This bill is called the Hate Crimes bill. The first major reason to vote no is because this bill increases hatred in America. I will say it again. This bill increases hatred in America. [...] It creates animosity by elevating one group over another group, and thus creates hatred. This is counter to everything American law has ever stood for, and it will increase hatred in America, and for that reason alone, it should be voted no.

What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate. That’s wrong
Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world
We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel.

Ilhan Omar has certainly been forced to apologize and explain her position as she is under sustained attack from the left, right and center as well as from the White House. One congressman told her that “Questioning support for the US-Israel relationship is unacceptable.” Another said “there are many reasons to support Israel, but there is no reason to oppose Israel” while yet another one declared that all in Congress are committed to insuring that the “United States and Israel stand as one.”

If House Democrats are serious about reaffirming their support for Israel, they should pass the bipartisan Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act

A freshman congresswoman Ilhan Omar has let the proverbial cat out of the bag by alluding to American-Jewish money buying uncritical support for a foreign country which is Israel without any regard to broader U.S. interests, something that everyone in Washington knows is true and has been the case for decades but is afraid to discuss due to inevitable punishment by the Israel Lobby...

If one of the main reasons for passing the Gang of Eight immigration bill is so Republicans can prove that they don't hate Hispanics, then what's next? Are the Republicans going to have to support gay marriage to prove that they don't hate gays? Are the Republicans then going to have to support affirmative action to prove they don't hate blacks?

It would be a mistake to think...that by what we are doing tonight we are giving a vote of confidence or congratulation to homosexuality. Those who suffer from this disability carry a great weight of loneliness, guilt and shame. The crucial question, which we are nearly at the end of answering decisively, is, should we add to those disadvantages the full rigour of the criminal law? By its overwhelming decisions, the House has given a fairly clear answer, and I hope that the Bill will now make rapid progress towards the Statute Book. It will be an important and civilising Measure.

Is this the anti-gay state? Aren't you the people that voted on the anti-gay thing?

Resolutions expressing Parliamentary approval of every Treaty before ratification would be a very cumbersome form of procedure and would burden the House with a lot of unnecessary business. The absence of disapproval may be accepted as sanction, and publicity and opportunity for discussion and criticism are the really material and valuable elements which henceforth will be introduced.

A bipartisan supermajority in the Senate is poised to pass the Combating BDS. Act today. Yet a few of my colleagues — some on the Senate floor and one in an Iowa airport — recently echoed false claims made by anti-Israel activists and others that the bill violates Americans’ First Amendment rights

The naive politicians in Washington are gullible. Most of them are not too bright so the powerful Jewish lobbyists influenced this practice years ago and there is no one strong enough to stop it. Some of that money is even returned to the United States and spent on Zionist propaganda efforts, much of it through the B'nai B'rith and the Conference of Jewish Organisations and the World Jewish Congress. The Jewish Agency is a funding arm—a sort of body of B'nai B'rith officials. There is nothing wrong with sending American dollars to Israel tax-free so long as we are smart enough to get away with it. Let's reverse this conversation for a minute. You made it clear and quite vociferously, that you don't like Jews. Why do you hate us?
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Anti-Semitism does not signify opposition to Semitism. There is no such thing. It is an expression we Jews use effectively as a smear word—used to brand as a bigot like you guys—anyone who brings criticism against Jews. We use it against hate-mongers. Thats exactly why we lied about the holocaust"

Fine, we’re all against anti-Semitism... We fought against anti-Semitism for years in that context of fighting against white supremacy and racism. But this isn’t about what she (Ilhan Omar) said... It’s about the fact that she is a Muslim African immigrant, a Somali refugee, who is talking about Palestinian rights, who is talking about the power of the Israel lobby, and the big pharma lobby, and the lobby for fossil fuels. And that’s not OK... And that’s why she’s facing death threats.

We are going to stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters and we are absolutely going to stand strong in support of the Florida-Israel relationship. The Legislature and I have worked really hard on a lot of great legislation over the past few years on issues including Holocaust education, anti-BDS legislation, security for synagogues and Jewish day schools, and so much more.

But we’re at a place in our political history when passing legislation through the House with bipartisan support is considered by some folks a greater evil than the problem it’s intended to solve.