CNN Anchor's Stunning Question to Laura Bush: To Effect Change Do We Just Need to Accept Some Anti-Semitism & Anti-Americanism?

CNN anchor Erin Burnett during an interview with former first lady Laura Bush that aired Monday posed a bit of a head-scratcher: Should we “accept" anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism "when we want to make change" in the Middle East?

See for yourself [courtesy NewsBusters]:

“An Egyptian woman, her name's Samir Ibrahim, and she's done a lot of things, courageous things. She's also been criticized for sending tweets that are anti-Semitic, anti-American,” Burnnett said during a segment on the George W. Bush Institute's Women's Initiative Fellowship Program.

“Does the U.S. need to accept that when we want to make change? You have to support people that do those things -- financially in term of awards, in terms of all these things -- because it pays off in the end? Is that a trade-off we have to make?” she asked.

Mrs. Bush responded with a laughing, “No.”

“No, I don't think so, not necessarily. But I do think it's really important that we do support women in any way we can in the U.S. And I know American women want to do that," she answered.

"It's easy for us to recruit the mentors, the American women mentors for our class of Egyptian fellows because American women are interested in women around the world. And they want to see women succeed,” she answered.

You may recall that the the U.S. State Department recently rescinded its “Women of Courage Award” to Ibrahim because she has in the past tweeted some pretty unbelievably offensive comments.

TheBlaze’s Tiffany Gabbay provides the details:

Ibrahim’s past tweets included celebratory comments relating to the death of five Israeli tourists in a 2012 suicide bombing in Bulgaria.

“An explosion on a bus carrying Israelis in Burgas airport in Bulgaria on the Black Sea,” she tweeted directly following the attack. “Today is a very sweet day with a lot of very sweet news.”

Ibrahim’s vitriol is not reserved strictly for Jews, however. The Egyptian activist even holds the very country that was slated to honor her with an award in equal contempt. Following the riots that set siege to the United States embassy in Cairo on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, Ibrahim said that every year should mark America’s destruction.

“Today is the anniversary of 9/11. May every year come with America burning.”

Doubling down on her racist diatribes, in August 2012, Ibrahim referred to Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family as “dirtier than the Jews” and not long after, admiringly quoted Hitler.

“I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society, takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it. Hitler,” Ibrahim tweeted.

Yikes.

So, just to recap, Burnett wants to know whether we should accept this type of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism in order to effect change in the Middle East.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

Featured image Getty Images. This post has been updated.