Members of progressive ‘Squad’ accuse conservative magazine of ‘racism’ after it publishes cartoon portraying anti-Israel congresswoman with exploding Hezbollah pager.
By World Israel News Staff
Far-left Democratic lawmakers, collectively dubbed the “Squad,” castigated a cartoon published by a conservative magazine and a right-leaning newspaper last week, accusing the outlets of promoting “racism” and “Islamophobia.”
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, in a series of bombings attributed to Israel, thousands of pagers and hand-held radios exploded simultaneously in three separate attacks across Syria and Lebanon.
The devices had been issued by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group to its operatives, and were apparently triggered after being packed with miniature bombs. Dozens were killed and thousands injured in the attacks.
On Thursday, The National Review, a center-right magazine published a cartoon by Henry Payne, featuring Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American and member of the far-left “Squad,” with the remains of a detonated pager on her desk, saying “Odd. My pager just exploded,” implicitly linking the Israel-critic to Hezbollah.
The cartoon was also picked up by The Detroit News, a paper with a right-leaning editorial board.
New York Congresswoman and fellow Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned the cartoon, calling it an expression of “anti-Arab hatred” and “Islamophobia.”
“The way Islamophobia and anti-Arab hatred is so deeply normalized and accepted in our politics is horrifying,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez.
“It rarely receives the equal condemnation it deserves. It is inexcusable and a massive double standard. This is disgusting. And so is the silence around it. We see it.”
Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush took aim at both The National Review and the Detroit News for publishing what she called “Islamophobic trash.”
“NRO, DetroitNews, you should be ashamed for spewing this filth, betraying any shred of journalistic integrity, and putting communities in danger. You chose hate over truth. You’ve failed your readers and your community.”
Tlaib herself weighed in on the cartoon, calling it “disgraceful.”
“Our community is already in so much pain right now,” Tlaib tweeted. “This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe. It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism.”