Last Friday, President Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 individuals at a White House ceremony.

Among the recipients were Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore, Elizabeth Dole who served as the head of the American Red Cross, media personality Phil Donahue, and former Secretary of State John Kerry to name few.

The Presidential Medal of honor should be reserved for those whose risk their lives and whose work and contributions help positively impact the quality of life for others and enhance the image of their country. Giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Nancy Pelosi, the Lady who ripped up a SOTU speech in full view on national TV, is a disgrace.

Let's face it, Katie Ledecky being an Olympic swimmer with multiple golds for the U.S. was the only person I saw deserving of the honor. But Nancy Pelosi, give me a freaking break! I haven't the foggiest clue what Miss Pelosi has done to help America other than being a faithful Democrat and getting rich from insider trading. Something Martha Stewart went to prison for. I guess Stewart didn’t “know” the right people!

Pelosi stated at a pro-Israeli conference that the real issue surrounding the Palestinian/Israeli problem is not the occupation, but Israel's right to exist. She added that the occupation argument is “nonsense”.

The sad part, on the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion and occupation of Ukraine, Pelosi issued in part the following statement, "Today marks two years since Russia's brutal illegal new phase of aggression against Ukraine. That means two years of blood spilled off communities decimated, of children kidnapped, of women raped, all at the hands of Vladimir Putin." Pelosi is not only hypocritical, but she is also racist and Islamophobic.

When both Prime Ministers of Israel and Iraq addressed a joint session of Congress in May and July of 2006 respectively, Mrs. Pelosi rounded up her troops to welcome the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu who came to thank the lawmakers for passing legislation against Iran and the Palestinians.

By contrast, Mrs. Pelosi threatened to boycott the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speech unless he retracted his remarks on Israel over its inhumane bombardment of Lebanon earlier that year. Pelosi has always acted as Israel's lapdog in the US Congress.

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve agreed with Nancy Pelosi on any issue, but what I despise the most about her was her criticism of former Jimmy Carter. After the release of his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Mrs. Pelosi stated, “Carter does not speak for the Democratic party on Israel."

Maybe he should because it was him and not her who negotiated a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt at Camp David in 1979. Pelosi does not deserve the Presidential Medal of Honor and her attack on the former President was beyond distasteful.

I'll never forget when Mrs. Pelosi repeatedly said during the 2012 mid-term election that the single most important accomplishment of the 20th Century is the formation of the state of Israel.
Apparently, the moon landing, the invention of the internet, nuclear energy, the Civil Rights Act, or the fall of communism was less important. Like many other politicians in America, Pelosi always put Israeli interests ahead of those of the United States of America.

Jerry Lewis raised 2.8 billion dollars for MDA. He was never honored! Part of MD research was to detect MD in a fetus so the parents could be informed if they may want to abort it?

Awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to politicians cheapens the award, is an insult previous recipients, and is nothing more than a public relation gimmick for genocide Joe during an election year.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired USAF veteran who lives in Westerville, Ohio. He could be reached at: [email protected]