What do we have? Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib describing her sense of“calm”when she thinks about her Palestinian relatives providing refuge for Jews who escaped the Holocaust? Can we take that statement at face value? There are many stories about Palestinians resentment toward Jewish newcomers. Could she provide details about how Jewish refugees were welcomed by her Palestinian relatives? Details could make a difference.
What do we have? Congresswoman Ilhan Omah commenting about Jews financing political support for Israel, about inappropriate pressure to support Israel, a foreign country. Not every comment about Jews and money is anti-Semitic. Nor is every disagreement with Israel or the Israeli government or with Jews anti-Semitic. The same can be said for Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. We should not assume that he is anti-Semitic because he complained that George Soros and other Jews supported a Democratic candidate for Congress. Can we take McCarthy at face value when he claims congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is anti-Semitic?
What do we have? Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. She brings charm and wit and an unusual intelligence to Congress. She brought out Shmuley Boteach. He ran a full page advertisements again. (His most notorious one, for which he had to apologize, accused Susan Rice, National Security Advisor and UN Ambassador under Barack Obama, of indifference to genocide.) Shmuley Boteach claimed that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez trivialized the deaths of Jewish children. Can we take his statement at face value?