Four women elected in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka AOC) of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan were the first members of The Squad. They turned out to be extremely anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. People thought it was nothing, democracy speaking. It has now grown to be 9 members: On January 3, 2021,
Since taking office in January 2019, the lawmakers, all women of color, have electrified the progressive base thanks to their social media savvy but have also attracted controversy, most notably over their criticism of the US relationship with Israel.
Those views, along with their heritage, were the focus of Trump’s attacks this week, when he falsely implied they weren’t American and suggested they “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” Well, only one was not born in the USA, the one from Somalia. They are all pro-Palestinian, though. The Palestinian first generation born here, Tlaib, is mightily pro-Palestinian.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez : Of Puerto Rican ancestry born in NYCity; The head of a major Jewish advocacy group in Queens is slamming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for suggesting that Israel cages Palestinian children. Ocasio-Cortez made her controversial comments during a Democratic Socialists of America event in Austin, Texas, last week, when she also stumped for local House candidates Greg Casar and Jessica Cisneros. “I don’t believe that a child should be in a cage on our border, and I don’t believe a child should be in a cage in the West Bank,” AOC said in a videotaped remark after being heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Ocasio-Cortez apologizes for her ‘present’ vote on Iron Dome funding. In a letter to constituents, the New York congresswoman suggested she had changed her “no” vote because she had been subjected to “hateful targeting” for opposing the aid.
Rashida Tlaib: A lawyer, she is the oldest of 14 children, born and raised in Detroit, the daughter of Palestinian immigrant parents. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) on Wednesday (9/21/22) slammed Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for claiming that individuals cannot be considered progressive if they support Israel. In remarks at an American Muslims for Palestine event on Tuesday, Tlaib — who is Palestinian American — spoke out against the “apartheid government of Israel” before vowing to “push back” on the idea that individuals can be progressive and pro-Israel.
Ilhan Omar: Born in Somalia,Africa which is 99% Muslim, Rep. Omar and her family fled the country's civil war when she was eight. The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States in 1990s. In 1997, she moved to Minneapolis with her family. . Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has a Jewish problem. Despite her repeated denials and the rush to circle the wagons from some left-wing Jews, there's an unmistakable pattern. The latest iteration came earlier this week, when Omar was asked by CNN's Jake Tapper about her past statements. "Do you understand why some of your fellow House Democrats, especially Jews, find that language antisemitic?" Tapper asked. "I've welcomed, you know, anytime my colleagues have asked to have a conversation, to learn from them, for them to learn from me," Rep. Omar replied. "I think it's really important for these members to realize that they haven't been partners in justice. They haven't been, you know, equally engaging in seeking justice around the world." Her "they" are Jews & or Israelis.
Some of the statements Tapper was alluding to came just three weeks ago, when Omar put the U.S., Israel, Hamas, and the Taliban in the same boat. It prompted 12 Jewish members of Congress, all from her party (presumably her missing "partners in justice"), to condemn her comments, calling them "offensive" and "misguided.
Ayanna Pressley: Pressley is against giving aid to Israel because it might be going to the destroying of Palestinian homes, mentioned in 2021.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley breaks from fellow 'Squad' members, endorses 2020 hopeful Elizabeth Warren Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, all endorsed fellow progressive 2020 candidate Bernie Sanders last month. He was her home state senator. Bernie is equally hard on Israel.
They have since been joined by Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Greg Casar of Texas, and Delia Ramirez of Illinois following the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections. The Squad is well known for being among the most left-wing members of the United States Congress. They are followers of the mis- history of the Palestinians so are not progressive about Israel at all, which happens to be a friend of the USA. What do they bring to the minds of the Senators about Israel and Jews?
"Summer Lee, A progressive Pennsylvania state house member, won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district. Her primary victory in the deep-blue Pittsburgh district all but guarantees she’s headed to Congress next year to join fellow left-wing lawmakers — and, very likely, the Squad. 34-year-old Lee first won her statehouse seat in 2018 as part of a wave of progressive, diverse, younger candidates who unseated longtime incumbents.
Here's how Israel came to destroy homes as a punishment.
