Freshman Congresswoman Plans to Fly an Israeli Flag Right Next to Tlaib's Office
Newly sworn-in Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida says she will fly a flag of Israel along with the American flag outside of her Capitol Hill office.
Oh, one other thing: Cammack’s office is right next to anti-Israel Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s in the Longworth House Office Building.
“[Tlaib] has some very strong opinions about Israel, and I have some very strong opinions about Israel, so I have made a pledge that I’m going to be planting the flag of Israel outside my door right next to the American flag,” Cammack told Gainesville, Florida, ABC affiliate WCJB-TV.
“I think it’ll be very helpful as she walks past it every day.”
Rep. Tlaib, who has an office right next to mine in DC, has some strong opinions about Israel that I ? disagree with, so I’ve made a pledge to plant Israel’s flag outside my door right next to the American flag. I think it’ll be very helpful as she walks past both every day ???? https://t.co/5VMDXDWllM
— Kat Cammack (@Kat_Cammack) January 6, 2021
Cammack said the University of Florida student group Gators for Israel has prepared a package to be sent to Washington that includes the flag for display, WCJB reported.
The freshman lawmaker represents Florida’s 3rd Congressional District in the north-central part of the Sunshine State, encompassing Gainesville and the University of Florida.
The Israeli consulate in Miami thanked Cammack for her planned flag display.
Thank you for your support to #Israel Congresswoman @Kat_Cammack! ???????? https://t.co/x8gGskamcP
— Israel in Miami (@IsraelinMiami) January 6, 2021
Tlaib’s spokesman called Cammack’s plans a “publicity stunt,” The Times of Israel reported.
“Congressional members were elected to take on pressing issues impacting their constituents, not publicity stunts. Rep. Tlaib is focused on solving issues and showing up for her constituents. One can only hope that Rep. Cammack will do the same,” Denzel McCampbell said.
To note that Tlaib, who is the first woman of Palestinian descent to serve in Congress, has anti-Israel sentiments is an understatement.
The Michigan Democrat supports the so-called BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement aimed at crippling or destroying the Israeli economy.
In July 2019, fellow “squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota introduced a BDS resolution, cosponsored by Tlaib, upholding the right to boycott nations. None in particular were specified, but Israel was the intended target, Fox News reported.
The resolution compared American institutions taking such action to those that boycotted Nazi Germany before and during World War II.
In August 2019, Israel barred Tlaib and Omar from making a congressional visit to the Jewish state, citing their plans to advocate for BDS.
As a slap in the face to the country’s government authorities, the group hosting the congresswomen listed “Palestine,” not Israel, as their destination.
“As a free and vibrant democracy, Israel is open to critics and criticism, with one exception: Israeli law prohibits the entry into Israel of those who call for and work to impose boycotts on Israel, as do other democracies that prohibit the entry of people who seek to harm the country,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement posted on Facebook at the time.
“Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting the legislation of boycotts against Israel in the American Congress,” he added. “Only a few days ago, we received their itinerary for their visit in Israel, which revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy.”
The Israeli government subsequently informed Tlaib she could travel to Israel to visit her grandmother (who lives in the West Bank) if she agreed not to advocate for BDS while there, but the congresswoman declined to do so.
“Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in — fighting against racism, oppression & injustice,” she wrote in a tweet.
Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me. It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice. https://t.co/z5t5j3qk4H
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 16, 2019
“I can’t allow the State of Israel to take away that light by humiliating me & use my love for my sity [grandmother] to bow down to their oppressive & racist policies.”
What an odd response. Israel agrees to let Tlaib in on humanitarian grounds to visit a family member.
The authorities only ask that she doesn’t push for destroying the Israeli economy — which supports Arabs and Jews alike, by the way — while she’s in country.
Tlaib is free to do so in America or anywhere else.
She responds that those stipulations are too “oppressive” and would “kill a piece of her” not to advocate for decimating Israel during however many days she would spend there during a congressional recess.
Good on Cammack for her decision to display the Israeli flag.
Tlaib apparently needs a daily reminder Israel has the right to exist and to prosper as a free democracy.
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