Politics

Tlaib Sounds Off On Bill Maher, Compares Israel To Apartheid South Africa

DETROIT, MI - JULY 22: U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) speaks at the opening plenary session of the NAACP (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Paulina Likos Contributor
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Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib suggested boycotting Bill Maher’s HBO talk show Saturday after Maher discussed the Democrat’s support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement on his show Friday.

“BDS is a bullsh*t purity test by people who want to appear woke and have actually slept through history class,” Maher said on his show.

Tlaib responded to Maher’s remarks on Twitter, saying, “Maybe folks should boycott his show.” The lawmaker went on to contrast how Maher is trying to disparage her support for BDS in Israel as similar to the attempts to discredit the BDS movement during the South African anti-apartheid movement. (RELATED: Trump Jumps On Reports Of Israel Banning Reps. Omar And Tlaib: ‘They Hate … All Jewish People’)

“I am tired of folks discrediting a form of speech that is centered on equality and freedom,” Tlaib continued in her post. “This is exactly how they tried to discredit & stop the boycott to stand up against the apartheid in S. Africa. It didn’t work then and it won’t now.”

Maher’s remarks came a day after Tlaib was initially denied entry to Israel to visit her grandmother due to her support for the BDS movement. According to Israeli law, those who support this movement are not permitted entry into the country. Israel made a humanitarian exception and ultimately offered Tlaib a visit, but she rejected the offer. (RELATED: SACKS: Israel Shouldn’t Ban Omar, Tlaib For Legitimate Criticism)

In his segment, Maher also discussed Rep. Ilhan Omar’s past statements on Israel and how Jews “control the world” and only “care about money,” which he suggested may be part of the reason why they are not welcome to the country.

Earlier this week, President Trump responded to reports of Omar and Tlaib’s potential trip to Israel saying in a tweet, “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel [and] all Jewish people, [and] there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!” Thursday on Twitter.