House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday called on President Donald Trump and the Republicans to apologize to congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for “misrepresenting” her comments on Israel and the Holocaust.
“Republicans’ desperate attempts to smear @RepRashida & misrepresent her comments are outrageous. President @realDonaldTrump & House GOP should apologize to Rep. Tlaib & the American people for their gross misrepresentations,” tweeted Pelosi.
Tlaib, one of two Muslim women who were recently elected to Congress, came under fire after she claimed 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.
Tlaib said in an interview with Yahoo!’s Skullduggery podcast program that she felt pride in the fact that her “ancestors, Palestinians” provided Jews with a haven after the Holocaust.
“Let me tell you, I mean, for me, just two weeks ago or so, we celebrated, but just took a moment I think in our country to remember the Holocaust,” she added.
Pelosi’s comments came after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) came to Tlaib’s defense and asserted that the Republicans were twisting her words in criticizing them as anti-Semitic.
"If you read Rep. Tlaib’s comments, it is clear that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are taking them out of context," Hoyer said in a brief email. "They must stop, and they owe her an apology."
On Monday, Trump accused Tlaib of anti-Semitism in the wake of her comments.
"Democrat Rep. Tlaib is being slammed for her horrible and highly insensitive statement on the Holocaust. She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?" he tweeted.
MK Michal Shir (Likud) responded on Sunday to Tlaib’s claim that Palestinian Arabs had “provided” a “safe haven” for Jews after the Holocaust, saying the congresswoman should “open up a” book and study the history of the Middle East.