On October 22, Abdel Rahman al-Shaloudy plowed his car into a Jerusalem bus stop, killing a baby and young woman. A week later, a second driver mowed down another crowd, killing two and injuring a dozen more. A spate of knife attacks followed, in supermarkets, street corners and on roadsides, outdone only by a ghastly attack—carried out with meat cleavers, among other weapons—on worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue. The day after the synagogue attack, the Israeli military demolished the al-Shaloudy’s family home, officially resuming a highly controversial deterrence policy that takes aim not just at terrorists, but their loved ones.The demolition policy was last officially in effect over a decade ago, during the bloody years of the Second Intifada, when Israel struggled to counteract a wave of suicide bombings that killed over a thousand of its citizens. But in 2005, as the violence began to recede and after years of complaints about the demolitions’ efficacy and legitimacy, the Israeli defense minister abruptly ended the policy. Now that the demolitions have returned, so have the challenges, and last week the Israeli Supreme Court heard arguments demanding an end to the demolitions. Its ruling is expected soon. It is a punishment that should cause a normal person to think twice before performing a terrorist act. They hurt more than themselves and should think. If Israel has to destroy a home, you know that they didn't care for their family as much as they did to kill Israelis. It's a final step that Israel had to take and they didn't like to do it, either.
Massachusetts’ two Democratic Senators have joined at least four Democrats in Congress, including one vocal critic of Israel, in speaking out against a Boston pro-Palestinian activist group’s initiative mapping “local institutional support for the colonization of Palestine,” saying the map, which includes the names, addresses and staff members of many Jewish organizations, could incite violence against the Jewish community..
Pressley’s statement was notable because she is a member of the progressive “Squad” of representatives who include Israel’s strongest critics in Congress, Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. Pressley herself voted in 2019, shortly after being elected, to condemn the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement targeting Israel. But since then, she has expressed increasing solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
One of her constituents is Jewish who wrote to her:
Dear Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley,
I am one of your Jewish constituents. I live in Brighton, Massachusetts, in the Seventh Congressional District. Over the past several days, I have become increasingly disappointed and concerned about your silence with regards to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. Omar and Tlaib, members of the “Squad” which you are proudly part of, have in the past engaged in anti-Semitic rhetoric. They have also slandered and defamed the world’s only Jewish state. So I was concerned about your membership in “the Squad.” But I became more hopeful when I learned you supported the bill condemning the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.....
These original 4 squad members evidently came from heavily populated Muslim neighborhoods who agreed with them about Jews and Israel to get elected.
In August 2019, Israel blocked Omar and Tlaib from visiting the country, a reversal from the July 2019 statement from Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer that "any member of Congress" would be allowed in. A spokesman for Israeli Interior Minister Arye Deri attributed the ban to Omar and Tlaib's support for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions). A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited that Omar and Tlaib only intended to visit the Palestinian Territories and had not scheduled a meeting with any Israeli politicians. Less than two hours before the ban, American President Donald Trump had tweeted that Israel allowing the visit would "show great weakness" when Omar and Tlaib "hate Israel & all Jewish people". Omar responded that Netanyahu had caved to Trump's demand and that "Trump's Muslim ban is what Israel is implementing". Tlaib described the blockage as "weakness". American legislators from both the Democratic and Republican parties criticized the Israeli decision, and requested that Israel withdraw the ban. Trump applauded Israel's decision while continuing his criticism of Omar and Tlaib; he described them as "the face of the Democrat Party, and they HATE Israel". A day after the ban was imposed, Tlaib was granted permission to enter Israel to visit her family after she "committed to accept all the demands of Israel to respect the restrictions imposed on her in the visit" and "promised not to advance boycotts against Israel during the visit." In response, Tlaib said that she would not visit Israel, tweeting that doing so would "stand against everything [she] believe[s] in – fighting against racism, oppression, and injustice."If someone is a real jerk, the cause of people believing lies about Israelis, Israel has blocked their entrance to Israel like Norman Finkelstein. In May 2008, Finkelstein was denied entry to Israel, according to unnamed Shin Bet security officials, because "of suspicions involving hostile elements in Lebanon" and because he "did not give a full accounting to interrogators with regard to these suspicions. "Finkelstein had visited south Lebanon and met with Lebanese families during the 2006 Lebanon War. He was banned from entering Israel for 10 years, People like this would only stir up more problemsinside Israel and who needs that? Does the USA allow knownterrorists into the USA?
