Ted Lieu Deletes One Antisemitic Tweet — But Leaves Others Up

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) deleted a tweet Thursday in which he accused U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman of dual loyalty — the same antisemitic theme used in the past by Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

The Israeli government denied Omar and Tlaib entry into the country, based on their support for boycotting Israel. Omar said earlier this year that Americans who support Israel owe “allegiance to a foreign country,” and Tlaib said that U.S. Senators who support Israel “forgot what country they represent.” Both statements were condemned at the time as antisemitic, as they evoke the slur of “dual loyalty” that has often been used as a pretext to persecute Jews.

Lieu had tweeted: “Dear @USAmbIsrael: You are an American. Your allegiance should be to America, not to a foreign power. You should be defending the right of Americans to travel to other countries. If you don’t understand that, then you need to resign.” He made the same accusation on CNN as he was interviewed by anchor Wolf Blitzer. “He doesn’t seem to understand that his allegiance is to America, not to a foreign power,” Lieu told Blitzer, saying that Friedman should have been fighting for Omar and Tlaib to have the right to enter Israel, despite Israeli law.

On Thursday evening, Lieu deleted his tweet, and tweeted: “It has been brought to my attention that my prior tweet to @USAmbIsrael raises dual loyalty allegations that have historically caused harm to the Jewish community. That is a legitimate concern. I am therefore deleting the tweet.” He did not apologize, however.

It has been brought to my attention that my prior tweet to @USAmbIsrael raises dual loyalty allegations that have historically caused harm to the Jewish community. That is a legitimate concern. I am therefore deleting the tweet.

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 16, 2019

In addition, Lieu left up several tweets making the same accusation against several Republican legislators (and using the “dual loyalty” slur in praising Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) for criticizing Israel’s decision).

Hey @RepMoBrooks: A reminder that you are an American Member of Congress. Your allegiance should be to America. We are Americans first. You should be defending the right of Americans to travel to other countries. Get it? https://t.co/4FhRWXsLJP

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 15, 2019

Hey @SteveScalise: You are an American Member of Congress. Your allegiance should be to America, not to a foreign government. You should be defending the right of Americans to travel to other countries. If you don't understand that, you should find another line of work. https://t.co/LIyX7l0C3c

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 15, 2019

Thank you @justinamash for understanding that, as an American Member of Congress, your loyalty is to America, not to a foreign government. Thank you for defending the right of Americans, even though they disagree with you politically, to travel to other countries. https://t.co/xEnG2vgFhs

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 15, 2019

Lieu represents California’s 33rd congressional district, which has a sizable Jewish population.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.