GOP Congressman Introduces Resolution Censuring Rep. Tlaib for Antisemitic Rhetoric

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) (R) with Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) during a rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 20, 2023. Ali Khaligh/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

A Republican congressman on Nov. 2 introduced a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over her antisemitic remarks—one day after House members tabled a similar resolution.

The four-page measure was introduced by Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who was one of 23 Republicans to join all 199 Democrats to table a resolution censuring Ms. Tlaib.

One of three Muslims in Congress, Ms. Tlaib has a history of making antisemitic remarks, as noted by the resolution.

During a podcast interview in May 2019, she said the Holocaust gave her a “calming feeling.” Responding to critics at the time, Ms. Tlaib explained that when she said “calming feeling,” she was referring to the idea that her ancestors provided a “safe haven” for Jews after the Holocaust, and not referring to the Holocaust itself.

In December 2020, Ms. Tlaib reposted a post that included an illustration with the phrase, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—a rallying cry to annihilate the Jewish state of Israel.

In September 2022, Ms. Tlaib appeared virtually at an event where she said, “I want you all to know that among progressives, it becomes clear that you cannot claim to hold progressive values yet back Israel’s apartheid government.”

Israel does not have apartheid, as all Israeli citizens have equal rights. Palestinians are under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, and those living in Gaza live under the rule of the terrorist group Hamas. Both the PA and Hamas have come under fire for their human rights record.

Mr. Miller’s resolution, while similar to the one he voted to table—introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)—has one major difference.

It does not accuse her of inciting an insurrection on Capitol Hill—a reference to Ms. Tlaib addressing activists with the antisemitic and anti-Israel groups “IfNotNow” and “Jewish Voice for Peace” outside the Capitol on Oct. 18.

“I wish all the Palestinian people would see this. I wish they could see that not all of America want them to die. That they are not disposable, that they have a right to live,” she said at the rally.

Ms. Tlaib has yet to delete a post on X about Hamas’s contested claim blaming Israel for bombing a hospital in Gaza. The United States has independently concluded that it was a misfire by Palestinian terrorists that resulted in the explosion and resulting Gazan deaths. Mr. Miller’s resolution does not mention the post.

The activists later stormed and held a sit-in at the Cannon House Office Building, calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Hundreds were arrested by Capitol Police for crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.

Ms. Greene herself has a history of antisemitism and making controversial Holocaust comparisons.

Before entering Congress in 2021, she claimed that the Rothschilds, a prominent Jewish banking family, were involved in starting California wildfires with laser weapons from space, in concert with Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she said the House’s mask mandate was similar to Jews having been “put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany” and that “vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.”

Mr. Miller has not specifically said why he voted to table Ms. Greene’s resolution censuring Ms. Tlaib other than expressing agreement with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) that “there were good reasons to table the Tlaib resolution.”

“But make no mistake: @RepMTG is right to be outraged by Rep. Tlaib’s words & actions that demean Israel & Jews and support Hamas!” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Nov. 1.

In a Nov. 1 interview with CNN, Mr. Miller called out both Ms. Tlaib’s and Ms. Greene’s antisemitism.

“If we want to call balls and strikes, members of both parties have said antisemitic remarks. They have,” he said. “Marjorie Taylor Greene has said antisemitic remarks. Rashida Tlaib has said antisemitic remarks.

“I’m going to call it out on both sides of the aisle. I’m sick of it.”

In a statement, Ms. Tlaib blasted Ms. Greene’s censure resolution, calling it “unhinged” and “deeply Islamophobic.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Ms. Tlaib’s office for comment on Mr. Miller’s censure resolution.