As the death toll and hostage count continued to rise in Israel as a result of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Saturday, U.S. politicians wasted little time sharing their thoughts on the tragic events. In Congress, members of ‘The Squad’ made it clear where their support lies.
On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to discuss the statements progressive congressmen released in response to the terrorist attacks and the rise of antisemitism in the House of Representatives.
‘The Squad’ Speaks
The response to the Hamas terrorist attacks from far-left members of the House of Representatives was, in Megyn’s words, “predictable” and “absolutely disgusting.” On Sunday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the sole Palestinian-American a member of Congress, released a statement that read in part:
“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… As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
– Rep. Rashida Tlaib, October 8, 2023
Fellow squad member Cori Bush (D-MO) – who Megyn said “has done absolutely nothing in her life other than protest the police killing of Michael Brown” – struck a similar tone in tweeted remarks. “Violations of human rights do not justify violations of human rights, and a military response will only exacerbate the suffering,” she wrote. “As part of achieving a just and lasting peace, we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by suspending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), meanwhile, tweeted that “we need a way to end this deadly violence that is killing and traumatizing generations of Israelis and Palestinians alike — including the blockade of Gaza.”
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country was “at war,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) issued a statement saying she “condemn[ed] Hamas’ attack” but called for “an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) similarly called for the fighting to stop. “It is long past time to stop this cycle of violence [and] trauma, and work toward a just [and] lasting peace in the region,” she tweeted.
Antisemitism in Congress
This reaction may not be surprising, but Megyn said it is telling. “We’ve got some raging antisemites in the halls of Congress,” she noted. “Thanks a lot, Minnesota. Thanks a lot, Missouri. Thanks a lot, the Bronx, where AOC purportedly came from.” In her view, the progressive left is “open” about their beliefs and “not even trying to hide it.”
Sen. Cruz said it is nothing new. “Unfortunately, in today’s Democrat Party, antisemitism has been normalized,” he explained. “We’ve seen the rise of The Squad… they support BDS – boycott, divestiture, and sanctioning – targeting Israel and they wallow in those sentiments.”
Back in 2019, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi struggled to gain support for a resolution to condemn antisemitism. “She couldn’t get her conference to agree – the Democrats could not come together and clearly condemn antisemitism,” he recalled. “They ended up watering it down to just a general condemnation of hatred of any kind for anyone whatsoever, just blurring it all into a bland statement.”
The remarks from The Squad are particularly tone deaf, Megyn said, when you consider the situation on the ground in Israel. “There are literally parents desperately searching for their babies right now; we saw the murders in the streets with our own eyes,” she shared. “And all they want to do is say, ‘Oh, Israel is evil, too’… They don’t have the thoughtfulness to just pump the brakes a minute.”
While the attacks are being likened to Israel’s 9/11 or Israel’s Pearl Harbor, Sen. Cruz noted that it is also “impossible to avoid the association with the Holocaust.” As he explained, “we have not seen, since the Holocaust, death squads systematically going from house to house to house and just… indiscriminately slaughtering families for one reason: Because they are Jewish.”
There is no ambiguity, he emphasized, when it comes to what Hamas believes. “In the view of these terrorists, [Jews] deserve to be murdered,” he concluded. “And we are seeing crowds, tragically, not just in Gaza… cheering the murder of entire families.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Sen. Cruz by tuning in to episode 643 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.