Rashida Tlaib defends pro-Palestine video, amid Democrat criticism
Rashida Tlaib's fellow Democrats have rounded on her after a video she posted that accused Joe Biden of supporting genocide in Gaza and contained the slogan 'from the river to the sea'.
Rashida Tlaib is the first Palestinian American to sit in the US Congress
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has received widespread criticism for a video she posted over the weekend that was deemed offensive to the Jewish community by some, but she said her critics should focus less on the words she used than on saving civilian lives in the Middle East.
“My colleagues are much more focused on silencing me — the only Palestinian American voice in Congress — than they are on ending the horrific attacks on civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank right now,” Tlaib said in a statement sent Monday to The Associated Press. "Instead of attacking me and distorting my words, they should listen to their constituents and call for a cease-fire to save innocent lives.”
She was responding to calls from national and Michigan Democrats asking her to take down a video posted Friday , which includes a clip of demonstrators chanting “from the river to the sea.” Tlaib also said in the video “we will remember in 2024” before text appears stating: “Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
It's the latest example of a public rift dividing Democrats in Michigan, which is home to one of the nation's largest Arab American communities.
The Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups have criticized the “from the river to the sea,” chant as a call to dismantle the state of Israel. Many Palestinian activists say they are not calling for the destruction of Israel, but for freedom of movement and equal rights and protections for Palestinians throughout the land.
Democrat Elissa Slotkin , the lone Jewish member of Michigan's congressional delegation, said on social media that the phrase promotes “division and violence,” and is “counterproductive to promoting peace.”
“If I knew that a phrase I’d used had hurt any of my constituents, I would apologize and retract it, no matter its origin,” Slotkin said. “I’d ask the same from you.”
Other Michigan Democrats, including Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Senate President Pro Tempore Jeremy Moss, joined in criticizing Tlaib and calling for her to apologize. Nessel said that while she has defended Tlaib in the past, her use of the phrase “is so hurtful to so many.”
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said during a Sunday appearance on CNN that while he considers Tlaib a friend, “slogans like ‘the river to the sea,’ if that means the destruction of Israel, that’s not going to work.”
Tlaib said on social media late Friday that the “from the river to the sea” phrase is “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.”
The back and forth between Democrats in Michigan is the most recent example of a widening divide over the Israel-Hamas war. Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the nation, which Tlaib partially represents, but her Detroit-area district also includes a thriving Jewish community.
Tlaib, whose grandmother currently lives in the West Bank, has been called out since the war began by some who say she didn’t do enough to condemn the Hamas attack. An effort to censure Tlaib was dismissed with broad bipartisan support last week as both parties raised concerns about violating First Amendment rights.
Two U.S. House Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, introduced another motion to censure Tlaib on Monday.
\
The New Arab Staff & Agencies
07 November, 2023
The New Arab Staff & Agencies
07 November, 2023
Rashida Tlaib's fellow Democrats have rounded on her after a video she posted that accused Joe Biden of supporting genocide in Gaza and contained the slogan 'from the river to the sea'.
Rashida Tlaib is the first Palestinian American to sit in the US Congress
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has received widespread criticism for a video she posted over the weekend that was deemed offensive to the Jewish community by some, but she said her critics should focus less on the words she used than on saving civilian lives in the Middle East.
“My colleagues are much more focused on silencing me — the only Palestinian American voice in Congress — than they are on ending the horrific attacks on civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank right now,” Tlaib said in a statement sent Monday to The Associated Press. "Instead of attacking me and distorting my words, they should listen to their constituents and call for a cease-fire to save innocent lives.”
She was responding to calls from national and Michigan Democrats asking her to take down a video posted Friday , which includes a clip of demonstrators chanting “from the river to the sea.” Tlaib also said in the video “we will remember in 2024” before text appears stating: “Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
It's the latest example of a public rift dividing Democrats in Michigan, which is home to one of the nation's largest Arab American communities.
The Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups have criticized the “from the river to the sea,” chant as a call to dismantle the state of Israel. Many Palestinian activists say they are not calling for the destruction of Israel, but for freedom of movement and equal rights and protections for Palestinians throughout the land.
Democrat Elissa Slotkin , the lone Jewish member of Michigan's congressional delegation, said on social media that the phrase promotes “division and violence,” and is “counterproductive to promoting peace.”
“If I knew that a phrase I’d used had hurt any of my constituents, I would apologize and retract it, no matter its origin,” Slotkin said. “I’d ask the same from you.”
Other Michigan Democrats, including Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Senate President Pro Tempore Jeremy Moss, joined in criticizing Tlaib and calling for her to apologize. Nessel said that while she has defended Tlaib in the past, her use of the phrase “is so hurtful to so many.”
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said during a Sunday appearance on CNN that while he considers Tlaib a friend, “slogans like ‘the river to the sea,’ if that means the destruction of Israel, that’s not going to work.”
Tlaib said on social media late Friday that the “from the river to the sea” phrase is “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.”
The back and forth between Democrats in Michigan is the most recent example of a widening divide over the Israel-Hamas war. Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the nation, which Tlaib partially represents, but her Detroit-area district also includes a thriving Jewish community.
Tlaib, whose grandmother currently lives in the West Bank, has been called out since the war began by some who say she didn’t do enough to condemn the Hamas attack. An effort to censure Tlaib was dismissed with broad bipartisan support last week as both parties raised concerns about violating First Amendment rights.
Two U.S. House Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, introduced another motion to censure Tlaib on Monday.
