Screengrab from https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1110244113662820354

Vice President Mike Pence spoke at AIPAC today. It was a speech that was well-received by a friendly audience. But, in the midst of platitudes about the close relationship between the US and Israel, Pence took the opportunity to take pretty open shots at one of the rabid anti-Semites that the Democrats elected to Congress last year and at the Congressional leadership that would permit a person who hold such racist beliefs to have a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Now, my friends, we’ve reached a fateful moment in our history. All over the world, anti-Semitism is on the rise – on college campuses, in the marketplace, even in the halls of Congress.

You know, there was a time when support for Israel was not a partisan issue here in Washington. I’ll never forget the day in 2007 that I, a conservative Christian Republican, was asked to co-found the congressional anti-Semitism task force by the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in Congress – the Democrat chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the late and great Tom Lantos.

Support for Israel was reflected in that moment chairman Lantos came by my office. It’s been a long and bipartisan tradition in Congress spanning generations. But how things have changed. It’s astonishing to think that the party of Harry Truman, which did so much to help create the State of Israel, has been co-opted by people who promote rank anti-Semitic rhetoric. And work to undermine the broad American consensus of support for Israel.

Recently a freshman Democrat in Congress trafficked in repeated anti-Semitic tropes, alleged congressional support for Israel reflected an allegiance to a foreign country, said that Israel had – and I quote – “hypnotized the world,” and she accused Americans who support Israel of being bought off with campaign contributions. Anti-Semitism has no place in the Congress of the United States of America.

And at a minimum, anyone who slanders those who support this historic alliance between the United States and Israel should never have a seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States House of Representatives.

🚨PENCE SAVAGES ILHAN OMAR🚨

– Calls for @IlhanMN to be stripped of Committee seats.

– Omar "repeated anti-Semitic tropes."

– Says Omar's anti-Semitic views "have no place in Congress"

– Says Dems "co-opted by people who promote rank anti-Semitic rhetoric."

*AUDIENCE ROARS* pic.twitter.com/zp87kftO3q

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 25, 2019

There are a couple of parts to this. One real and one political.

First off, there is and can be zero doubt that anti-Semitism is now entirely welcome in the Democrat part. There are at least three fairly out and proud anti-Semites in the Democrat House caucus. There are probably several more given the way that both Omar and Tlaib have been protected and coddled. This needs to be called out because it can’t survive in the bright glare of public attention. In pointing this out in a major forum, Pence has definitely upped the ante.

The second part, obviously, is political. The high profile affiliation of Omar and Tlaib with the BDS movement coupled with their anti-Semitism presents difficulties for the little terrorist-supporters who are trying to organize a boycott of the only representative democracy in the Middle East. They can either cast that pair of ranting Jew-haters out… or own them. And that will be an interesting circle to square for a lot of Democrat politicians in an election year. The difficulties caused for the Democrat leadership of either hanging tough and keeping an anti-Semite on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and I would add keeping on a member whose loyalties seem more owed to radical Islam than to the United States, or booting her and risking the fallout from people devoted to the secular religion of multi-culturalism.

Full Transcript

Well hello AIPAC! Thank you for that warm welcome, what an amazing turnout. And how about a round of applause for the great AIPAC team that put this extraordinary 2019 Policy Conference together: AIPAC President Mort Fridman and my good friend Howard Kohr,

To members of Congress, Israeli ministers, members of the Knesset, to the 18,000 friends of Israel who have come from near and far, it is great to be back at AIPAC, the largest gathering of pro-Israel Americans in the United States.

And speaking of pro-Israel Americans, allow me to bring greetings from a friend of mine, and someone history has already proven to be the greatest friend of the Jewish people and the State of Israel ever to sit in the Oval Office of the White House. I bring greetings from the 45th president of the United States of America, President Donald Trump.

We gather here today as Americans to speak about the progress that we’ve made and the strengths of our alliance with our most cherished ally.

But I just have to say, yesterday was a great day for our country, our president and every American who cherishes the truth. After two years of investigation and reckless accusations by many Democrats and members of the media, the special counsel [Robert Mueller] confirmed what President Trump said all along: There was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election and the attorney general confirmed there was no obstruction of justice.

Make no mistake about it, my fellow Americans, this was a total vindication of the president of the United States and our campaign. And it should be welcomed by every American. And even if some Democrats want to spend more time on discredited allegations, the American people can be confident. The president and I are going to continue to focus where we always have: On the issues that are most important to our country, on a stronger and more prosperous America, and on a safer world – and that’s exactly what we’ve done since the first day of this administration.

I mean, think about it, President Trump promised to rebuild our military and he signed in law the largest investment in our national defense since the days of Ronald Reagan. With that renewed American strength, he promised to take the fight to radical Islamic terrorism, on our terms, on their soil. And as the Department of Defense confirmed Friday, thanks to the courage of our armed forces and our partners in the region, the last inch of ground controlled by the Islamic State in Syria has been captured.

Five years after ISIS controlled 35,000 square miles in Syria and Iraq, and nearly 5 million people lived under their brutal regime, the ISIS caliphate is no more.

President Trump also promised to revive the American economy, to cut taxes, to roll back regulations and unleash American energy, and he did it.

