Maher's tweet appeared to refer to a July vote in which the House overwhelmingly approved a measure opposing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, asking Tlaib if she wanted to “boycott 93% of her own party?”
Among the 17 who opposed the resolution were Reps. Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, both of whom Israel blocked from entering the country due to their positions on BDS. Omar specifically pushed a resolution affirming the right to boycott Israel. After Tlaib received permission to visit her grandmother in the region, she balked at the condition that she wouldn't promote boycotts against Israel — something she previously agreed to in a letter to the Israeli government.
Maher fiercely criticized the BDS movement on Friday, calling it “a bull**** purity test by people who want to appear woke but actually slept through history class.”
"It's predicated on this notion ... I think it's very shallow thinking that the Jews in Israel are mostly white and Palestinians are mostly brown, so they must be innocent and correct and the Jews must be wrong. As if the occupation came right out of the blue, that this 'completely peaceful people' found themselves occupied. Forget about the intifadas and the suicide bombings and the rockets and how many wars.”
Tlaib responded on Saturday by comparing Maher's commentary to tactics used to block protests against apartheid in South Africa.