NOVANEWS
Controversial ex-sitcom star Roseanne Barr says ‘it’s scary to have Hamas in US Congress’
L’actrice américaine Roseanne Barr, vedette de la série TV “Roseanne” dans les années 1990, pose devant les photographes à Pasadena, en Californie, le 8 janvier 2018
VALERIE MACON (AFP/Archives).
“It’s scary that we have Hamas in our congress,” Barr said during a guest appearance on a podcast produced by right-wing commentator and political activist Candace Owens.
She and Owens were discussing what they claimed to be a new wave of anti-Semitism and hostility towards Israel among progressive young Democrats, specifically, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.
“These people are openly saying they support Hamas,” Owens chimed in, without offering any proof or explanation to support the claim.
The growing divide in partisan support for Israel has been a subject of debate in recent months, with the current Congress younger, more diverse, and more progressive than ever before.
Some have said that concerns of a deteriorating relationship between the US and Israel are exaggerated. Others have argued that the media frenzy covering the subject has unfairly centered on Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who together became the first two Muslim women to serve in US Congress.
Tlaib, a first generation Palestinian-American with family members in the West Bank, has publicly come out in support of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.
Left: Rashida Tlaib Right: Ilhan Omar
Left: AP Images Right: AFP/file
Omar has faced criticism since her election over her positions on Israel, but controversy climaxed last month after she insinuated in a tweet that money is the reason US lawmakers support the Jewish State.
Omar was roundly condemned for the remarks, which were deemed by many to be anti-Semitic, and she apologized. The Minnesota congresswoman on Sunday took to twitter to once again defend her positions in a series of tweets differentiating between anti-Semitism and her opposition to the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I have not mischaracterized our relationship with Israel, I have questioned it and that has been clear from my end,” Omar wrote. “I am told everyday that I am anti-American if I am not pro-Israel. I find that to be problematic and I am not alone. I just happen to be willing to speak up on it and open myself to attacks.”
Ilhan Omar✔@IlhanMN
I have not mischaracterized our relationship with Israel, I have questioned it and that has been clear from my end.
Ilhan Omar✔@IlhanMN
Being opposed to Netanyahu and the occupation is not the same as being anti-Semitic. I am grateful to the many Jewish allies who have spoken out and said the same.
Ilhan Omar✔@IlhanMN
We must be willing to combat hate of all kinds while also calling out oppression of all kinds. I will do my best to live up to that. I hope my colleagues will join me in doing the same.
Barr, who is Jewish, has emerged as a staunch supporter of Israel and Zionism and recently spoke out against the anti-Israel boycott movement during a recent visit to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
During the visit, Barr addressed the controversial Tweet which led to her axing from her sitcom ‘Roseanne’ saying that it had come on a day she mixed ambien with a beer and was meant to convey her views on the Obama-orchestrated Iran deal but was taken out of context.
Barr had tweeted that African-American former Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett looked as though “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.”
Barr’s 1988-97 hit show ‘Roseanne’ returned to the air last year with her as a Trump-supporting character.
The show had been lauded as a rare depiction of working-class life on US television and also of Trump supporters, who have been largely ignored by Hollywood.
