There is no excuse for rape. Your elected officials should know this.     Dear John, I watched with disgust Rep. Pramilia Jayapal’s (D-WA) appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with Dana Bash during which she downplayed Hamas’s use of rape as a weapon of war against Israeli women on October 7. Speaking as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair, which includes Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, Jayapal was at pains to avoid condemning Hamas and repeatedly tried to find a moral equivalence between the U.S.-designated terrorist group and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) during a tense exchange on the Sunday television show. Jayapal, who has been a leader on the left on the issue of sexual violence against women, including during the "Me Too" movement, seemed to find the moral equivalence, bordering on justification for rape in what she described as Israel’s “war crimes” against Palestinians: “morally, I think we cannot say that one war crime deserves another. That is not what international humanitarian law says." Leaving aside the fact that there's no evidence of Israeli war crimes, Bash pointedly noted Jayapal’s diversion. “OK, with respect, I was just asking about the women, and you turned it back to Israel. I’m asking you about Hamas,” Bash said. “I already answered your question, Dana. I said it’s horrific,” Jayapal shot back. “And I think that rape is horrific. Sexual assault is horrific. I think that it happens in war situations. Terrorist organizations like Hamas obviously are using these as tools.” “However, I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians,” she continued. Many credible accounts of widespread rape and sexual assaults by Palestinian terrorists against Israeli women on October 7 have emerged in recent weeks. These accounts are too graphic, detailed, and descriptive for me to quote here but I urge you to watch this report from three weeks ago on CNN. In fact, there are no shortages of reputable outlets where these horrific accounts are available, such as HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. State Department spokesman Mathew Miller even said it seemed that the reason Hamas refused to release all the women who it held hostage was because the terror group didn't want them to tell what they went through while in captivity in Gaza. So vile was Rep. Prayapal’s dodge on the question of rape and sexual assault in her CNN interview that several prominent Democrats even spoke out against her. “Hamas terrorists raped Israeli women and girls. The only ‘balanced’ approach is to condemn sexual violence loudly, forcefully and without exceptions. Outrageous for anyone to ‘both sides’ sexual violence," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) wrote Sunday evening on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) also weighed in, saying: "Rape and sexual violence against Israeli women calls for nothing less than unequivocal condemnation. Israel did not invade Palestinian homes and rape and sexually violate Palestinian women. Hamas did invade Israeli homes and did rape and sexually violate Israeli women," Torres said. "There is no ‘balance’ or ‘both sides’ or ‘moral equivalence’ here. Period." Even the daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) slammed Jayapal: "Do not minimize, excuse, ‘balance’ or ‘both sides’ sexual assault – that is victim blaming we have spent decades trying to undo in the laws, the courts and the hearts and minds of the people," Christine Pelosi wrote on X. There is no, “yes, but” when it comes to rape. Rape is not legitimate resistance. It is an act of barbaric savagery and in this case, a war crime. I never thought I’d have to say this, but there is no, “yes, but” when it comes to rape. Rape is not legitimate resistance. It is an act of barbaric savagery. And Hamas used rape on October 7 as a war crime. Women were raped, tortured to death and mutilated afterward. There can be no excuses for that. The Progressive Squad has been calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza without demanding the return of Israeli, let alone American hostages. Leaving Hamas in power will legitimize rape as a weapon of war. No free society should be asked to condone what the Squad proposes. The Hamas rapists should face justice and should not be free to re-offend again as Hamas promises to do. I stand with Israel in its legitimate struggle against the terrorists that perpetrated these war crimes. I also stand with women across America and the world who understand that their bodies are not a battleground for the Progressive wing of the Democrat Party to wage their antisemitic war against Israel. Ilhan Omar’s silence, like the rest of her fellow Squad, is deafening. Sincerely, Dalia al-Aqidi Republican Candidate for Congress MN-5 Donate Today www.DaliaForCongress.org Dalia for Congress | 8014 Olson Memorial Hwy 55 #255, Golden Valley, MN 55427-4712 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!