Thread by @IlhanMN

At this year’s AIPAC conference, the topic PM Netanyahu chose to focus on was…me.

https://twitter.com/nathanguttman/status/1110534334279270405

We are not even 6 months out from the Pittsburgh massacre.
We are not even 2 weeks out from the Christchurch massacre.

Yet the topic Netanyahu chose to focus on was…me.

White supremacist violence is on the rise globally. Right-wing extremists killed more people in the US in 2018 than any year since 1995. Anti-Semitic violence accounted for 58% of religious hate crimes.

Yet the topic Netanyahu chose to focus on was…me.

Adam Milstein, a member of AIPAC’s national council, literally called me a “terrorist” last week and suggested @RashidaTlaib and I represent the Muslim Brotherhood.

Yet Netanyahu chose to focus on…me.

Netanyahu is in an alliance with Otzma Yehudit, referred to as the “KKK of Israel.” Its leaders were members of a foreign terror organization and were involved in attempts to target Yitzhak Rabin.

Yet Netanyahu chose to focus on…me. timesofisrael.com/liberal-us-jew…

To confront hate and bigotry in all its forms, we must understand that they are all related. We cannot call out one form of hate while turning a blind eye to another.

That is why two of my first acts as a Member of Congress were to cosponsor a bill elevating the position of Special Envoy to combat anti-Semitism—and my first op-ed after my election was on the rise of hate crimes startribune.com/rep-elect-ilha…

I —like so many others—have not criticized AIPAC because of its membership or the country it advocates for. I’ve criticized it because it has repeatedly opposed efforts to guarantee peace and human rights in the region.

⁃AIPAC and Netanyahu vigorously opposed President Obama’s efforts to secure the Iran nuclear deal
⁃AIPAC and Netanyahu openly opposed the Oslo Accords— and the 1993 peace process.

⁃AIPAC and Netanyahu openly opposed President Obama’s modest proposed settlement freeze in 2009—as part of the 2010-2011 peace talks thedailybeast.com/what-role-for-…

Netanyahu and the GOP may want to make this about one Muslim-American refugee’s views, but I am not alone. From @jstreetdotorg to @ifnotnow, @PeaceNowUS @moveon and more—there are so many who have spoken out on this issue.

We cannot accept a status quo of perpetual armed conflict and occupation. We must forever strive towards peace.

Just this month, The Trump Administration barred entry for officials investigating war crimes in Afghanistan or elsewhere—and threatened to do the same for investigations against allies like the Phillipines and Israel. apnews.com/08e538e370914f…

We must stand for universal values of human rights—and the international institutions designed to uphold them—wherever they may be violated.