Republican Congressman Ted Yoho, who represents the 3rd district of Florida, made the headlines last week because of his crude and sexist insults hurled at Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democrat who represents New York’s 14th congressional district. Ocasio-Cortez responded on the floor of the House with a passionate speech about his behavior towards her which reflects “a culture of lack of impunity, of accepting of violence and violent language against women and an entire structure of power that supports that.” Congressman Yoho traveled to Israel in 2013, where he met with many Israeli political, military and civilian leaders, but also with Saeb Erekat, the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority. Yoho found the trip to be very educational, as he noted “It’s always fascinated me how screwed up that whole region is.” After returning from his trip, Yoho told a Gainesville Sun reporter that Erekat conceded Israel’s right to exist, but rejected that it should be populated by Jewish people. Noting that such a position undermined any real chance of peace negotiations, Yoho then said what?
Ted Yoho by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
A. “To quote Abba Eban, ‘Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.’ ”
B. “Everybody needs to take a chill pill.”
C. “I feel for the Palestinian people, but it’s very clear in the Bible that God gave the land to the Israelites.”
D. “Of course, the reason that Mr. Erekat says that is because he knows that President Obama is prepared to sell out Israel.”
E. “I told Mr. Erekat that he was disgusting, and I told him directly, ‘You are out of your freaking mind.’ And as I walked away, I called him a fakakta mamzer because I cannot apologize for my passion, or for loving my God, my family, and my country. Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I’m very cognizant of my language. The offensive name-calling, words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues and if they were construed that way, I apologise for their misunderstanding. In other words, I didn’t say it and if I did it’s your fault for hearing it. And did I mention, I have two daughters?”