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Democratic congresswoman labels AIPAC a ‘hate group’

McCollum is advancing legislation titled “Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.”

By World Israel News Staff 

Despite a statement issued by AIPAC in which it apologized for referring to “radicals in the Democratic Party [who] are pushing their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel policies down the throats of the American people,” Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Betty McCollum on Wednesday accused the pro-Israel lobby group in Washington of becoming a “hate group.”

“We offer our unequivocal apology to the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress who are rightfully offended,” said AIPAC in its follow-up message. The original statement was included in an ad posted on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. The apology was issued last weekend.

“AIPAC claims to be a bipartisan organization, but its use of hate speech actually makes it a hate group,” wrote McCollum on her website despite the lobby group’s retraction of its earlier statement.

AIPAC says it has taken down the ad from social media. However, it reportedly had issued three other ads with more offensive wording, which have also since been removed, including one that said, “It’s critical that we protect our Israeli allies especially as they face threats from Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah ISIS and — maybe more sinister — right here in the U.S. Congress.”

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“This is not a call to action, it is incitement,” McCollum charged. “Elected representatives in Congress ‘more sinister’ than ISIS? Last year, I met with AIPAC representatives from Minnesota in my office. Do forces ‘more sinister’ than ISIS sit down and meet with AIPAC’s advocates?” she wrote.

McCollum went on the defensive as she promotes her legislation, H.R. 2407, which she describes as promoting “human rights for Palestinian children by ending abusive Israeli military detention practices.”

The bill, titled the Promoting Human Rights for Palestinian Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act​, “amends a provision of the Foreign Assistance Act known as the ‘Leahy Law’ to prohibit funding for the military detention of children in any country, including Israel,” says the congresswoman.