BY LAUREN SFORZA - 11/06/23
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) moved to force a vote on censuring Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) for comments that Jacobs described as “incredibly dangerous and dehumanizing” toward Palestinians living in Gaza.
Jacobs filed her censure measure as a privileged resolution Monday, which forces the chamber to take action within two legislative days. House leadership can either motion to table the resolution or bring it to the floor for a vote.
Jacobs accused Mast of “conflating innocent Palestinian civilians with Hamas” in impassioned remarks on the House floor when moving to file her privileged resolution. She listed a series of instances where she believes Mast has failed to differentiate Palestinian civilians from the militant group Hamas, which launched its deadly attack on Israel last month.
She said Mast “has repeatedly made inflammatory statements regarding innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are in harm’s way through no fault of their own as a result of horrific terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023,” she said while introducing her resolution.”
She added that Mast’s “refusal to distinguish innocent Palestinians from Hamas terrorists is false, misleading, dehumanizing, dangerous and unbecoming of a member of Congress.”
Mast is an adamant supporter of Israel and previously wore his Israeli military uniform on Capitol Hill last month. In a House floor speech last week that Jacobs cited in her resolution, he said “there are very few innocent Palestinian citizens.”
“I would encourage the other side to not so lightly throw around the idea of innocent Palestinian civilians, as frequently said,” Mast said. “I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War II.”
The GOP congressman previously served as a volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces.
Jacobs is just the latest lawmaker to file a privileged resolution to censure a colleague in the House. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) last week ultimately failed on the House floor, but she introduced Monday a new privileged resolution to censure the Michigan Democrat.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) also filed a competing privileged resolution to censure Tlaib on Monday. Both Georgia Republicans are moving to censure Tlaib over her statements criticizing Israel after Hamas attacked the nation last month.
Jacobs also warned that Mast’s statements come as Islamaphobic incidents are on the rise in the U.S.
“Rep. Brian Mast’s comments are incredibly dangerous and dehumanizing as we continue to push for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in harm’s way in Gaza and as Islamophobic hate crimes rise,” she said in a statement.
“The United States stands for the rule of law both here at home and abroad — and these comments denigrate those values and cause real, tangible harm. That’s why I moved to censure Rep. Brian Mast to condemn this rhetoric and ensure this hate, fear, and violence stops here,” she said.
Mast called the move to censure him “idiotic” in comments to reporters Monday. He also defended his comments comparing Palestinian civilians to Nazis on the House floor.
“I would challenge anybody [to] find me a better single word that you could use to describe the Palestinian relationship to Jews than Nazi,” he told reporters. “I would say Nazi is the singular word that you could use to describe how they feel about Jews.”
“I think anybody that says it’s just Hamas is lying. And they know they’re lying,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to Mast’s office for comment.
Mychael Schnell contributed.
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) moved to force a vote on censuring Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) for comments that Jacobs described as “incredibly dangerous and dehumanizing” toward Palestinians living in Gaza.
Jacobs filed her censure measure as a privileged resolution Monday, which forces the chamber to take action within two legislative days. House leadership can either motion to table the resolution or bring it to the floor for a vote.
Jacobs accused Mast of “conflating innocent Palestinian civilians with Hamas” in impassioned remarks on the House floor when moving to file her privileged resolution. She listed a series of instances where she believes Mast has failed to differentiate Palestinian civilians from the militant group Hamas, which launched its deadly attack on Israel last month.
She said Mast “has repeatedly made inflammatory statements regarding innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are in harm’s way through no fault of their own as a result of horrific terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023,” she said while introducing her resolution.”
She added that Mast’s “refusal to distinguish innocent Palestinians from Hamas terrorists is false, misleading, dehumanizing, dangerous and unbecoming of a member of Congress.”
Mast is an adamant supporter of Israel and previously wore his Israeli military uniform on Capitol Hill last month. In a House floor speech last week that Jacobs cited in her resolution, he said “there are very few innocent Palestinian citizens.”
“I would encourage the other side to not so lightly throw around the idea of innocent Palestinian civilians, as frequently said,” Mast said. “I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War II.”
The GOP congressman previously served as a volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces.
Jacobs is just the latest lawmaker to file a privileged resolution to censure a colleague in the House. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) last week ultimately failed on the House floor, but she introduced Monday a new privileged resolution to censure the Michigan Democrat.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) also filed a competing privileged resolution to censure Tlaib on Monday. Both Georgia Republicans are moving to censure Tlaib over her statements criticizing Israel after Hamas attacked the nation last month.
Jacobs also warned that Mast’s statements come as Islamaphobic incidents are on the rise in the U.S.
“Rep. Brian Mast’s comments are incredibly dangerous and dehumanizing as we continue to push for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in harm’s way in Gaza and as Islamophobic hate crimes rise,” she said in a statement.
“The United States stands for the rule of law both here at home and abroad — and these comments denigrate those values and cause real, tangible harm. That’s why I moved to censure Rep. Brian Mast to condemn this rhetoric and ensure this hate, fear, and violence stops here,” she said.
Mast called the move to censure him “idiotic” in comments to reporters Monday. He also defended his comments comparing Palestinian civilians to Nazis on the House floor.
“I would challenge anybody [to] find me a better single word that you could use to describe the Palestinian relationship to Jews than Nazi,” he told reporters. “I would say Nazi is the singular word that you could use to describe how they feel about Jews.”
“I think anybody that says it’s just Hamas is lying. And they know they’re lying,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to Mast’s office for comment.
Mychael Schnell contributed.
No comments:
Post a Comment