Bernie Sanders Gave Rashida Tlaib a Platform To Spread Anti-Semitism

I seldom agree with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on anything, but he did the right thing not allowing Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from hosting an "Nakba Day" event in the House Visitor Center. "Nakba" refers to the creation of Israel as a "catastrophe". 

In point of fact, the UN created two states in 1947 - one Jewish and one Arab. The only catastrophe was the refusal of Arabs/Palestinians to accept this fact and share the land. For this, they have only themselves to blame. "Nakba Day" is little more than an opportunity to defame Israel by falsely accusing it of ethnic cleansing and being an apartheid state. So McCarthy did the right thing and instead hosted a bipartisan event celebrating Israel's history.

And then along came Bernie Sanders who offered Tlaib the use of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee room. Sanders is the Chair of this Committee and can welcome anyone he sees fit. But by Sanders seeing Tlaib as fit he thus gave her a platform to spread anti-Semitism. Yes, Sanders is Jewish but he has long minimized his Jewish identity and spread misinformation about Israel.

For his part, Sanders did not attend the event. The only other member of Congress present was Missouri Democrat Cori Bush though she did not speak at the gathering. Among those speaking at this event was Rutgers University professor Noura Erekat who a year ago declared "Zionism is a bedfellow of Nazism." As Tlaib and company were engaging defamation against Israel, hundreds of Palestinian rockets from Gaza were being shot at civilian targets into Israel. 

Notwithstanding my agreement with McCarthy on his decision, I know full well he is selective in his outrage on anti-Semitism as he is perfectly happy to let anti-Semites like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar to serve on committees. If either were to host anti-Semites on Capitol Hill, I doubt McCarthy would be so eager to take action. 

From where I sit it is equally irresponsible to give a platform to Palestinian inspired anti-Semitism as it is to give a platform to anti-Semitism inspired by white supremacists. Bernie Sanders is guilty of doing so. However tenuous his Jewish identity might be the fact that a Jew would give anti-Semitism a platform is utterly reprehensible.