Though the House of Representatives is, as of the time this article was written, still without a permanent Speaker of the House following Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, a GOP duo is taking action to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a member of the hyper-progressive “Squad” who has recently been in the news for her rhetoric on Palestine and Israel.
Particularly, Rep. Tlaib displayed a Palestinian flag outside of her office and pointedly did not explicitly disavow or even condemn Hamas for its terrorist attack on Israel in a statement on the matter, instead dodging the issue and reaffirming her support for the Palestinian cause.
She said, “I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity. The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”
Continuing, she added, “The failure to recognize the violent reality of living under siege, occupation, and apartheid makes no one safer. No person, no child anywhere should have to suffer or live in fear of violence. We cannot ignore the humanity in each other. As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
Now, two Republicans are using her comments against her in an attempt to get her censored. Those Republicans are Rep. Morgan Luttrell and Rep. Jack Bergmann, who jointly introduced a resolution to censor Rep. Tlaib for her rhetoric.
Rep. Luttrell, for his part, a former Navy SEAL, said, “Hamas terrorists have raped and murdered women, beheaded Jewish babies, burned Jewish children alive and killed Americans, yet Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib refused to condemn the evil, brutal attacks. Worse, she justified their vile actions and called Israel an “apartheid state,” placing blame on Israel for the barbarism of these terrorists. There should be zero tolerance for this atrocious antisemitism in America, especially in the halls of Congress.”
Similarly, Rep. Bergman said that the House needs to take action because “longstanding history of antisemitic and racist rhetoric toward Israel cannot go unchecked.” Further denouncing her for her comments and rhetoric, he said:
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“As Hamas terrorists beheaded infants, paraded dead Jewish teenagers through town, and attacked innocent concert goers in the most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, Rep. Rashida Tlaib chose to place the blame solely on Israel and the Jewish people.”
He continued, “There is no moral equivalence between Israel defending itself and Hamas attacking innocent Israeli civilians. Tlaib’s long history of anti-Semitic tropes and blatant anti-Jewish propaganda is both disturbing and evil – and should have no place in the halls of Congress.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video