Democratic Reps. Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib blasted for criticizing Israel following Hamas terror attacks: 'Reprehensible and repulsive'

Hundreds of Israelis were slaughtered Saturday by Hamas terrorists. Thousands more were wounded, including those civilians who escaped the massacre of music-lovers at the Nova Festival near the Gaza-Israel border. Footage circulated online showing militants parading around civilian hostages as well as apparent victims of rapes, executions, and posthumous mutilations.

In the aftermath of the attacks, amid celebrations by pro-Palestinian groups in various Western cities, a handful of Democratic lawmakers in Washington rushed to criticize Israel and condemn its counteroffensive.

While most members of the so-called "Squad" issued similar statements, Democratic Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) have been met with the fiercest backlash, including by the president of Israel.

What's the background?

Hamas is the Palestinian Islamist group founded in 1987 that controls the Gaza Strip. The U.S. deemed the group a foreign terrorist organization in October 1997, and many other nations have followed suit in the years since. It has been responsible for myriad attacks on Israeli citizens and defense forces as well as countless kidnappings.

In a surprise attack Saturday, Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel, penetrating the nation's Iron Dome defenses and hitting multiple targets, including areas in Tel Aviv and on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Bands of terrorists then invaded Israel by land, sea, and air, entering Israeli towns and army bases.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated around 1,000 Hamas fighters took part.

As of Sunday, at least 700 Israelis had been reported dead along with at least four Americans. In one instance, gunmen reportedly massacred at least 260 people attending a dance music festival on the Gaza border. Over 2,000 have been wounded.

In response to the various military incursions and terror attacks, Israel declared war on Sunday and launched a counterattack, nailing various sites in Gaza. The Israeli defense minister has also ordered a "complete siege" on the Gaza Strip, according to the Associated Press.

Newsweek indicated that the death toll had increased past 1,100 as of Monday morning.

Adding insult to injury

TheBlaze previously reported that members of the "Squad" — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Greg Casar (D-Texas) — responded to the attacks over the weekend, demanding that Israel not retaliate.

Bush wrote Saturday evening, "I am heartbroken by the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel, and I mourn the over 250 Israeli and 230 Palestinian lives that have been lost today, and the thousands injured, following attacks by Hamas militants on Israeli border towns and Israeli military bombardment of Gaza."

The Missouri Democrat, who boycotted the Israeli president's speech to Congress in July, further demanded an "immediate ceasefire and de-escalation," suggesting that a "military response will only exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis alike."

According to Bush, "as part of achieving a just and lasting peace, we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid."

Rep. Tlaib went a step further in her statement, intimating that Israel may to be blame for Palestinian "resistance."

Tlaib also failed to condemn Hamas, reported the New York Post.

"I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity," Tlaib stated. "The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance."

"The failure to recognize the violent reality of living under siege, occupation, and apartheid makes no one safer," she added. "As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue."

Backlash

In response to Bush's statement, Sen. Marsha Blackburn wrote, "No. The U.S. should do everything it can to arm Israel and quash terrorism."

Breitbart's Joel Pollak noted that Bush failed "to distinguish, of course, between Israeli civilians and Palestinian terrorists. Immoral and inexcusable."

Jordan Kadosh with the Anti-Defamation League Heartland office in St. Louis suggested the time of Bush's statement "is just so tone deaf and heartless and it's really beyond reason," reported KMOX-AM.

"Congresswoman Bush took the opportunity to draw false equivalents and once again falsely claim Israel as an apartheid state," continued Kadosh. "The idea that the U.S. should cut off funding for a military ally right as it is in a state of War is just unthinkable."

Rep. Richie Torres (D-N.Y.) responded to the comments both from Bush and Tlaib, telling Jewish Insider reporter Marc Rod on Sunday, "Shame on anyone who glorifies as 'resistance' the largest single-day mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. It is reprehensible and repulsive."

"U.S. aid to Israel is and should be unconditional, and never more than in this moment of critical need," added Torres. "Congress must act decisively to provide Israel with whatever it needs to defend itself in the face of unprecedented terrorism."

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) told the Insider, "Two of my colleagues called for America to end assistance to Israel, despite the countless images of Israeli children, women, men, and elderly, including Americans, murdered by radical Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists. ... It sickens me that while Israelis clean the blood of their family members shot in their homes, they believe Congress should strip U.S. funding to our democratic ally and allow innocent civilians to suffer.

Israeli President Michael Herzog addressed Tlaib in a post on X, writing, "How much more blood needs to be spilled for you to overcome your prejudice and unequivocally condemn Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror organization? Hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians massacred in cold blood on a holy day. Babies kidnapped from their mother's arms and taken to Gaza. An 85-year-old woman in a wheelchair and a Holocaust survivor taken hostage. Is that not enough, @RashidaTlaib?"

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