Tlaib Faces Censure Motion Over Remarks on Israel

The only Palestinian American in Congress is facing a censure motion over her remarks on the Hamas attack on Israel, but Rep. Rashida Tlaib rejects suggestions that she has sympathies for the extremists. The Democrat, whose Michigan district includes parts of Detroit, tells the Detroit Free Press that she considers the actions of Hamas, including the mass killing of civilians and the threat to execute hostages, to be war crimes. "It's a war crime just like the collective punishment of Palestinians right now is a war crime," she says. Tlaib was among members of "the Squad" who denounced the violence but also described Israel as an "apartheid" state and called for an end to "unconditional funding" from the US.

Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, says there's no defense for the horrific violence of Hamas—or for retribution against civilians in Gaza. The censure motion was filed by another lawmaker from Michigan, Republican Rep. Jack Bergman. In a statement, he accused Tlaib of placing the blame for the atrocities "solely on Israel and the Jewish people," CBS News reports. "There is no moral equivalence between Israel defending itself and Hamas attacking innocent Israeli civilians," he said. "Tlaib's long history of antisemitic tropes and blatant anti-Jewish propaganda is both disturbing and evil—and should have no place in the halls of Congress.

Tlaib, whose remarks were also criticized by some Democrats, tells the Free Press that critics are twisting her words. "I'm the only Palestinian voice right now in Congress," she says. "If anything, my voice is needed here more than ever. This is an attempt to silence my voice because I want the violence to stop, no matter whether it's toward Israelis or toward Palestinians." She says she wishes Bergman had called her to discuss his concerns. "Much of what I'm hearing from Jack and a number of other colleagues is rooted in bigotry, that somehow because of my ethnicity and my faith that I support terrorism," she says, adding that she doesn't plan to stop criticizing Israel's policies, though it will be "incredibly difficult." (More Rashida Tlaib stories.)