A pro-BDS demonstration. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

I was gratified by the House’s recent approval of an anti-BDS resolution, because it shows broad political support for Israel.

The resolution was obviously intended to denounce the hypocrisy of US Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MN), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for the scurrilous claim that Israel has enacted “racist policies.”

The congresswomen’s stated justification for proposing and supporting BDS was to punish Israel for what they claim to be “racist policies.” That false premise should have been dismissed out-of-hand. Unfortunately, it was not.

The failure to reject this deceitful premise outright is extremely troubling, because it allows those who are biased against Israel to make the false claim that Israel is a racist and “apartheid” state, when it grants full and complete rights to its Arab citizens.

The fact that Israeli Arabs, Christians, and Muslims are members of the Knesset, the Supreme Court, professors at universities, physicians in hospitals, and participants in virtually every aspect of public and private life, does not register with the “Squad” or those spreading lies about Israel.

Neither does the fact that in most, if not all, Middle East and Muslim-majority countries, Jews are forbidden to hold office, participate in government, teach at universities, or practice their chosen professions. Unfortunately, when people fail to condemn the false premise of “racist policies” in Israel outright, it puts the Squad’s salient slur against Israel up for debate — which it should not be.

Steve Wenick is a freelance writer focusing on topics relating to Israel and Judaism.