(JNS) Israeli Ambassador to the United States Gilad Erdan called out Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Monday after she tweeted a defamatory post against the Jewish state.

On Twitter, she wrote: “Al-Aqsa is the 3rd holiest site in Islam, & people praying during the holiest days of the holy month of Ramadan have been beaten, gassed, shot, & killed by Israeli forces. They are denied medics & forced to use prayer mats as stretchers. A place of peace desecrated by violence.”

She added that “American taxpayer money is being used to commit human-rights violations. Congress must condition the aid we send to Israel and end it altogether if those conditions are not followed. Statements are not working @SecBlinken Enough is enough.”

She also included a video link but did not mention any of the incidents of Palestinians attacking Jews.

Responding on Twitter, the Israel ambassador wrote, “Congresswoman … maybe you should open your eyes to the whole picture? Islam’s 3rd holiest site is being used to stockpile Molotov cocktails and rocks that are being lobbed at the police and at Jewish worshippers praying at the Western Wall, below the Temple Mount.”

He continued, writing that “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have prayed freely at their holy sites, including in Jerusalem, over the month of Ramadan because Israel believes in freedom of religion and Israeli security forces work hard to enable all groups to pray in peace.” Erdan included a photo of the so-called “rocks,” actually large chunks of stone, being stockpiled by the Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa mosque and thrown at Jewish law enforcement and civilians.

Tlaib, who was voted into Congress in 2018, is a frequent critic of Israel and has been accused of spreading outright falsehoods, including claiming that Israel has withheld coronavirus vaccines from the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Omar accuses Israel of ‘act of terrorism’ for Gaza strikes

By Aaron Bandler

(Jewish Journal via JNS) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has accused the Israeli government of committing an “act of terrorism” with its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Monday. The Israeli strikes were in response to Hamas bombarding Israel with rockets earlier in the day.

Omar was quote-tweeting the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), which claimed that the Israeli strikes had resulted in the deaths of 20 Palestinians, including nine children.

“Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism,” Omar tweeted. “Palestinians deserve protection. Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don’t exist to protect Palestinian civilians. It’s unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid.” Eid al-Fitr is the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Nonprofit group StopAntisemitism.org took Omar to task for the remark, tweeting in response: “Hamas, a U.S. designated terror group, is sending rockets to Israel. Israel, a key global ally to the U.S., defends herself by attacking Hamas. Ilhan Omar, a sitting U.S. Congresswoman, defends HAMAS! How dangerously low can Ilhan Omar go??!!”

International human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky accused Omar of being “a shill for Hamas,” noting that she had said nothing about how “it is Hamas and Palestinian terrorists in #Gaza that have fired over 100 rockets at #Israel tonight!”

This article was first published by the Jewish Journal.

Main Photo: Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) speaks at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), congressional reception for newly elected congressional representatives. Credit: Phil Pasquini/Shutterstock.