Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is coming under fire for a series of tweets criticized as being anti-Semitic.
On Sunday, when commenting on the nomination of Tony Blinken as Secretary of State, Tlaib wrote, “So long as he doesn't suppress my First Amendment right to speak out against Netanyahu's racist and inhumane policies. The Palestinian people deserve equality and justice.”
Then, on Monday, she tweeted, “Sec. Pompeo has moved to suppress BDS, a peaceful protest movement protected by the 1st Amendment. I hope that Mr. Blinken and President-Elect Biden’s Administration will change course from Trump’s State Department & not target or suppress support of Palestinian human rights.”
Several Twitter users criticized Tlaib’s tweets as being anti-Semitic, including writer Hen Mazzig who wrote, “If a Jewish American politician tweeted this, they would be immediately accused of being more loyal to Israel than the people they represent…by Rashida Tlaib.”
Former New York Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind ripped Tlaib as well and wrote, “Biden names a Jew to his cabinet. What’s Rashida’s response?! ‘Welp, as long as that Judische pick doesn’t stop me from focusing my hatred on one country, Israel, then he’s a good Jew!’ It’s not your 1A right you’re trying to protect but your vile Jew-hatred! That’s ALL yours!”
The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) also condemned Tlaib and called on Congressional leaders to denounce her comments.
“As global anti-Semitism increases and hate crimes against the Jewish community are on the rise, it is disgraceful that Rep. Tlaib continues to unabashedly propagate anti-Semitic rhetoric,” said NCYI President Farley Weiss. “By making public pronouncements that denigrate the State of Israel and champion the anti-Semitic BDS movement, Rep. Tlaib is fanning the flames of bigotry and hatred towards Jews, and for her to claim that she is one ‘of the biggest fighters against antisemitism’ is laughable and ludicrous.”
“In light of her latest statements and considering her dismal track record relative to the United States’ sole democratic ally in the Middle East, we urge the House leadership to strongly condemn Rep. Tlaib’s anti-Semitic remarks,” Weiss added, noting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Tlaib’s recent reelection bid despite the Michigan lawmaker’s controversial positions and assertions concerning Israel. “Moreover, we call upon the House Democratic leaders to remove Rep. Tlaib from her assigned committees, just as the House Republicans did when they stripped Rep. Steve King of his committee assignments after he made troubling comments defending white supremacists. Bigotry of any kind cannot be tolerated in Congress, and the blatant anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiments espoused by Rep. Tlaib must be promptly denounced by Congressional leaders and her House colleagues,” added Weiss.
Tlaib is no stranger to controversy surrounding Israel, as she has several times caused uproars with anti-Israel statements.
Tlaib claimed in an interview last year that Palestinian Arabs living in the British Mandate prior to the establishment of the State of Israel “provided” a safe haven to Jews after the Holocaust.
In addition, when asked in a past television interview whether she would vote against military aid to Israel when she goes to Congress, Tlaib replied, “Absolutely.”
Last December, Tlaib appeared to blame the Jersey City shooting on “white supremacy” even though the attackers had been identified as members of an extremist “anti-white and anti-Semitic” movement.
In May, Tlaib tweeted an acknowledgement of Nakba Day, a day commemorated by Palestinian Arabs to mark what they call the “catastrophe” of the establishment of the State of Israel.
Last summer, Israel announced it would bar entry to Tlaib and fellow Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar over their support for BDS.
In a recent interview with a Jewish outlet in Detroit, Tlaib maintained that she is not anti-Semitic while adding that her position on Israel has been “misinterpreted or not fully understood” by the media.