Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) are receiving fire from their colleagues for making remarks over this past weekend that characterized Israel as a racist nation and called for the US to cut off support for the country after a surprise Hamas onslaught that killed hundreds.
Tlaib stated that she continues to mourn the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day before calling for the abolition of the racist system that creates oppressive, humiliating circumstances that can lead to rebellion. In a floor speech in July, she lambasted the Israeli government and condemned a House resolution supporting Israel.
In her lengthy statement, Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, also called for the removal of the Gaza barrier and the “end of the colonization.”
Rashida Tlaib has been an active opponent of Israeli policies since her election to Congress in 2018. She believes Israel has established a system of discrimination in Gaza and has called for consequences against it.
Rashida Tlaib, along with Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, is one of two women elected to Congress. Both congresswomen have criticized the US government’s actions toward Palestine.
Both congressmen Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush have been chastised by Republicans and Democrats for consistently criticizing Israel’s policies toward Palestinians.
Recognizing the harsh realities of living under attack, occupation, and apartheid does not make anyone safer. No one, no child, anywhere in the world should have to suffer or live in dread of violence. We can’t overlook each other’s humanity, Rashida Tlaib remarked.
This tragic cycle of bloodshed will continue as long as our country gives billions in unrestricted financing to the apartheid administration, Rashida Tlaib added.
Bush made similar remarks in a statement on Saturday, condemning the targeting of innocents and saying she was “devastated by the bloodshed. She also demanded that the United States withdraw its backing for Israel.
We must do our share to stop the violence and trauma by eliminating US government backing for Israel’s military rule and racism, she said, as part of securing a peace that is fair and lasting.
Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush’s Statements
Rashida Tlaib and Bush’s statements drew immediate criticism from both the right and the left, including two Democratic MPs. Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) also slammed the politicians’ sentiments in comments to Jewish Insider.
US aid to Israel is and should be unrestricted, and never more so than now, Torres stated in a statement to Jewish Insider. Shame on anyone who glorifies resistance’ the Holocaust’s largest single-day mass murder of Jews.” It is abhorrent and unpleasant.
Despite numerous pictures of Israeli children, women, men, and elderly, including Americans, murdered by radical Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists, two of my coworkers called for America to end aid to Israel, Gottheimer said in a statement.
It disturbs me that, while Israelis clean the blood of family members shot in their homes, they feel Congress should withhold US support from our democratic friend, allowing innocent civilians to suffer.
How many more drops of blood must be shed for you to overcome your bias and openly criticize Hamas, a terror group designated by the US? In reaction to Tlaib’s statement on X, Michael Herzog stated
On a holy day, hundreds of innocent Israeli residents were slaughtered in cold blood. Babies were removed from their mothers’ arms and transported to Gaza. A Holocaust survivor and an 85-year-old woman in a wheelchair are being held prisoner. Isn’t that enough, @RashidaTlaib? He went on to say.
Furthermore, Ilhan Omar posted on X on Saturday, “I protest the awful crimes we are witnessing today in Israel against children, women, the elderly, and unarmed civilians who are being slaughtered and held hostage by Hamas. Such inhumane acts will simply perpetuate the pattern we’ve witnessed, which we must allow to continue. We must demand a de-escalation and cease-fire.
She went on to say, I will continue to advocate for peace and justice across the Middle East.
Also Read: President Biden Made an Announcement Regarding New military Aid to Israel
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