The U.S. House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the nation’s legislative body, voted to officially condemn the only U.S. lawmaker of Palestinian descent this week. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, was singled out by the Republican-majority House for her comments on the Israel-Palestine war, reported BBC on Wednesday.
Twenty-two Democrats–many of whom have received significant financial backing from pro-Zionist lobbying groups–joined their Republican counterparts in formally objecting to Tlaib’s conduct. The motion was approved by a vote of 234 to 188 in favor of censure. The official rationale for the censure was the allegation that she was “promoting a false narrative.”
Tlaib defended the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which some have interpreted to signify as a call for the destruction of the State of Israel, in addition to her tweet of a video of massive protest on Friday.
The video also condemned President Joe Biden for enabling genocide in Gaza and demanded a cease-fire.
The Anti-Defamation League and various Jewish organizations opined that the chant she defended, which has been used in marches throughout the world, is a demand for Israel’s annihilation.
Pro-Palestinian activists assert that the intent of the vast majority of those who employ this mantra is to simply bring about an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its oppression of Arab inhabitants, rather than the annihilation of Israel itself.
Tlaib subsequently justified her use of the expression, calling it “…an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.” It has been confirmed that her comments were confined to her grief over the loss of innocent human life–primarily women and children—in her calls to actually stop all violence. She is on the record as having specifically denounced Hamas’ attack.
She added tearfully on the congressional floor, “I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings, just like anyone else.”
The Hamas-run health ministry has declared that more than 10,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7.