After Iron Dome vote attack ad, GOP Rep. lashes AIPAC for ‘foreign interference’
Washington (QNN)- A Republican congressman on Monday accused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the most powerful pro-Israel lobby in the country, known as AIPAC, of “foreign interference” over publishing attack ad against him for voting against legislation to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
“How is THIS not foreign interference in our elections?” Rep. Thomas Massie tweeted with a screenshot of the AIPAC’s ad on Facebook captioned, “When Israel faced rocket attacks, Thomas Massie voted against Iron Dome.”
How is THIS not foreign interference in our elections? pic.twitter.com/O5LSToIBUO
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 27, 2021
Rep. Massie was one of the nine House lawmakers — and the only Republican — to vote against the additional $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome, saying afterward that “it’s extreme to bankrupt our country and put future generations of Americans in hock to our debtors.”
The “no” votes were Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush, André Carson, Marie Newman, Raúl Grijalva, Chuy Garcia, and Thomas Massie and all of them were accused falsely of antisemitism for voting against the bill.
AIPAC responded to Rep. Massie’s tweet, by saying it “will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work.”
“We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the US-Israel relationship. Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests,” the lobby group stated.
We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests. We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work. https://t.co/L2qeejkJBF
— AIPAC – Text IRON DOME to 73075 (@AIPAC) September 27, 2021
AIPAC, however, is known for its long history of running attack ads against vocal pro-Palestine voices and critics of ‘Israel’ in Congress who are mostly progressive Democrats.
Last August, AIPAC faced accusations of Islamophobia and incitement over attacks against congresswoman Ilhan Omar over a sponsored post claiming that Omar sees “no difference between America and the Taliban”, “Israel and Hamas” and “democracies and terrorists”.
Jeremy Slevin, who is Omar’s communications director, said the language used by AIPAC is “identical” to hate messages and “death threats” the congresswoman receives.
“Make no mistake: AIPAC is putting Rep. Omar’s life at risk with repeated Islamophobic attack ads,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Facebook ad from AIPAC features a black-and-white image of Omar accompanied by text reading: “For Ilhan Omar, there is no difference between America and the Taliban. Between Israel and Hamas. Between democracies and terrorists.”
The ad is captioned: “Stand WITH America. Stand AGAINST Terrorists.”
In response to the accusations, AIPAC tweeted, “Your baseless attack on us can’t deflect from [Omar’s] attack on America and Israel.”
AIPAC was referring to controversy remarks made by Omar in June when she questioned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the US administration’s opposition investigations into war crimes in Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The representative from Minnesota asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a hearing by the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “You opposed the court’s investigation in both Palestine and in Afghanistan.”
“In both of these cases, if domestic courts can’t or won’t pursue justice, and we oppose the ICC, where do we think victims are supposed to go for justice, and what justice mechanisms do you support for them?”
She followed with a tweet: “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban. I asked @SecBlinkenwhere people are supposed to go for justice.”
