I’m not completely unsympathetic to Michigan’s Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
She’s Palestinian-American, and the region her family comes from is a war zone, so regardless of who is in the right or wrong, that has to be difficult to deal with.
But what she fails to remember is that she chose to be an American. And that she is not just American but a representative of the American people, serving the American government.
Her district in Michigan may have a large Arab population but that doesn’t make it the West Bank, Gaza, Beirut or Islamabad — it is American.
And as a representative of the American people, she has used her platform to spread hate and outright lies about the war between Israel and Palestine.
So when the House on Tuesday rightfully voted to censure her for her hateful, anti-Semitic and anti-American rhetoric, her dramatics didn’t move my heart. According to Politico, the vote was 234-188, with 22 Democrats supporting it and four Republicans opposed.
Not only has Tlaib addressed and provoked anti-Semitic crowds on Capitol Hill, but she has lied to her supporters, blaming Israel for the bombing of a hospital and refusing to apologize even after the evidence proved that the rocket actually belonged to the Hamas terrorist organization, according to ABC News.
Tlaib also posted a video on X with the anti-Semitic chant, “From the river to the sea” — the first half of a Palestinian slogan that ends with “Palestine must be free.” It’s a statement that implies the end of Israel as a sovereign nation and, by extension, the eradication of the Jewish people who live in it.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic images that some viewers may find disturbing.
From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 3, 2023
The measure to censure Tlaib, introduced by GOP Rep. Rich McCormick, accused Tlaib of “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel,” according to NPR.
Tlaib burst into tears as she spoke in her defense on the House floor, saying, “I can’t believe I have to say this but Palestinian people are not disposable,” she said.
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As she struggled to regain her composure, fellow “squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota stood up to comfort. Omar has also spoken at pro-Palestinian rallies and has her own history of anti-Semitism.
As a prop, Tlaib used a picture of an older woman, apparently her grandmother who lives on the West Bank.
“My … grandmother, like all Palestinians, just wants to live her life with freedom and a human dignity we all deserve,” Tlaib said, sobbing.
“The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me,” Tlaib added, clearly forgetting how she fled from a Fox reporter who wanted to know if she condemned Israeli babies being brutally murdered, the day after the horrific events of October 7.
Radical “squad” member Rashida Tlaib physically RUNS from Fox News reporter asking her why she supports Palestine after Hamas terrorist attacks— Her answer is even more SHOCKING than you think…
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 11, 2023
Quickly recovering from her tears, Tlaib went on to make an impassioned speech calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas.
What was striking about her speech was that while she called out Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “extremism” and the American government’s support of “collective” punishment, there was no mention of Hamas.
There was no mention of the horrifying atrocities committed on Oct. 7.
There was no mention of the families burned in their beds. Young people slaughtered en masse. Women raped.
No mention of the fact that a Hamas leader has unequivocally promised that Oct. 7 attacks will happen “again and again” “until Israel is annihilated,” according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
No mention of the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran, which sponsors Hamas, is determined to destroy the United States as well.
So I’m sorry if Rashida Tlaib feels the need to cry and I’m sorry if she feels like a victim but her tears, like her outrage are selective.
And they are not in the best interests of the American people. And that’s where Tlaib’s true sympathies belong.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
