Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has accused a "significant" number of Democrats of backing an anti-Israel movement.
Rubio posted several tweets about the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel on Monday morning, including one that said Democrats on Capitol Hill are part of it.
"The shutdown is not the reason Senate Democrats don't want to move to Middle East Security Bill," Rubio wrote. "A huge argument broke out at Senate Dem meeting last week over BDS. A significant # of Senate Democrats now support #BDS & Dem leaders want to avoid a floor vote that reveals that."
Rubio's tweet came in response to Democratic backlash to a bill he is sponsoring that would give state and local governments the legal power to boycott U.S. companies that are participating in a boycott against Israel.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the bill "punishes Americans who exercise their constitutional right to engage in political activity," but Rubio pushed back on that claim.
"This is a lie. My bill doesn't punish any political activity. It protects the right of local & state govts that decide to no longer do business with those who boycott #Israel," Rubio tweeted in response to Sanders.
"So boycotting #Israel is a constitutional right, but boycotting those participating in #BDS isn't?"