The education of Rep. Ted Lieu continues apace.
The 50-year-old California congressman learned this week that it is considered anti-Semitic to accuse Jewish Americans of having dual loyalties to Israel. Go figure!
“It has been brought to my attention that my prior tweet to [U.S. ambassador to Israel, David M. Friedman] raises dual loyalty allegations that have historically caused harm to the Jewish community,” Lieu tweeted Thursday evening.
He added, “That is a legitimate concern. I am therefore deleting the tweet.”
It has been brought to my attention that my prior tweet to @USAmbIsrael raises dual loyalty allegations that have historically caused harm to the Jewish community. That is a legitimate concern. I am therefore deleting the tweet.
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 16, 2019
Lieu had lashed out earlier that day after Friedman, an Orthodox Jew, expressed support for the Israeli government’s decision to bar Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan from visiting as part of a junket sponsored by Miftah, a feverishly anti-Semitic group.
“Like the United States, Israel is a nation of laws,” the U.S. ambassador said in a statement. “We support Israel’s application of its laws in this case.”
This did not sit well with Lieu, who appeared shortly thereafter on CNN to accuse Friedman of having dual loyalties.
“His allegiance, again, is to America, not to a foreign power,” the California lawmaker told Wolf Blitzer.
“It is outrageous that the U.S. government is working against having an American go visit a relative in Israel,” Lieu added. “I think he should resign.”
Lieu said later in a since deleted tweet directed at Friedman, “You are an American. Your allegiance should be to America, not to a foreign power. You should be defending the right of Americans to travel to other countries. If you don’t understand that, then you need to resign.”
A two-fer! A tweet that is both possibly anti-Semitic and definitely defamatory. At the time of Lieu’s tweet, the Israeli government had already said it would allow Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, to visit her grandmother, citing humanitarian reasons.
The California congressman eventually deleted the tweet and apologized, explaining that someone had to explain to him that accusing a Jewish American of dual loyalties is considered an anti-Semitic trope. Lieu has not yet re-appeared on cable news to correct the record.
Now for a word in the congressman’s defense: He is almost certainly not anti-Semitic. He is just an idiot.
As it turns out, Lieu tends to accuse a lot of people, not just Jewish Americans, of having dual loyalty to Israel.
“A reminder that you are an American Member of Congress,” Lieu tweeted at Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, on Thursday. “Your allegiance should be to America. We are Americans first. You should be defending the right of Americans to travel to other countries. Get it?”
Lieu, who really should spend less time mucking around on Twitter, also tweeted at House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, “You are an American Member of Congress. Your allegiance should be to America, not to a foreign government. You should be defending the right of Americans to travel to other countries. If you don’t understand that, you should find another line of work.”
So don’t blame anti-Semitism. Lieu’s stumbling headfirst into a classic anti-Semitic trope Thursday is simply the product of his seemingly bottomless capacity for stupidity.
