Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland refused to condemn Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan’s use of a slogan calling for wiping out Israel during a Friday CNN appearance.
The House of Representatives censured Tlaib in November 2023 for using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” which has connotations of wiping out Israel. Raskin claimed he was defending “freedom of speech” by not denouncing Tlaib’s use of the phrase during an interview on “CNN News Central.”
“Well look, we obviously have freedom of speech which is a cherish right under our First Amendment and I think those of us in public life should pay very close attention to the words we use and what their implications are,” Raskin told “CNN News Central” co-host Boris Sanchez. “I think that a lot of the rhetoric that’s been used during these days has led to a very tense political environment where there’s been violence. Most recently we’ve seen it in Minnesota with these political assassinations and the political hit list drawn up for Democratic elected officials.”
WATCH:
“But the question of Rashida Tlaib’s speech of course came up in the context of an effort to censure her and the House of Representatives censures people for things like taking bribes, income tax evasion, going over the Senate and beating up a U.S. Senator as Preston Brooks did with Charles Sumner before the Civil War,” Raskin continued. “We’ve never censured someone for their political expression much less the political expression that they had as she did in a video I think that she played off campus.”
Raskin’s refusal to condemn Tlaib comes despite two high-profile antisemitic attacks in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado.
Federal authorities charged Elias Rodriguez with two counts of first-degree murder, murder of foreign officials, causing death from use of a firearm and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence in connection with the May 21 shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., that left Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim dead.
In Boulder, Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly attacked a June 1 event supporting hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas that killed over 1,200 people in Israel, wounding as many as 15 people and a dog at the event.
Since Israel began military operations in response to the Hamas attack, Tlaib has repeatedly demanded a ceasefire in statements, as have other left-wing members of the House of Representatives known as “The Squad.”
Tlaib held an event in a Senate hearing room that called the founding of Israel a “catastrophe” in May 2023 after then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked her from holding the event in the Capitol building. Tlaib and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota posted tweets in October 2023 that echoed claims by Hamas, later debunked by an assessment by U.S. intelligence, that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had bombed a hospital in Gaza, killing over 500 people.
In December 2023, Tlaib was one of 13 Democrats who opposed a resolution condemning antisemitism. In February 2024, Tlaib was the only Representative to not support a resolution condemning rapes committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Tlaib also urged Democratic primary voters to vote for “uncommitted” delegates to protest then-President Joe Biden’s support of Israel during the 2024 primaries for the Democratic nomination for president. Tlaib was one of several Democrats from Michigan who refused to condemn chants of “Death to America” in April 2024.
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