A CNN panel got heated Tuesday while discussing support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) movement by Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and how their support is causing a divide in the Democratic Party.
Mia Love, Symone Sanders, Jen Psaki and David Urban were on with Jake Tapper.
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“I do think it’s a generational thing. There has been a lack of nuance in the conversation when you talk about Palestine to the point where you cannot be critical of the government of Israel’s actions without someone calling you antisemitic, which some would argue is crazy because we can be critical of the United States of America and understanding we’re criticizing the United States of America, not the people,” Sanders stated.
“I think it’s hard to have a nuanced conversation about the government that calls for the eradication of Israeli —,” Urban responded before being cut off.
He then asked Sanders, “Do you denounce terrorism? Do you denounce Hamas?”
The debate only intensified from there.
Both Omar and Tlaib have made headlines speaking out against the Israeli government. Omar tweeted in 2012 that Israel has “hypnotized the world.” However, the Omar apologized earlier this week and explained that she was unaware of the antisemitic connotations associated with the word. (RELATED: Rep. Omar Defends Tweet Claiming ‘Israel Has Hypnotized The World,’ Says It’s Not About Religion)
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“The fact that Israel is on the front line when it comes to the fight on terrorism. They are the ones dealing with it on all ends. We get so much — she’s doing more than asking questions, just simply saying we should defund Israel, we get so much out of that technology,” Love added.
She then clarified that she was referring to Tlaib. (RELATED: Zeldin Addresses Feud With Omar Over Her Support For BDS Movement)
Love continued, “Wait a minute. We have to understand what we get out of that. We actually get quite a bit out of that, in terms of military technology, in terms of medical technology they are our allies. They have been our allies out in the Middle East.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 15: U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar (D-MN)speaks to media outside the US Capitol on January 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. Members of the Freshman Class held a press conference on the government shutdown. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
“The desire to have a more nuanced conversation. Nobody is defending Hamas, nobody is defending terrorism. The question is, can you be sympathetic to the Palestinian people while also being defenders and funding Israel?” Psaki added. “The positions of Rashida Tlaib, they are not representative of all of the Democrats who want to have that conversation. They certainly are not, but there is an evolving view.”
“David, why would you ask Symone if she supports terrorism?” Tapper asked. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Spox Refuses To Divulge Where She Stands On BDS Movement)
“If you simply cannot denounce the Hamas position and say, listen, a government that calls for the destruction of another government isn’t one you have to sit down and respect,” Urban added.
After a back-and-forth, Sanders and Urban ended their feud with Urban apologizing for the insinuation.