Greg Casar: A new addition to the Squad, He's from Austin, Texas of Mexican heritage. Politics shapehis thinking: National figures such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have pledged their support for Casar, as has Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee known for backing insurgent candidates. Casar, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who was first elected to the council in 2014, is running to the left of primary challenger Eddie Rodriguez, a Democratic state representative. Early voting for the race in Texas’s 35th Congressional District begins on Feb. 14.But Casar, 32, appears to be charting his own path on Israel, according to a letter he wrote to a local rabbi that was obtained by Jewish Insider on Tuesday. In the letter, Casar pledged to support American military assistance to Israel, stated his opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and expressed a desire to travel to Israel and the West Bank. Yet, DSA opposes all U.S. military aid to Israel, supports BDS and asks candidates to commit to not visiting the Jewish state. The national DSA organization has not yet made an endorsement in the race, while DSA’s local Austin chapter is supporting Casar. A spokesperson for Casar declined to comment and he does not appear to have publicly commented on Israel or the Palestinians in the past. So what can I think of him? He just failed knowing anything about the group he has belonged to (DSA) and of course, hedoesn't know much about Israel at all. Or, he lies about it. I can't believe his words.
How are Democrat Senators responding to the Squad?
That’s when a monkey wrench was thrown into the procedural machinery by the Squad — a small group of six liberal Democrats. The group began with four women first elected in 2018, headed-up by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), The other original Squad members were: Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). They were joined later by two members elected in 2020: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.).
While no Squad members participated in the one-hour debate on the special rule, the leadership was apparently aware of their continuing concerns about insufficient accountability in the policing bill and their potential threat to defeat the rule. That triggered a House recess being called by the chair at 9:54 a.m., after debate on the rule concluded, and set in motion the majority whip operation to count noses, twist arms, and scour the bushes for missing members, some of whom had already left town for the weekend.
When the House reconvened at 12:29 p.m. after a two and one-half hour recess, it voted to adopt the special rule, 216 to 215, with one Squad member, Pressley, voting “present,” and one, Omar, voting for the rule. Four Squad members voted against the rule: Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Bush, and Bowman. Only 375 members were still around to vote in person while another 56 members voted by proxy.
When Democrats recaptured the House in 2019 after eight years of Republican control, a crew of newly elected progressives—a squad, if you will—quickly garnered headlines for their willingness to challenge party leadership and their uncompromising idealism. During new member orientation in November 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a group photo of herself alongside fellow new members Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, and the caption officially birthed “the Squad,” a title derisively employed by detractors and inspiring to supporters.
But progressives have accounted for critical votes for four years, I pressed. If they aren’t part of a majority anymore, does that diminish their power completely? Do they still have the juice?“I can’t speak for [other progressives], but ain’t nobody taking my juice away,” Bowman, a squad member replied with a laugh. “I’m always having juice.”
Being the squad has grown from 4 to 9, I'd say that more of our population is in the dark about Israel's position and facts. Can Nancy Pelosi keep abreast of the truth?
Pelosi vows ‘ironclad’ US support for Israel despite ‘Squad’ opposition, stated on February 16, 2022.
Resource:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Squad_(United_States_Congress)#:~:text=The%20Squad%20is%20a%20group,the%20U.S.%20House%20of%20Representatives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez
https://forward.com/opinion/429960/dear-congresswoman-pressley-im-your-constituent-will-you-speak-out-when/
https://www.ajc.org/news/ilhan-omar-has-a-problem-with-jews
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/us/politics/aoc-israel-iron-dome.html
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3654510-house-democrat-slams-tlaib-for-antisemitic-remarks-on-israel/
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/3672644-the-squad-hit-on-a-special-rule-shakes-the-democratic-leadership/
https://thehill.com/homenews/House/416370-ocasio-cortez-shares-photo-of-her-new-squad-on-capitol-hill/
https://newrepublic.com/article/120506/study-israels-home-demolitions-policy-works-it-moral
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