Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) announced their opposition to a stand-alone bill providing $1 billion to the Israeli missile
Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) announced their opposition to a stand-alone bill providing $1 billion to the Israeli missile defense system Iron Dome, accusing Israel of “human rights abuses.” Before the bill passed the House of Representatives with an overwhelming majority, Tlaib tweeted on September 23: “I will not support a standalone supplemental bill of $1 billion to replenish the bombs Israel used to commit war crimes in Gaza.” A day earlier, she also tweeted that she was going to vote against it to “stop enabling Israel’s human rights abuses and apartheid government.” Tlaib reiterated her allegations of Israeli war crimes and apartheid on the floor of the House of Representatives prior to the vote. I plan on casting a no vote. We must stop enabling Israel’s human rights abuses and apartheid government. https://t.co/2ewRJDe7uK Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 23,2021 I plan on casting a no vote. We must stop enabling Israel’s human rights abuses and apartheid government. https://t.co/2ewRJDe7uK — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 23,2021 Tlaib says she’s voting no because Iron Dome supports Israeli «war crimes» and «apartheid system.» Adds that the conversation should be about protecting Palestinians from Israelis as well. — Marc Rod (@marcrod97) September 23,2021 Omar similarly tweeted, “Given the human rights violations in Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah, and ever-growing settlement expansion, we should not be ramming through a last-minute $1 billion increase in military funding for Israel without any accountability.” In subsequent tweets, she alleged that the $1 billion in funding “was added without the knowledge or consent of relevant committee chairs or proper budgeting” and that the $1 billion would be in addition to the $73 million that Congress already allocated toward the Iron Dome.” Given the human rights violations in Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah, and ever-growing settlement expansion, we should not be ramming through a last-minute $1 billion increase in military funding for Israel without any accountability. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23,2021 As my colleague, @BettyMcCollum04 has pointed out, this language was added without the knowledge or consent of relevant committee chairs or proper budgeting. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23,2021 This vote is not about simply funding the Iron Dome. It’s about adding an extra billion dollars on top of the $73 million we already allocated this year. That’s 14 times more than we normally spend on it and 60% of what we’ve provided for it over the course of a decade. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23,2021 Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL) condemned Tlaib on the floor of the House. “I cannot allow one of my colleagues to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and label the Jewish state of Israel an apartheid state,” Deutch said. “I reject it.” He went onto say that those who make false characterizations about Israel “is consistent with those who advocate for the dismantling of the one Jewish state in the world and when there is no place on the map for one Jewish state, that’s antisemitism.
