Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema Defies Colleagues by Posting Pro-Israeli Tweet
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema broke ranks with her fellow congressional Democrats this weekend, directly condemning Hamas’ weekend attacks on Israel.
“I condemn the rocket attacks on innocent civilians and stand in support of Israel and peace,” Sinema wrote in a tweet late Sunday evening.
I condemn the rocket attacks on innocent civilians and stand in support of Israel and peace.
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) May 6, 2019
The freshman senator’s statement came after an estimated 600 rockets were fired on Israel from Gaza over the past weekend, killing four civilians — including one American citizen, The Associated Press reported.
Israel responded in force with airstrikes carried out on 350 military targets.
The retaliatory measure is reported to have killed 25, prompting a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas early Monday morning.
Largely unsupportive of Israel, prominent congressional Democrats were quick to place blame on the nation for the violent weekend.
Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, freshman Democrats from Minnesota and Michigan respectively, both issued tweets Sunday condemning Israel for its response.
How many more protesters must be shot, rockets must be fired, and little kids must be killed until the endless cycle of violence ends?
The status quo of occupation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unsustainable. Only real justice can bring about security and lasting peace.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 5, 2019
“How many more protesters must be shot, rockets must be fired, and little kids must be killed until the endless cycle of violence ends?” Omar wrote. “The status quo of occupation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unsustainable.”
“Only real justice can bring about security and lasting peace,” she wrote, prompting an increasingly negative response — with a great many arguing that Omar was suggesting the only way to stop violence against Israel was for Israel to give Gaza over to the Palestinians.
Tlaib’s response took issue with media coverage of the weekend’s events, suggesting that a headline from the New York Times laid too much blame on Palestine by stating that Hamas had fired first.
When will the world stop dehumanizing our Palestinian people who just want to be free? Headlines like this & framing it in this way just feeds into the continued lack of responsibility on Israel who unjustly oppress & target Palestinian children and families. #FreePalestine https://t.co/p3X3j8WtwM
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 5, 2019
“When will the world stop dehumanizing our Palestinian people who just want to be free? Headlines like this & framing it in this way just feeds into the continued lack of responsibility on Israel who unjustly oppress & target Palestinian children and families. #FreePalestine,” Tlaib wrote.
Sinema, who won her Senate race in the 2018 midterm elections by a slim margin, has received a lot of attention since taking office — particularly for her unwillingness to consistently toe the party line.
When 19 Senate Democrats sent a letter demanding reduced funding for the Department of Homeland Security in April, Sinema tweeted in opposition, “We must secure the border with a comprehensive, smart, bipartisan approach — we’re calling on [the Department of Homeland Security] to send additional resources and staff to AZ posts.”
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