The House [Congress] on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a measure condemning efforts to boycott and economically isolate Israel over its policies toward Palestinians, an explosive global issue that exposed fissures inside the Democratic ranks.
The 398-to-17 vote comes after months of turmoil centering on Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), two Muslim freshmen who have stood accused of anti-Semitism over public remarks they have made referencing Israel and the Holocaust.
The congresswomen, repeatedly singled out by President Trump in the past week, opposed the resolution, arguing that it infringes on free speech and the right to participate in boycotts for human and civil rights.
Trump renewed his attacks on Omar on Tuesday, calling her an “America hating anti-Semite” in a tweet. Omar apologized in February after suggesting that Israel’s American supporters were motivated by money.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS, calls on the international community to withdraw investments and shun the Israeli government, businesses and other institutions to win greater rights for Palestinians living in disputed territories. Its critics argue that its goals would fundamentally undermine Israel’s status as a Jewish homeland.
“You want to criticize the government? That’s your right. You want to stop buying products from a certain country? That’s also your right,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.). “But participating in an international commercial effort that undermines Israel’s legitimacy and scuttles the chances of a two-state solution isn’t the same as an individual exercising First Amendment rights.”
Engel said of the BDS movement: “It’s a fraud. It’s Israel-hating. It’s Jew-hating. We’ve had enough of that in the world.”
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