In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Wednesday, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) called out congressional progressives for spreading misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict, notably their promotion of the Hamas terrorist group’s positions while criticizing Israel and remaining silent over the plight of the very Gaza civilians they claim to be standing up for, as Gazans continue to be ruled by oppressive terror groups.
In response to a barrage of anti-Israel rhetoric by a slew of progressive Democrats, the Western Pennsylvania Republican congressman began by stating that “Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorist groups like Hamas.”
Reschenthaler continued by blasting “radical” Democrats for their dishonesty concerning the recent conflict.
“Unfortunately, radical Democrats like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib would rather criticize Israel and spread lies about who’s to blame for the chaos and suffering,” he said.
He then recalled his past experience with terrorists, warning of their capabilities.
“During my service in Baghdad, I sat face to face with some of the most dangerous terrorists in the Middle East,” he said. “I know the violence and destruction terrorists are capable of inflicting on innocent civilian populations.”
Reschenthaler then described the reality of Hamas tactics.
“Hamas intentionally launches rockets at Israeli citizens, and they use Gaza civilians as human shields to store and launch their weapons,” he said.
Calling out the same Democrats for failing to fight for civilians under terrorist rule, he blasts them for spreading disinformation in defense of terrorists.
“Instead of using their platforms to push terrorist propaganda, these members of Congress should stand up for the civilians in Gaza suffering under the tyrannical rule of a designated terrorist group,” he continued.
Reschenthaler then called upon President Joe Biden to issue a condemnation on the matter.
“President Biden needs to condemn the growing anti-Israel rhetoric in his party and restore President Trump’s successful strategy for peace in the Middle East by defending our closest ally in the region in their time of need,” he concluded.
Reschenthaler was referring to recent statements on the part of Democrats, notably “squad” members, criticizing Israel while avoiding any criticism of the Hamas terror group which initiated the conflict after indiscriminately firing rockets at Jerusalem last Monday.
The Gaza terror groups have since fired thousands of rockets, resulting in twelve Israeli deaths, hundreds of wounded, and sending over a million Israelis into bomb shelters.
On Saturday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) referred to Israel as an apartheid state.
“Apartheid states aren’t democracies,” she wrote in a tweet that has garnered nearly 325,000 likes as of Wednesday.
In a speech on the House floor on Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez stated, “This is about an imbalance of power.”
“The president stated that Israel has a right to self-defense… But do Palestinians have a right to survive?” she asked, before comparing the “incarceration of children in Palestine” to that of the “children here on our border.”
Also speaking on the House of Representatives’ floor on Thursday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) — who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants — called for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel while the Jewish state is under attack by Palestinian terrorists.
Addressing the Israeli military’s response to Hamas firing dozens of rockets towards major Israeli population centers, Tlaib said on MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin Reports last week that the U.S. should stop sending billions of dollars to Israel because it was “promoting racism and dehumanization.”
She also called upon President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand a ceasefire while referring to Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as “apartheid-in-chief” and accusing him of commiting “war crimes” and violating international law.
On Monday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said the “United States should not stand idly by” allowing casualties to rise in Gaza while President Biden lets “precision-guided weaponry” be given to Israel — who she blamed for the casualties — “without any strings attached.”
In response, Republican Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) blasted Omar’s House floor remarks.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also scolded Omar after she tweeted false information about the recent Gaza clashes, claiming she is “acting as the press secretary for Hamas.”
After mounting pressure from Democrats, President Biden walked back his support for Israel’s response to indiscriminate rocket fire at civilians, expressing his desire for an Israeli ceasefire of operations against the Gaza-based terrorist Hamas group instead.
On Tuesday, he praised Tlaib, claiming he admired her intellect, passion, and concern for others.
In reality, Palestinian terrorists are bombarding their own people, as 700 of the rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas and other terror groups — some 20% of the total — land in Gaza, often killing innocent Palestinian civilians whose deaths are wrongly blamed on Israel.
According to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Hamas “targets civilians while hiding behind civilians using them as human shields. This is the problem that we face — because Hamas is embedded deeply in civilian areas, because it uses civilian human shields.” The P.M. added:
There is no army in the world that does more than the Israeli army, in the Israeli security services, in Israeli intelligence to prevent collateral damage. To have Israel criticized for that is absurd. Not only is absurd and unjust and untrue, it does enormous damage to democracies that are fighting this kind of evil.
In December, Reschenthaler blasted Tlaib for anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, urging his colleagues “across the aisle” to join him in calling for her immediate removal from all congressional committees.
“It is past time we show the American people that there is no place in Congress, or anywhere, for this shameful intolerance. I call on my colleagues across the aisle to join me in calling for Rep. Tlaib to immediately lose her committee assignments,” he wrote.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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