Thread by @jedshug

I agree with @joshtpm on the dishonest attacks on @RashidaTlaib. He writes that @aarondmiller2's "comments weren’t malicious like the Republican agitprop. But they were equally wrongheaded."
Miller's mischaracterization of her remarks stunned me. 1/ talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-att…

2/ The key portion of the interview is less than 2 minutes, and the relevant part is :30 to 1:30. Just watch it once. She might have chosen a different word or two, but her sentiment is clear. She validates the historical case for a state of Israel.

https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1128007781620043778

3/ It's not surprising the GOP attacked her in bad faith.
I am shocked that @aarondmiller2, who spent a diplomatic career pursuing Middle East peace, then served as head of Seeds of Peace, unfairly criticized her comments (@JohnKingCNN also was unfair): cnn.com/videos/tv/2019…

4/ @RepRashida had just embraced the historical origins of the state of Israel. Yet @JohnKingCNN applies a troubling double-standard for Palestinians:
"Tlaib called the Holocast horific...but she also fails a critical fact and context test..." OK, what test? Jump higher, Rashida.

5/ @JohnKingCNN: "She ignored the fact that Palestinian leaders at the time allied themselves with Hitler, and total war was how they reacted...She can't re-write history."
Tlaib said nothing inconsistent with King's account (which also could have been more historically precise!)

6/ Then @aarondmiller2 makes 3 points:
A. "There ought to be a ban on Holocaust metaphor in Washington politic... It's a unique event."
I thought "Never Again" meant "Never Again" for anyone, not just us. How is that the lesson if we're "banned" from making that point?

7/ @aarondmiller2's 2d point:
"She has her history wrong... I suspect, with or without the Holocaust, the state of Israel would have come to be."
Maybe. But the Holocast was the triggering event that tipped the balance in 1947-48. This is ridiculously petty criticism.

8/ @aarondmiller2's 3d point: @RashidaTlaib didn't mention Mohammed Amin al-Husseini and his support for Hitler.
She spent 60 seconds explaining her emotional support for a state of Israel.
In what universe is she also obligated to recite Palestinian wrongs?
DOUBLE STANDARD.

9/ When anyone speaks about the Palestinians, I look forward to @JohnKingCNN and @aarondmiller2 demanding they recite a list of Israeli wrongs like the Der Yassin and Lydda massacres.
Or maybe we should just embrace messages of peace like @RashidaTlaib's as "seeds of peace." OK?

10/ @SunlenSerfaty, also deserves criticism. She echoes the criticisms of King and Miller: "It certainly is trouble" for Democrats, says Tlaib was "taken out of context a bit." A bit?? Then she repeats the GOP attacks without noting that they are lies.
Nice balance, @cnn.

11/ @JohnKingCNN concludes, "Israelis see these provocative and in many cases anti-Semitic statements and it gets coverage... Is that right, is that fair?"
@aarondmiller2: "Yeah..."
@RepRashida's were NOT ANTI-SEMITIC.
And they're criticizing her for lack of precision?