GOP lawmaker rejects Friedman's 'bought and paid for' assertion on Netanyahu

Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) on Thursday morning rejected an assertion from New York Times columnist Tom Friedman that Congress gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several standing ovations because it is "bought and paid for" by the Israeli lobby.

"I don't know if Mr. Friedman was in the chamber at the time, and I do not know if he interviewed members of Congress following the Prime Minister's speech," Murphy said on the House floor. "I certainly know he did not speak with me or many of my colleagues before he came to this wrong conclusion."

Murphy said there were several reasons for the standing ovations, including that Israel supports religious freedom and fights terrorism, and shares several other U.S. values.

"Mr. Friedman would do well to understand the true issues behind our support," Murphy said. "We are jointly committed to peace, to a two-state solution, to fighting terrorism, to supporting tolerance of other religions, to supporting democracy, to standing up against those who would rain thousands of rockets on an innocent people. We will not be silent, we will speak out against terrorism, and we will stand together."

He also said Israel supported the United States when the United States was attacked by terrorists, and said Israelis "take personal risks in doing so."

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