43 Democrats Vote Against Resolution Condemning Pro-Genocidal Phrase

From Townhall.com (Apr. 18):

On Tuesday afternoon, the House overwhelmingly passed in a bipartisan fashion a resolution from Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY) condemning the pro-genocidal phrase of "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." The vote was not unanimous, though, as 44 members voted against the resolution, and one voted "present." Nine members did not vote.

From the House floor, D'Esposito called out those who would chant or spray such a phrase for what they are. "When anti-Semitic activists masquerading as merely pro-Palestinian spray paint this slogan on the site of the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympians, we know, and they know, exactly what they are communicating."

He also made clear that "this slogan communicates one thing and one thing only. It is not human rights, it is certainly not peace, it is the violent destruction of the State of Israel and the Jewish people that live within it!"

The "no" votes came from the usual suspects, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (KY), as well as all of the Squad members, plus other Democrats. Rep. Madeline Dean (D-PA) was the one member who voted "present."

When people say "from the river to the sea," they are calling for the genocide of the Jewish State of Israel. Late last October, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), appeared in a digital ad accusing President Joe Biden of genocide for what support he had dared to show Israel at that point following the October 7 attack from Hamas against our ally in the Middle East. The ad contained chants of "from the river to the sea" from pro-Hamas agitators in Dearborn, where Tlaib's district is located. She also shared it from her personal X account a few days later. In part for her pathetic defense of the phrase, Tlaib was censured by the House in early November of last year.

Not surprisingly, Tlaib also voted against the resolution on Tuesday. She has had a record against supporting Israel, even when it comes to the condemnation of the rape that Israeli women endured at the hands of Hamas. She was the only member to vote "present" when it comes to voting for such a bipartisan resolution in February.

In addition to Massie and Tlaib, the other votes against the resolution on Tuesday included Democratic Reps. Becca Balint (VT), Don Beyer (VA), Suzanne Bonamici (OR), Jamaal Bowman (NY), Cori Bush (MO), André Carson (IN), Greg Casar (TX), Judy Chu (CA), Yvette Clarke (NY), Danny Davis (IL), Mark DeSaulnier (CA), Debbie Dingell (MI), Veronica Escobar (TX), Valerine Foushee (NC), Maxwell Frost (FL), Chuy García (IL), Sylvia Garcia (TX), Robert Garcia (CA), Al Green (TX), Jared Huffman (CA), Jonathan Jackson (IL), Sara Jacobs (CA), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Hank Johnson (GA), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA), Barbara Lee (CA), Summer Lee (PA), Jim McGovern (MA), Gwen Moore (WI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (MN), Chellie Pingree (ME), Mark Pocan (WI), Katie Porter (CA), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Delia Ramirez (IL), Jan Schakowsky (IL), Jill Tokuda (HI), Lauren Underwood (IL), Nyida Velázquez (NY), Maxine Waters (CA), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ).

In a post, D'Esposito noted that the 44 who voted against his resolution "should be ashamed for promoting hate."

It's also worth highlighting Dean's "present" vote, though. Her post, sent from her official account over X, claimed the resolution was a waste of time. She also specifically blamed Republicans.

"Since the fall, I've been firm that 'From the River to the Sea' has no place in discussing long-term peace for Israel and Palestine," she claimed, despite rejecting an opportunity that would give her the chance to prove that. "But Republicans prefer games over bills to support our allies & humanitarian aid," she went on to claim. "We must be purposeful with our words — and also with our time."

This resolution was also a bipartisan one, though, having been co-sponsored by Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer (NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (FL), as the New York Post noted. 

The statement she included, from when the resolution was introduced last November, recognizing how the phrase "evokes fear for many, especially in the Jewish community," makes her refusal to vote for it even more significant. Her phrasing was curious in other ways, though. "While the phrase dates back to the 1960s and originally described freedom for Palestine, the phrase has now been co-opted by terrorist groups like Hamas to mean complete and total destruction of the Jewish state," she mentioned, which is a funny way of acknowledging that it means to wipe Israel off of the map.

It also came just a day after Dean refused to join 22 of her fellow Democrats who voted to censure Tlaib for defending "from the river to the sea" as "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate." [source]

All those Dems that voted against the resolution are showing their true anti-Semitic feelings.