by Harold Hutchison
HBO host Bill Maher called out Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan Friday night over antisemitic comments they posted on social media.
“I just want to read a few quotes from American congressmen, just to — congresspeople, rather, just to show that Kanye West’s comment is not really out of order with some things that are said by people in more official positions,” Maher said to former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to the rapper and fashion mogul who received criticism over social media posts that some claimed were anti-Semitic.
Maher then read tweets from the two representatives, who are Muslim. Both Omar and Tlaib were first elected in 2017 and considered members of “The Squad,” a term used to describe several left-wing members of the House of Representatives.
“Here’s one, ‘Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel,’” Maher said, while not explicitly naming Omar as the author of the 2012 tweet that is now deleted. “Ten years ago, if you read that to me, I’d have thought that would be from Hezbollah. That’s an American congressperson.”
Maher then read a post on Twitter where Tlaib invoked apartheid when discussing the Israeli government.
“Another American congressperson says, ‘The reality of Israel’s apartheid government,’ goes on to say, ‘the occupation and ethnic cleansing Palestinians [must] live with every day,’” Maher read, before moving on to a second tweet by Tlaib that accused Israel of deliberately targeting journalists.
Tlaib and Omar did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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Harold Hutchison is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Benjamin Netanyahu and Bill Maher” by Real Time with Bill Maher.
