What’s Arabic for “chutzpah?”
Rep. Ilhan Omar shockingly called for international protections and support for Palestinians after their fundamentalist terrorist group Hamas carried out a brutal terrorist attack on Israel.
The progressive Minnesota congresswoman expressed her compassion for the people in the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip amid widespread criticism for her and her colleagues’ response to the violence.
‘Reminder, Gaza doesn’t have shelters or an iron dome and to please pray for them,’ Omar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘May peace prevail in the region and move us towards a moral awakening to care about the human suffering we are seeing.’
‘Palestinians are human beings who have been in besieged and are deserving of protection from the international community,’ she added.
Omar is one of the two first Muslim women to be elected to Congress – joined by Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who has remained noticeably silent on the recent terrorist attack.
In her post Saturday night, Omar was responding to MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, who claimed that Israel launching attacks on civilians in Gaza only helps the Palestinian terrorists part of Hamas.
‘Strategically, killing civilians in Gaza who aren’t Hamas won’t hurt Hamas, it’ll help them, in the long-run,’ he claimed in a post to X. ‘Morally, killing civilians in Gaza as part of an ‘overwhelming’ show of force isn’t moral. It’s immoral.’
Republicans are criticizing ‘Squad’ House Democrats who are calling for a ceasefire after Israel launched a ruthless counteroffensive in the south while it also pounding Lebanon with artillery in the north.
The left-wing group of lawmakers put out statements following the devastating attacks which Israeli officials say have left at least 300 dead and with at least 1,500 injured.
Democrats Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez led condemnation of the attacks.
‘Today is devastating for all those seeking a lasting peace and respect for human rights in Israel and Palestine. I condemn Hamas’ attack in the strongest possible terms,’ Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said.
‘No child and family should ever endure this kind of violence and fear, and this violence will not solve the ongoing oppression and occupation in the region.’
‘An immediate ceasefire and de-escalation is urgently needed to save lives.’
rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for an ‘immediate ceasefire and de-escalation’ after Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday. While Rep. Ilhan Omar said ‘violence will only repeat the back and forth’ and called for Israel to stand down
Rep. Omar said: ‘I condemn the horrific acts we are seeing unfold today in Israel against children, women, the elderly, and the unarmed people who are being slaughtered and taken hostage by Hamas.’
‘Such senseless violence will only repeat the back and forth cycle we’ve seen, which we cannot allow to continue. We need to call for de-escalation and ceasefire. I will keep advocating for peace and justice throughout the Middle East.’
Rep. Omar’s statement received backlash from conservative pundits.
‘She will never acknowledge that there was peace in the Middle East & Europe when Trump was in office,’ said FOX & Friends Weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy.
Conservative commentator John Hasson said: ‘Notice how she only condemns the acts against ‘children, women, the elderly, and the unarmed.’ She’s implying that attacking/killing IDF forces is fine.’
Fighting continued overnight as Israel announced over 300 deaths in the surprise attack from the Hamas Saturday morning
Omar also expressed her compassion for the people in the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.
‘Reminder, Gaza doesn’t have shelters or an iron dome and to please pray for them,’ the progressive lawmaker wrote on X. ‘May peace prevail in the region and move us towards a moral awakening to care about the human suffering we are seeing. Palestinians are human beings who have been in besieged and are deserving of protection from the international community.’
Rep. Ayanna Pressley said: ‘These devastating attacks on Israelis are deeply alarming and my heart breaks for the victims & their loved ones. We need an immediate ceasefire & de-escalation. It is long past time to stop this cycle of violence & trauma, and work toward a just & lasting peace in the region.’
Her statement was slammed for dismissing the need for Israel to defend itself.
‘The squad telling Israel to stand down after it was attacked and hundreds of its citizens were massacred,’ wrote one user.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman said: ‘I strongly condemn the horrific attacks by Hamas and am saddened by the loss of precious lives, especially on the holy day of Simchat Torah We need a way to end this deadly violence that is killing and traumatizing generations of Israelis and Palestinians alike — including the blockade of Gaza.’
‘I have been to the Gaza border and know that Israelis and Palestinians are constantly living in fear. We must work harder to ensure peace in the region.’
Conservative radio host Jason Rantz said: ‘Bowman can’t merely condemn terrorism. He has to include his ignorant criticism of Israel.’
Rep. Summer Lee said: ‘We need urgent de-escalation and an end to this tragic cycle of violence. To achieve this, we must bring an end to the occupation and help broker a just and lasting peace.
One user responded to Lee: ‘Ridiculous. Just denounce the attacks by Hamas. Denounce their dragging someone’s dead daughter through the streets. Denounce them kidnapping someone grandmother. Denounce them kidnapping babies. You represent a large US Jewish community, act like it.’
‘And we also know that there is no military solution that will bring an end to this violence,’
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Cori Bush and Rep. Greg Casar have not put out statements on the attacks in Israel.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to fight back and declared in a statement that they are at war.