The US House of Representatives censured Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday for a series of comments she made against Israel, according to US media reports, as the sole American Palestinian member of Congress.
Republican members of Congress, along with several members of her own party, censured her in a motion that was passed with a vote of 234 to 188.
The resolution claims that Rashida Tlaib advocated for the “destruction of the state of Israel” during the raid against Israel on October 7th and spread false stories about the raid to support her position.
A number of remarks Tlaib made in the past month were censured by the resolution, including one that she shared on social media urging President Joe Biden to support a ceasefire and accusing him of supporting the “genocide” of Palestinians. According to the wording of the resolution, Tlaib was censured for a number of remarks she made, including a video she shared with her followers.
A crowd can be seen chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in the video, a phrase that the motion asserts to be widely recognized as a genocidal call to violence for destroying the Israeli state. A few days ago, on Twitter, Tlaib said something that stood out to me: “From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not destruction, hate, or death.”
Following the vote, US media reported that she made an emotional speech defending herself after the vote. The importance of separating people from governments, Tlaib said, cannot be overstated. There can never be an absence of criticism against a government. “It has been used, in the past, to silence diverse voices in our country who stand up for human rights and speak out against the government of Israel,” she added. This idea sets a very dangerous precedent and has been used to silence many voices who speak up for human rights across our country.
For the second time in two weeks, Tlaib had to deal with displeasure from the Israeli authorities because of her criticism of the country.
The House of Representatives last week blocked the introduction of a stronger-worded resolution by Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene that would have punished Tlaib more severely.
Ayanna Pressley and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Tlaib, are members of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which also includes Ayanna Pressley. It is noteworthy that Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were the two first Muslim congresswomen elected to Congress in the United States.
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