TEHRAN, Mar 08 - US President Donald Trump has called Democrats "anti-Israel" and "anti-Jewish" after the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning bigotry and hate.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The House Thursday passed the resolution after backlash from a number of factions across the Democratic Party forced changes to a bill that originally focused on anti-Semitism and remarks about Israel by a Muslim American congresswoman.
The resolution passed inthe lower chamber of Congress overwhelmingly, 407 to 23, with all Democrats voting in favor including Representative Ilhan Omar herself, whose legitimate criticism of Israel has been deemed anti-Semitic by some colleagues and exposed deep fault lines among Democrats.
"As members of Congress and Americans we have a solemn, urgent responsibility to fight to end the scourge of bigotry, racism and hatred in our country," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during debate on the resolution.
Trump, before leaving the White House to tour tornado damage in Alabama on Friday, said he thought the vote was "disgraceful."
"The Democrats have become an anti-Israel party. They've become an anti-Jewish party," he told reporters.
“I thought yesterday’s vote by the House was disgraceful,” Trump said. “I thought that vote was a disgrace, and so does everybody else if you get an honest answer.”
Omar, a newly elected Democrat Congresswoman from Minnesota, has sparked a firestorm on Capitol Hill over repeated criticisms of Israel and the powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington that exerts great influence in US politics.
She joined the two other Muslims in Congress, Rashida Tlaib and Andre Carson, in praising the measure's passage.
"It's the first time we have voted on a resolution condemning Anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation's history," they said, noting the worrying rise of extremism in America.
Source: Press TV
Your Comment