ON TUESDAY NIGHT – THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VOTED TO CENSURE CONGRESSWOMAN RASHIDA TLAIB (TA-LEEB) – THE ONLY PALESTINIAN AMERICAN IN CONGRESS – OVER HER COMMENTS AND ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS.
THE CENSURE RESOLUTION – WHICH WAS AUTHORED BY REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN RICH MCCORMICK – PASSED BY A VOTE OF 234 TO 188 – WITH TWENTY-TWO DEMOCRATS JOINING MOST OF THEIR REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES.
FOUR REPUBLICANS OPPOSED THE MEASURE.
THE RESOLUTION CLAIMED TLAIB HAD BEEN “PROMOTING FALSE NARRATIVES REGARDING THE OCTOBER 7TH 2023, HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL AND FOR CALLING FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL.”
THOSE BACKING THE RESOLUTION POINTED TO TLAIB POSTING A SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO OF PROTESTERS CHANTING “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA” – A PHRASE THAT HAS BEEN USED BY HAMAS – AND CONSIDERED BY THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE AND OTHER JEWISH GROUPS AS AN ANTI-SEMITIC CALL FOR THE ELIMINATION OF ISRAEL.
TLAIB HAS DEFENDED USING THE SLOGAN – CALLING IT “AN ASPIRATIONAL CALL FOR FREEDOM, HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE.”
BEFORE THE VOTE TUESDAY, THE CONGRESSWOMAN SAID SHE WOULD NOT BE “SILENCED” AND ACCUSED MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF DISTORTING HER WORDS.