Originally published at: SQUAD REJECTED: House Overwhelmingly Shoots Down Omar’s Anti-Israeli Legislation | Sean Hannity
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected Ilhan Omar’s anti-Israeli legislation Tuesday; ending her quest to boycott the Jewish State in a lopsided 398-to-17 landslide.
“The 398-to-17 vote, with five members voting present, came after a debate that was equally lopsided; no one in either party spoke against the measure. The House’s two most vocal backers of the boycott movement — Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, freshman Democrats and the first two Muslim women in Congress — did not participate in the floor debate,” reports the New York Times.
“However, earlier in the day, Ms. Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, delivered an impassioned speech in defense of the boycott movement. She branded Israel’s policies toward Palestinians ‘racist’ and invoked American boycotts of Nazi Germany, among others, as an example of what she described as a legitimate economic protest to advance human rights around the world,” adds the Times.
“I stand before you as the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, parents who experienced being stripped of their human rights, the right to freedom of travel, equal treatment,” said Tlaib. “So I can’t stand by and watch this attack on our freedom of speech and the right to boycott the racist policies of the government and the state of Israel.”
The bill supported the BDS -or Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions- movement; a push to boycott Israeli goods and services to support Palestinian statehood.
“Americans of conscience have a proud history of participating in boycotts to advocate for human rights abroad including … boycotting Nazi Germany from March 1933 to October 1941 in response to the dehumanization of the Jewish people in the lead-up to the Holocaust,” Omar said in the resolution introduced Tuesday.
Congressman Lee Zeldin slammed the bill, saying “Israel is our best ally in the Mid East; a beacon of hope, freedom & liberty, surrounded by existential threats. Shame on Rep @Ilhan Omar for bringing her hateful twist on that reality to House Foreign today, propping up the BDS movement & blaming Israel for all of its challenges.”
Israel is our best ally in the Mid East; a beacon of hope, freedom & liberty, surrounded by existential threats. Shame on Rep @Ilhan Omar for bringing her hateful twist on that reality to House Foreign today, propping up the BDS movement & blaming Israel for all of its challenges pic.twitter.com/y975D0JCaC
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) July 17, 2019
Read the full report at the New York Times.
