Two members of the left-wing ‘Squad’ in Congress are under fire from members of their own party over ‘sickening’ calls to cut off U.S. aid to Israel following the brutal Hamas terror attack.
Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat who is of Palestinian descent, said ‘dehumanizing conditions’ in Gaza had led to ‘resistance,’ and Missouri congresswoman Cori Bush called for ‘ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid.’
Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, and Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, slammed Tlaib and Bush’s comments in statements to Jewish Insider.
Gottheimer said: ‘Two of my colleagues called for America to end assistance to Israel, despite the countless images of Israeli children, women, men, and elderly, including Americans, murdered by radical Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists.
‘It sickens me that while Israelis clean the blood of their family members shot in their homes, they believe Congress should strip U.S. funding to our democratic ally and allow innocent civilians to suffer.
Torres said U.S. aid to Israel ‘should be unconditional, and never more so than in this moment of critical need.’
He added: ‘Shame on anyone who glorifies “resistance” in the largest single-day mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. It is reprehensible and repulsive.’
![Rep. Cori Bush](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/16/76385625-12615075-image-m-13_1696953494372.jpg)
Two members of the leftwing ‘Squad,’ Reps. Rashida Tlaib (left) and Cori Bush (right), are under fire from members of their own party over calls to cut off U.S. aid to Israel after Hamas ‘ brutal attack Saturday
![A salvo of rockets were fired by Palestinians militants from Gaza toward Israel on Tuesday in the aftermath of Saturday's brutal Hamas terror attack](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/17/76385617-12615075-image-a-15_1696954737814.jpg)
A salvo of rockets were fired by Palestinians militants from Gaza toward Israel on Tuesday in the aftermath of Saturday’s brutal Hamas terror attack
Following the terror attack on Saturday, Tlaib posted a statement to her Instagram account saying that she grieved the ‘Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day.’
She continued that 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.’
‘As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue,’ she added.
Bush, a Missouri Democrat, said in a statement posted to X Saturday that she was ‘heartbroken by the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel.’
She added: ‘Our immediate focus must be saving lives, but our ultimate focus must be on a just and lasting peace that ensures safety for everyone in the region,
‘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.
‘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.’
Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, distanced herself from the Quad members’ comments in a statement to Jewish Insider.
‘We must continue to come together as a Congress and a country to disavow terrorism and support the Jewish state, our democratic ally, Israel,’ Stevens said. ‘Israel has a right to exist and defend herself.’
Christopher Hale, a Democrat who ran for a Tennessee U.S. House seat, responded to Bush’s post on X writing , ‘Congresswoman Bush, I am a Democrat, but this is like putting out a statement mourning the deaths of the nineteen hijackers along with the 2900 murdered in the 9/11 attacks.’
‘The grandchildren of the Holocaust deserve stronger support against terrorism than this,’ Hale said.
The Anti-Defamation League also criticized Bush’s comments.
‘More than 600 Israelis have been murdered, more than 200 injured, and countless are being held hostage by the terrorist organization Hamas,’ the ADL said. ‘To take this moment to slander our ally Israel and suggest the U.S. cut off military assistance is tone-deaf, heartless, and beyond reason.’
The death toll has risen to more than 900 Israelis, most of them civilians.
Members of the The Squad have long been criticized for making controversial statements about Israel, with Rep. Ilhan Omar in hot water just weeks into her Congressional tenure after tweeting Jewish stereotypes.
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