Last week, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar announced "there is no way in hell" that she was going to attend the address by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to a Joint Session of Congress.
She was not alone.
At least seven members of the House and Senate boycotted Herzog's speech.
Most aren't back benchers – they're actually prominent, influential members of Congress.
All of them are members of the Democratic Party.
Or, in the case of Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who twice came in second in the campaign to win the Democratic nomination for president (in 2016 and 2020).
According to the Times of Israel, here is the list of Democrats who refused to attend the speech:
- Senator Bernie Sanders.
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).
- Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
- Rep. Ilhan Omar.
- Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
- Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
- Rep. Cori Bush.
Such behavior is virulently anti-Israel and absolutely reprehensible.
Each of these folks is a shame to the United States of America.
And to the Democratic Party.
Yet, many pro-Israel Americans – from both parties – are concerned that they may, in fact, represent the future of the Democratic party as younger, more progressive activists turn steadily against the Jewish state.
Sanders tried to claim that his decision to boycott the speech was a reaction to the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It's no great secret that I strongly oppose the policies of Israel's right-wing, anti-Palestinian government," Sanders said. "We provide them with $3.8 billion in aid. We have a right to demand they respect human rights."
Yet Herzog is hardly a right-winger.
Indeed, before he was elected president of Israel, Herzog was the leader of the highly-progressive and socialist Labor Party.
So, just to be clear, Sanders – a Jewish socialist – just boycotted the speech of a fellow Jewish socialist.
The difference?
Herzog is a Zionist who loves Israel – and loves America, too.
Sanders, by bitter and tragic contrast, hates Israel and hates most of America, too.
Then there is Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Muslim Democrat who represents a district in Minnesota.
"There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied [U.S. Rep. from Michigan] Rashida Tlaib the ability to see her grandma," she tweeted.
Omar also tweeted that Congress should never have invited the Israeli president to speak in the first place.
Omar, of course, is one of the most anti-Israel and antisemitic Members of Congress.
Earlier this year, the House voted 218 to 211 to remove her from the prestigious and influential House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib – the only Democrat with Palestinian heritage – also hates Israel and uses every opportunity she can to attack and denounce the Jewish state.
Tlaib openly calls Israel an "apartheid state," even though Arab Muslims have full legal, civil and social freedoms in the Democratic State of Israel.
In the Palestinian Authority, however, not a single Jew is safe.
Jews are not allowed to live in the PA.
They're not even allowed to legally visit the PA without first applying for a rarely-issued permit.
Then, of course, there is Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the Democrat from the State of Washington, who is also the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Last week, she attacked Israel as a "racist state."
She was quickly and harshly denounced by both Democrats and Republicans alike in the days since her repugnant remarks.
In fact, the House passed a resolution yesterday declaring that "the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state."
That passed overwhelmingly with a 412 to 9 vote.
To their credit, 195 Democrats joined 100% of Republicans to vote in favor of the pro-Israel resolution.
This article originally appeared on All Israel News and is reposted with permission.