On Friday, the Democrats passed a resolution calling for the creation of a Palestinian State inside Israel but, ironically, the most anti-Israel Congressmen objected to the bill. 

Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the U.S. House Resolution 326  that passed with a vote of 226-188 was a “restatement of America’s policy.”

“There are few alliances as critical to America as the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Hoyer told the House floor. “The resolution on the Floor reaffirms Congress’s strong support for this relationship while contributing positively to helping Israel achieve the peace and security it seeks with Palestinians.”

There are few alliances as critical to America as the U.S.-Israel relationship. The resolution on the Floor reaffirms Congress’s strong support for this relationship while contributing positively to helping Israel achieve the peace and security it seeks with Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/vH50ZnhC7m

— Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) December 6, 2019

“The U.S. will always stand by our ally, Israel. Period,” Hoyer said. “Military assistance to Israel is critical to America’s security…That is why I am opposed to imposing conditions on that assistance.”

The House Majority Leader went on to state that attacks on Israel endanger the agenda to create a Palestinian state and Jewish “settlements” are “inconsistent” with that agenda. He then criticized Trump administration’s announcement that it was not illegal according to international law for Jews to live in Judea and Samaria.

Most political analysts recognized that the resolution as a whole was intended as a rebuff to the Trump administration’s pro-Israel policies.

The only Democrats who opposed the bill were Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), and Ayana Pressley (D-Mass), known as ‘the Squad.’ 

Tlaib wore a keffiyeh, a chequered black and white scarf that is usually worn around the neck or head that has become associated with Palestinian violence against Jews and was made famous by Palestinian terrorist Yasser Arafat. Though traditionally a man’s head covering, the terrorist  Leila Khaled notoriously wore botha keffiyeh and a hijab.

Tlaib described the two-state solution as an “unattainable solution-one that Israel has made impossible.” She also claimed the two-state solution “legitimizes inequality ethnic discrimination and inhumane conditions.” 

She compared the two-state solution to the “separate but equal” racist policies of the U.S.

She incongruously insisted that “Palestinians and Black Israelis”  be treated with equality. It should be noted that the Israeli government airlifted the Ethiopian Jews at great expense and effort, saving them from the oppressive Christian-Muslim government of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians are treated as respected long-lost brethren. In her attempt to falsely portray Israel as a racist society, Talib may have been referring to Somalians and Eritreans who entered Israel illegally via Egypt.  

Before she was elected, Tlaib, born and raised in Michigan, made it clear that she opposed any aid to Israel, noting that aid should be used as “leverage” on a quid pro quo basis. She also made it clear that she opposed a two-state solution, favoring instead a one-state solution. Her platform was disappointing to left-wing Jews who supported her believing she favored a two-state solution.  From a Palestinian perspective, the one-state solution would be an Arab state in which Europeans immigrants would have second class status. She is also a vocal supporter of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”

Like Cortez, Tlaib is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.