Israel war: Senate Democrats bash Omar and Tlaib over Israel comments

Senate Democrats bashed Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) over their comments criticizing Israel.

The two liberal “Squad” members were quick to condemn Israel after an explosion near the Christian Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza killed or wounded several hundred people. However, footage of the incident appeared to show the blast was not due to an Israeli airstrike but likely the result of a misfired rocket within Gaza. Omar apologized and walked back her statement following the revelations, but Tlaib remained firm. Many Senate Democrats, particularly Jewish Democrats, expressed their rage against the two publicly and privately.

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“It’s stunning to me that in the face of our own country’s intelligence that they did not take those statements down,” Sen. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) told Punchbowl News, speaking either before or unaware of Omar’s retraction. She also condemned Tlaib and Omar for calling for a ceasefire “rather than criticizing and training their ire and their anger at the terrorist organization that perpetrated this.”

A surprising denunciation came from Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who is usually an ally of the pair.

“It’s truly disturbing that Members of Congress rushed to blame Israel for the hospital tragedy in Gaza,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Who would take the word of a group that just massacred innocent Israeli civilians over our key ally?”

Fetterman also blamed all civilian casualties on Hamas and blasted calls for a ceasefire, a likely reference to the efforts of Omar and Tlaib.

“Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire. We must support Israel in efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children,” he said. “Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized.”

“It is outrageous, the rush to judgment about a terrorist organization with clear intent to disseminate falsehoods and wreak havoc and drive violence,” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) said. “To disseminate falsehoods after it is clear that they are falsehoods is at best irresponsible, if not intentional to causal.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) issued a veiled condemnation of Omar and Tlaib, with spokeswoman Christie Stephenson accepting the explanation of Israel and U.S. intelligence while adding, “It is shameful but not surprising that Hamas would propagate misinformation and recklessly inflame passions here in America and throughout the world.”

Shortly after Tuesday’s blast, Omar and Tlaib called the explosion an Israeli war crime, with Tlaib condemning President Joe Biden.

“[Biden] this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate,” she wrote in a post on X. “Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many Palestinian Americans and Muslims Americans like me. We will remember where you stood.”

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While Omar walked back her comments the following day, Tlaib kept up her attack on Wednesday.

“People think it’s OK to bomb a hospital where children, you know — what’s so hard sometimes is watching those videos and the people telling the kids, ‘Don’t cry.’ And, like, let them cry!” Tlaib shouted at a rally on Wednesday. “If we’re not crying, something is wrong! And so I’m telling you right now, President Biden, not all of America’s with you on this one. And you need to wake up and understand that! We are literally watching people commit genocide and killing a vast majority just like this.”