Jewish-American comedian and actress Sarah Silverman criticized The Squad on her podcast over the female members of the US House of Representatives' decision to vote against funding Israel’s Iron Dome, as well as their lack of criticism of Hamas.
“It’s just frustrating cause my girls in The Squad really didn’t want it to be funded,” she said on Thursday. “They wanted to defund it. All the Iron Dome does is protect civilians from getting hit by missiles and bombs. What do you think might happen if you take away the one thing that protects people from missiles in a place where missiles are constantly flying at you? That’s dark.”
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The Squad, though sometimes considered four, this time was comprised of five House Democrats: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley, all of whom chose not to vote for funding the Iron Dome.
Ocasio-Cortez, who voted “present” on the bill, wrote to her House district, NY-14, on Twitter to explain that she was actually “opposed to this bill,” her beliefs that the bill was “rushed,” and that the US government “has handed unconditional aid to the Israeli government.” She was later seen crying on the House floor.
A note to our NY-14 constituents, from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pic.twitter.com/mOmJrgFa4G
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) September 24, 2021
The Iron Dome has been considered a lifesaver for Israelis, intercepting thousands of Hamas rockets in May during Operation Guardian of the Walls.
In addition to criticizing The Squad on voting against the bill, Silverman also noted how the four representatives do not discuss Hamas, and all their criticism appears to be directed only at Israel.
“It’s so bizarre,” she said. “Why do none of them even mention Hamas? A group that until just a few years ago had a mission statement that said ‘Kill all Jews.’ A group that just congratulated the Taliban for taking over Afghanistan. You are kidding yourself if you think that Hamas is good for Palestine.
“Please do not defund the Iron Dome. My family lives there. It just seems to prove the point that I didn’t think existed – people really only like Jews if they’re suffering. Dead Jews get a lot of honor. [The Squad’s] domestic policies completely align with mine, but they make it hard. Not having the Iron Dome is gonna kill people. I am for a Palestinian state, but I do also believe there should be an Israel too. There are Muslim states all over the place. We can’t have one Jewish state?”
In June, Silverman tweeted that she wishes that there were a “progressive Jewess” as a part of The Squad, to which Omar responded with a smile emoji “You could run and join us.”
Gabe Friedman/JTA contributed to this report.