Marco Rubio calls out Democrats for hiding anti-Israel support for BDS under cover of government shutdown

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Monday accused democratic socialist members of Congress of lying about a Middle East security bill he's sponsored in the Senate and repeating anti-Semitic lines in defense of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Rubio's bill, introduced as the first Senate bill of the 116th Congress, S.1, includes a provision called the "Combating BDS Act," which would give state and local governments the explicit legal authority to boycott U.S. companies that boycott Israel. The Anti-Defamation League notes that BDS is a campaign to delegitimize Israel as the Jewish state and that the movement's founding goals "including denying the Jewish people the universal right of self-determination – along with many of the strategies employed in BDS campaigns are anti-Semitic."

Rubio introduced the legislation with Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, last week.

Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tweeted an article from The Intercept attacking Rubio's bill as the first priority of the U.S. Senate and claiming it would punish American individuals for exercising free speech.

Rubio responded, accusing Sanders of lying and pointing out the ridiculousness of his argument.

Another democratic socialist, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., joined Sanders, suggesting that Republicans supporting the bill have forgotten their loyalty to U.S. citizens and are instead representing Israel's interests. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who recently made headlines for declaring on video Democrats are "gonna impeach the mother****er," referring to President Trump, is one of several radical leftists who ran for election in 2018 with anti-Israel or anti-Semitic sentiments.

Rubio and several prominent American Jews condemned the insinuation. Washington Examiner managing editor Seth Mandel accused Tlaib of making "the dual-loyalty accusation." Rubio noted this line of attack is "a typical anti-Semitic line."

The senator also called out Democrats for misrepresenting their opposition to his bill, suggesting that the government shutdown is an excuse to cover for the Democratic Party's anti-Israel positions and support for BDS.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., seems to be kowtowing to the radicals in his conference. Though Schumer opposes BDS, he has reportedly promised Senate Democrats that he will vote to block Rubio's bill until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., advances a funding bill to reopen the government.

The anti-Israel faction of the Democratic Party is gaining power.

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