US Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has once again called the Israeli government an “apartheid regime,” accusing the Jewish State of “violence” and “human rights abuses.”
The venom, repeated by others, was expressed in a tweet Tlaib posted Friday in a swift response to an order signed the same day by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, designating six Palestinian Authority NGOs as branches of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.
Israel Declares 6 NGOs as Terror Groups — US, EU, UN Not Happy
“The apartheid regime’s labeling of award-winning human rights groups as terrorist organizations – just because they speak truths about Israel’s violence & its human impact – is grossly antidemocratic and dangerous,” Tlaib wrote. “The US must end funding for human rights abuses. Enough.”
NGO Monitor Identifies 13 NGOS, Not 6, Linked to PFLP Terrorist Group
Tlaib is a strong supporter of the international Boycott, Divest & Sanctions (BDS) economic war on Israel.
The apartheid regime’s labeling of award-winning human rights groups as terrorist organizations—just because they speak truths about Israel’s violence & its human impact—is grossly antidemocratic and dangerous.
The U.S. must end funding for human rights abuses. Enough. https://t.co/502h3ASEl2
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib)
International human rights attorney Arsen Ostrovsky immediately tweeted back, “Of course you’re shilling for PFLP terror group, which has been responsible for murdering not only scores of Israelis and Jews, but also American citizens!”
Israeli leftist “human rights” attorney Michael Sfard slammed the decision in a series of tweets as “a declaration of war on the entire HR community. In Palestine, in Israel and around the world. It is an act the Netanyahu governments did not dare to carry out, and it was executed without presenting the public with any proof for the allegations made.
“It is difficult to escape the impression that this is a tyrannical move meant to annihilate the Palestinian civil society for its commitment to the struggle against Israeli occupation and apartheid,” Sfard contended.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a member of the extreme leftist anti-Israel group of lawmakers called, “The Squad,” retweeted Tlaib’s statement, albeit without comment.
Likewise, Omar retweeted a similar statement by US Representative Betty McCollum, a fellow Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota, who also condemned the order designating six PA “humanitarian organizations” as terrorist groups. this action to shut down legitimate civil society organizations advocating for Palestinian human rights. This is nothing more than an attempt to silence critics of Palestinian rights,” she wrote. “It is anti-democratic, and contrary to the values expected of a US ally.”
I stand with in condemning the decision to designate Palestinian civil society organizations as “terrorist groups.”
My full statement: https://t.co/ueLZKp6fRX pic.twitter.com/NpaYCaQpZf
— Rep. Betty McCollum (@BettyMcCollum04)
McCollum added that she has worked “for years” with Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P), one of the groups listed in Israel’s order designating the six NGOs as terror organizations.
Another member of “The Squad,” New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), retweeted a similar statement from US Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI), who wrote, “Israel should rescind their blanket decision to label Palestinian civil rights organizations as terrorist groups.
“Many of these organizations are working to bring peace in the region and are vocal critics [of] Hamas & the PA,” Pocan claimed.