On Tuesday night, the United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution, H. Res. 888, affirming Israel’s right to exist with a majority vote of 412 to 1. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the sole dissenting vote, explaining that while he agrees with the title and much of the language, he opposed the resolution because he believes it wrongly associates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Massie stated, “Antisemitism is deplorable, but expanding it to include criticism of Israel is not helpful.”
During the vote, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), known for her anti-Israel stance, chose to vote “present,” and another member of the “Squad,” Representative Cori Bush (D-MO), did not cast a vote.
The resolution, introduced by Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY), emphasizes that “the House of Representatives—(1) reaffirms the State of Israel’s right to exist; (2) recognizes that denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of antisemitism; (3) rejects calls for Israel’s destruction and the elimination of the only Jewish State; and (4) condemns the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel.”
Representative Lawler expressed satisfaction with the bipartisan support for the resolution, stating, “My resolution H. Res 888 is simple and straightforward – Israel has a right to exist. I was pleased to see this resolution pass the House tonight with broad bipartisan support.”
Last month, the House of Representatives passed another resolution expressing support for Israel in its conflict against Hamas, with a majority vote of 412 to 10. Notably, nine of the ten dissenting votes were from Democrats, including Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Andre Carson, Al Green, Summer Lee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Delia Ramirez, and Rashida Tlaib. The lone Republican dissenting vote came from Massie. This resolution marked the first one approved by the House following the election of Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the next Speaker.
Source: {Matzav.com}