Since Election Day we’ve created 5.3 million new jobs, the unemployment rate has hit a 50-year low and more Americans are working today than ever before in the history of the United States. No matter how you measure it – job growth, record investment, record employment – the American economy is once again the envy of the world. President Donald Trump is a man of his word. And with respect to our most cherished ally, he’s been more than a man of his word. Under President Donald Trump, if the world knows nothing else the world knows this: America stands with Israel.

You know, it’s the greatest honor of my life to serve as vice president alongside a president who cares so deeply about the State of Israel.

Thanks to the president’s leadership, our alliance has never been stronger; our friendship has never been deeper. We stand with Israel today for the same reasons the American people have always stood with Israel: We stand with Israel because her cause is our cause, her values are our values, and her fight is our fight. We stand with Israel because we believe in right over wrong and good over evil and liberty over tyranny. We stand with Israel today, tomorrow and we always will.

But it’s not just been talk. President Trump promised that Israel will have the resources and tools to defend itself by itself. And today, in the wake of the rocket attack in Tel Aviv, I’m proud to report that American support for the security of the State of Israel has never been stronger, and the military of the State of Israel is stronger than ever before.

President Trump also promised to shut down the PLO office in Washington if the Palestinian Authority refused to take immediate steps to stop funding terrorists who murder innocent Israeli civilians with American tax dollars. And when the PLO refused, President Trump shut their office down.

And today, thanks to so many of you the Taylor Force Act is a law. And when President Trump promised to cut off all funding to anti-Israel agencies at the United Nations, he meant it. And last year the United States ended all U.S. contributions to UNRWA. Beyond all that, the president promised to stand up to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and he withdrew the United States of America from the disastrous nuclear deal with Iran. There will be no more pallets of cash to the mullahs of Iran.

And last year President Trump did what no American president before him had the courage to do when he moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel. And as though all of this wasn’t enough, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said just last week, he did it again!

You know, for 20 years, after Israel’s rebirth, Syria held the Golan Heights, and with this massive artillery it held Israel hostage. This crucial region changed hands only after Israel won a war that was forced upon them.

Years later, when Israel’s enemies attacked her on the holiest day of the Jewish year, thousands of patriots stepped up to defend their homeland, including a young tank commander who single-handedly kept a fleet of enemy tanks at bay. The great Zvika Greengold. It’s an amazing story.

Late one night, all alone, as enemy tanks rolled into Israel, a miracle happened. Capt. Greengold moved his tank back and forth in the darkness, firing in different directions to confound and delay a far larger enemy force. His actions not only helped turn the tide of the battle in Israel’s favor, they secured the Golan Heights from enemy control — and with it saved the State of Israel from the brink of disaster.

But for generations, leaders have recognized the Golan Heights as critical to the strategic security of the State of Israel. But President Trump took action. And today, for the first time in 52 years and with Prime Minister Netanyahu at his side, the president of the United States will formally recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Now, my friends, we’ve reached a fateful moment in our history. All over the world, anti-Semitism is on the rise – on college campuses, in the marketplace, even in the halls of Congress.

You know, there was a time when support for Israel was not a partisan issue here in Washington. I’ll never forget the day in 2007 that I, a conservative Christian Republican, was asked to co-found the congressional anti-Semitism task force by the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in Congress – the Democrat chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the late and great Tom Lantos.

Support for Israel was reflected in that moment chairman Lantos came by my office. It’s been a long and bipartisan tradition in Congress spanning generations. But how things have changed. It’s astonishing to think that the party of Harry Truman, which did so much to help create the State of Israel, has been co-opted by people who promote rank anti-Semitic rhetoric. And work to undermine the broad American consensus of support for Israel.

Recently a freshman Democrat in Congress trafficked in repeated anti-Semitic tropes, alleged congressional support for Israel reflected an allegiance to a foreign country, said that Israel had – and I quote – “hypnotized the world,” and she accused Americans who support Israel of being bought off with campaign contributions. Anti-Semitism has no place in the Congress of the United States of America.

And at a minimum, anyone who slanders those who support this historic alliance between the United States and Israel should never have a seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States House of Representatives.

The party that has been the home of so many American Jews for so long today struggled to muster the votes to unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism in a resolution. You know, as governor of Indiana I was proud to sign the toughest anti-BDS legislation of any state in the union. But remarkably, today, all but one Democrat running for president voted against the combating BDS act in the United States Senate. And as I stand before you, eight Democrat candidates for president are actually boycotting this very conference. So let me be clear on this point, anyone who aspires to the highest office in the land should not be afraid to stand with the strongest supporters of Israel in America. It is wrong to boycott Israel and it is wrong to boycott AIPAC.

President Trump and I couldn’t be more proud to stand with all of you today, tomorrow and always, to strengthen the ties that bind America and Israel. We here in the United States admire Israel, and her success – in fact, we marvel at it. The Jewish people have turned the desert into a garden, scarcity into plenty, sickness into health. They’ve turned hope into a future of security and prosperity. A tiny land, a land with no natural resources, no rushing rivers or valleys, a nation that despite not knowing a single day of true peace, has in two short generations become one of the world’s most vibrant and successful nations.

Israel is an inspiration to the world!

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