Calls Grow For Ted Lieu To Apologize After He Deletes A Tweet Targeting Ambassador To Israel

[Image Source: Fox News Video Screenshot.]

Posted By: Lindsey Michelle August 16, 2019

On Thursday, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) deleted a tweet after he accused Israel U.S. Ambassador David Friedman of dual loyalty, which is the same antisemitic theme used in the past by Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

The Israeli government denied Omar and Tlaib entry into the country, based on their support for boycotting Israel. Omar said earlier this year that Americans who support Israel owe “allegiance to a foreign country,” and Tlaib said that U.S. Senators who support Israel “forgot what country they represent.” Both statements were condemned at the time as antisemitic, as they evoke the slur of “dual loyalty” that has often been used as a pretext to persecute Jews, as reported by Breitbart.

Ted Lieu had tweeted Thursday: “Dear @USAmbIsrael: 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.”

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Lieu also made the same accusation during an interview on CNN. “[Friedman] doesn’t seem to understand that his allegiance is to America, not to a foreign power,” Lieu told Wolf Blitzer, claiming that Friedman should have been fighting for Omar and Tlaib to have the right to enter Israel, despite Israeli law.

Lieu later deleted his tweet without an apology and wrote, “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.” (Continued Below)

Further, Lieu left up several tweets making the same accusation against Republican Reps. Mo Brookes (R-AL) and House Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA).

Lieu wrote to Rep. Brooks “Hey @RepMoBrooks: A reminder that you are an American Member of Congress. 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?”

“Hey @SteveScalise: 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,” Lieu said on Twitter to Rep. Steve Scalise. (Video Below)

Former NRA spokeswoman, Dana Loesch blasted Ted Lieu and called for him to apologize after he deleted his tweet targeting the Ambassador to Israel. “Feel free to issue an apology for it, too,” she wrote.

After Lieu interviewed on CNN and accused Ambassador David Friedman of dual loyalty, Dan Loesch said, “No wonder the party couldn’t bring itself to condemn the repeated anti-Semitic remarks of one of its congressional members. The Democrat party has an ugly, massive problem here.”

Official tweets:

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Ted Lieu’s tweets:

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