by WASHINGTON In a sign of growing skepticism on the right regarding Israel’s handling of the war, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a representative of MAGA politics on Capitol Hill, became the first Republican in Congress this week to call the situation in the Gaza Strip a genocide, in stark contrast to her party.
In a social media post on Monday night, Greene stated that while the genocide, humanitarian disaster, and starvation occurring in Gaza are equally important, it is the most straightforward and accurate thing to state that October 7 in Israel was terrible and that all hostages must be restored.
The vast majority of Republicans in Congress have made unqualified support for Israel a defining feature of their foreign policy stance, and her remarks stood in stark contrast to their views. Several of them, including Greene in the past, have accused Democrats of being antisemitic and terrorist sympathizers for criticizing Israel. The great majority of Republicans have remained steadfast in their position.
However, Greene’s blunt words addressed a long-simmering divide on the right at the same time as President Donald Trump finally highlighted the famine in Gaza on Monday after months of mostly avoiding the topic. Benjamin Netanyahu, the president of Israel, has stated that there is no famine in the war-torn enclave, but Trump split with him.
Since Trump hit Iran, which infuriated some in his American first base, Greene and a few other right-wing Republicans have become more vocal in their opposition to events in the Middle East. The cynicism is not unique to Greene or Capitol Hill, and it seems to be spreading, especially among younger people who are not automatically pro-Israel.
During a debate led by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at a recent conservative student conference, libertarian pundit Dave Smith received a standing ovation for his direct rejection of the notion that the US should follow Israel’s lead.
He stated onstage that although Christians, Jews, and Muslims all have ties to that region, this does not mean that Israel must bomb Iran. Additionally, he said, it does not imply that we must condone Israel’s massacre of Gazans.
Trump, who is unmistakably standing with Israel, epitomizes the MAGA point of view, according to Matthew Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, who criticized Greene’s comments as part of a pattern of her saying absurd and outlandish ridiculous things.
He stated that this is not about the dam breaking in MAGA world.
However, he also admitted that younger conservatives were becoming more skeptical about Israel, which he attributed to their lack of awareness about the country’s problems.
“We’re seeing an ill-informed view of things among young MAGA people,” Brooks said, adding that it was difficult to educate this generation while collaborating with other organizations.
He stated, “I don’t think they are anti-Israel; I think they are being influenced by social media and receiving false information.”
“Greene was in the clear minority among congressional Republicans, but her views reflected her political base,” said Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who now produces a prominent right-wing podcast.
In an interview on Tuesday, Bannon stated that Marjorie Taylor Greene is channeling devout evangelical Christians and that she simply represents her community. “I don’t think she’s an outlier at all,” Bannon added.
It would be a dramatic departure from the conventional Republican foreign policy perspective on Israel, which is largely influenced by Christian convictions about the biblical significance of Jerusalem, should that viewpoint become more widespread within the GOP.
Greene has long been one of the few Republicans in Congress to openly criticize U.S. support for Israel, and it is unclear how many other Republicans will do the same. The first QAnon supporter elected to Congress, the Georgia Republican, has also engaged in antisemitic conspiracy theories. In 2018, she claimed that a destructive wildfire that ravaged California was caused by a laser beam from space that was controlled by a prominent Jewish banking family with ties to influential Democrats.
However, Greene is not the only Republican colleague who has expressed disapproval of the situation in Gaza.
Greene shared a comment from Texas Representative Lance Gooden on social media: “Standing with Israel means eliminating every barbaric Hamas terrorist.” It also entails opposing the malnutrition and murder of Gaza’s children.
There were little indications of a change among Republicans in the Senate on Tuesday.
There is no genocide taking place, according to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. The designation, according to Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, is an offensive diversion. And Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno just reiterated Hamas when asked what he thought! Hamas! Hamas! “We’re good to go once the group puts down its weapons,” he added.
But Greene has been criticizing Israel more and more in recent years.
She declared in a statement earlier this month that Israel’s aggressive war in Gaza is destroying the entire population and that they destroyed the Catholic Church in Gaza. The comments followed Greene’s unsuccessful attempt to cut off $500 million in U.S. military financing that Congress had authorized as part of its yearly defense assistance for Israel.
With only six members—two Republicans and four Democrats—voting in support, the attempt was unsuccessful. The sole Palestinian American in Congress, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was a member of that group.
It was an odd combination of Greene and Tlaib. After the Democrat spoke at a pro-Palestinian demonstration about the horrible conditions in Gaza and demanded that the blockade on humanitarian aid be lifted, Greene spearheaded an unsuccessful attempt two years ago to reprimand Tlaib, accusing her of antisemitic conduct and sympathizing with terrorists.
Greene said on social media on Sunday that she could categorically state that the events that transpired in Israel on October 7th against innocent people were horrifying. I can categorically state that the atrocities committed against children and innocent people in Gaza are appalling.
The New York Times was the first publication of this article.
