
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib Censured Over Israel Comments
Do you agree with the censure of Rep. Tlaib? Tell your reps.
What's the story?
- On Tuesday, 22 House Democrats sided with nearly every Republican lawmaker in censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian-American in Congress, for comments they argue are anti-Israel.
- The resolution to formally censure Rep. Tlaib passed 235-188 and said her comments "call for the destruction of Israel" and promote "false narratives."
- The resolution also condemned Rep. Tlaib's use of the phrase "from the river to the sea," which the Anti-Defamation League has called an antisemitic call for the destruction of Israel. Rep. Tlaib said the slogan was not antisemitic, but rather "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hate."
What lawmakers are saying
- After the resolution was passed, a group of progressive female Democratic lawmakers known as "the Squad" embraced Rep. Tlaib and offered their support.
- Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) pushed the measure, saying that Rep. Tlaib's earlier comments calling for an end to "the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance" was a defense of terrorism.
- Rep. Ayanna S. Pressley (D-Mass.) called the resolution "blatantly Islamophobic, anti-democratic and an utter waste of time."
- Minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized Rep. Tlaib, saying:
"Slogans that are widely understood as calling for the complete destruction of Israel — such as 'from the river to the sea' — does not advance progress toward a two-state solution. Instead, it unacceptably risks further polarization, division and incitement to violence."
Rep. Tlaib's response
"I will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words. No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it's been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation."
- She continued:
"I can't believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. What I don't understand is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you all."
- She argued that her criticism has always been of the Israeli government, and not the Israeli people.
Do you agree with the censure of Rep. Tlaib? Tell your reps
-Emma Kansiz
(Photo Credit: House of Representatives TV)
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She should be expelled not censured.
I am glad my Representative Did Not Vote to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib.
Seems that not enough listening, talking, and thinking was done, much less even a bit of research.
The Censure Vote Was Shameful.
See Leslie’s link to the Guardian article. In addition I am gifting a similar New York Times article:
NYTimes: In Congress and on Campuses, ‘From the River to the Sea’ Inflames Debate
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/us/politics/river-to-the-sea-israel-gaza-palestinians.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9Uw.PZ_A.mT6ixMsv0eFP&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
1) Why are we protecting Israel from being critisized? They are engaging in a genocide! 2) Marjorite Taylor Greene spoke at Nick Fuentes' group-a known Nazi; She said Jewish space lazers caused the California wildfires, etc. If your going to censure Talib, then you must also censure Marjorie Taylor Greene who has been far more anti-Semitic. For that matter, everyone in The House and Senate that were supporting the Nazis in Charlottesville should also be censured!
Bloody Hypocrites!
Republicans say any and all kinds of horrible things and nothing happens but one woman stands up for her people and she gets censured? Sounds about right with the Right. It's all "Freedom of Speech!" until they don't like what's being said. They want to drown out opposition so that their overly loud and obnoxious voices and policies are all that is heard.
Just like this war, the phrase "from the river to the Sea" is more complex than most people know. To pro-Palestinian crowds, the chant reverberating across the globe expresses the desire for freedom from oppression across the historical land of Palestine. But for Israel and this who support Israel, the phrase represents a veiled call to violence that bears an anti-Semitic charge. They believe it is a dog whistle that calls for the destruction of all Jews in the region.
When words/phrases are offensive to a group of people and you represent those very people, you should not be using such language. Talib knows better and I agree with censure. Now if only Republicans held their own to the same standard!!!
Can we all just get along!?
I agree with Rep. Tlaib and do not support the censure placed upon her. She was clear that she was critical of the Israeli government for not having any compassion for years for the Palestinean people. She is Not against the Israeli people or the Jewish people. She is against governments that have oppressed people, especially women and children! Over 4000 children have been killed in Gaza during the revenge that the Israeli government is taking without any consideration of who they are killing. And the oppression has been going on for years. When the oppression creates such intense harm to a people, unfortunately some extremists cannot control their anger and take to violence. It was certainly wrong for Hamas terrorists to kill so many people in Israel and take innocent hostages, but very few governments have condemned the many Palestinean people who have been killed every day by attacks at the borders or the hardship that the Israeli settlements have caused for the people in Gaza. War will NEVER solve any problems and killing more people will just create more violence. Enough is enough! The bombing needs to STOP NOW! The only way to resolve the situation is through diplomacy and a two-state solution.
Why the hell are we protecting Israel from criticism? Yes, they have a right to protect themselves and the attack on Oct. 7th was uncalled for to some extent. But let's face it when you restrict a group of peopel, any people to a specific area and you virtually plunge them into poverty, and then you allow Israel settlers to settle in a portion of that area by taking away people's land/homes, what the hell do you expect? The oppressed people are not going to want to have a love fest with their oppressors. The wanton destruction that Israel is carrying out is wrong and has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths that should have been prevented if Israel had carried out targeted strikes instead of what appears to be a scorch earth approach. From my poiint of view both Israel and Hamas are wrong and are committing war crimes and should be held accountable.
I am so sick and tired of people in Congress thinking they are holier-than-thou and trying to get their foot in the door of "Heaven" by overprotecting Israel. Where is the UK since it was them that created this area and practically gave a religion some land based on a 2,000 year old book. Now, the US sends way too much money to them each year instead of taking care of the people here who need help. Are we trying to get in the good graces of God? Then, answer this question....who's God? The God of capitalism that the US seems to worship or the God of homeless and defensless people?
Rep. Rashida Tlaib repeated what the Palestinians have said since Israel was formed, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." For this to happen, Israel has to be destroyed. She never takes into account that the Palestinians have been attacking Israel for 75 years, and even blew up an Israeli school bus filled with children. Besides missile attacks, there were bombs left in a congested market area, that killed many!! Also, there have been those who wore a bomb, and set it off where there were a lot of people gathered, killing many. The Palestinians say they want Israel gone! Rashida Tlaib is totally antisemetic, and doesn't have her facts straight. All the people of Israel have ever wanted is to live in peace! They even showed some of the Palestinians how they were changing arid land to fertile land. This is not an act of the Israelis forcing Palestinians out! After 75 years of being attacked by Palestinian people, they no longer have any trust for the Palestinians. They do however allow the Palestinians to look for jobs in Israel, since there aren't many opportunities for work where they live. It's sad that the Palestinians are dependent on Israel for so much, since they haven't developed these things in their territory, and then turn around and attack the hands that give them all these things. They claim that Israel treats them like 2nd class citizens, but then the ultra orthodox who lead Israel, also treat Reform Jews as 2nd class citizens.
I don't think censure means that much in this age of regular TV appearances on partisan media, but I'm not against censure when it's warranted.
Rep. Tlaib does not represent me, but I sympathize with her as the only Palestinian-American member of Congress who represents a heavily Middle Eastern/North African American district. None of us who don't share her background can truly understand how she feels about the war in Israel and Gaza.
That said, there are members of both parties in the House who have said and done questionable things, some of which were anti-Semitic or Islamophobic, and they have not been sanctioned.
If the House is going to start censuring people, then it should be equal opportunity and not give the appearance of anti-Palestinian or cruel to someone who's genuinely afraid for her family in another country. That just seems very biased and cruel.
In 1920 Britain assumed responsibility fo the Palestine under a League of Nations Mandate. In 20 years 100,000 Jews entered the country and eventually became Israel in 1948. Really not that long ago.
This is why learning history is important.
This is why we need to learn our history and the world.
Also, Rep. Tlaib is from Michigan. The area she is from is mainly Arab or Arab American. This area is constantly on the FBI watchlist.