t speak quite as loudly as what she said and did before it. Consider that she was one of the chief voices in an attempt to revoke U.S. funding of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in 2021, appearing to cry on the House floor as it became clear the effort would fail.
AOC appears to be crying on the House floor after she changed her vote from “no” to present, during voting on funding to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome Defense Systems. pic.twitter.com/DbcRemtdqY
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) September 23, 2021
Needless to say, the actions of the “squad” and other similarly aligned progressives have caused a great deal of displeasure among many of the lawmakers’ Democrat colleagues, with Axios reporting “a swift internal backlash” within the party just four days after the attacks.
Not all of it was totally internal, of course, at least in the sense of being private. “No one should blame the victim, no one should explain or excuse the terrorism,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat. “It sickens me that while Israelis clean the blood of their family members … they believe Congress should strip U.S. funding to our democratic ally and allow innocent civilians to suffer,” Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey said.
Even White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We believe they are wrong, we believe they are repugnant and we believe they are disgraceful.”
“There are not two sides here,” she added.
However, Democrats should have seen this coming. While they were busy disapproving of the “squad” and its rhetoric in 2023, they should have looked at who was praising one of its members in 2021: Hamas, who said it “highly appreciates” Ilhan Omar’s “stances in support of justice and the rights of the oppressed around the world, foremost among them is the just rights of the Palestinian people.”
If only they had listened then, perhaps this inevitable intra-party wrangling over the propriety of terrorism never would have happened in the first place. Heaven knows there was enough evidence before the Oct. 7 attacks that this was exactly the reaction that would occur.
