March 06, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - The first Twitter war involving sitting lawmakers in the early days of the 116th Congress wasn’t over immigration, “the Wall,” or even Russiagate. It may come as a surprise that the opening rhetorical shot was over an international protest movement targeting Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, otherwise known as BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions).

On January 3, amid the seemingly intractable government shutdown, Senator Marco Rubio made it his first order of business to sponsor a bill that supports the punishment of any U.S. company or contractor who engages in BDS by refusing to work with Israel. When Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib chided Rubio in a tweet, saying, “they forgot what country they represent,” and that “maybe a refresher on our U.S. Constitution is in order,” Rubio promptly shot back.

“This ‘dual loyalty’ canard is a typical anti-Semitic line,” the Florida senator tweeted. “#BDS isn’t about freedom & equality, it’s about destroying #Israel.”

Tlaib, newly inaugurated as the country’s first Muslim female congresswoman (along with Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar) returned fire, underscoring that “it’s clear my earlier tweet was critical of U.S. Senators like yourself, who are seeking to strip Americans of their Constitutional right to free speech.”

[Editor’s Note: Since this article went to print, Omar has been asked by Democratic leaders to apologize twice for “anti-Semitic” comments she made regarding AIPAC’s influence on Congressional legislation and members’ support for Israel]