House Rejects Resolution to Censure Tlaib Over Antisemitic Comments

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) at a press conference in Washington on July 15, 2019. Holly Kellum/NTD

The House tabled a censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Nov. 1 over her history of antisemitism, amid the Jewish state of Israel coming under attack by the terrorist group Hamas.

The censure resolution, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), was tabled, 222–186.

Twenty-three Republicans joined all 199 Democrats to table the resolution.

The measure censured Ms. Tlaib “for antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol Complex.”

Ms. Tlaib, one of three Muslims in Congress, has a history of making antisemitic remarks.

In January 2019, shortly after being sworn into Congress for the first time, Ms. Tlaib blasted the Senate for taking up legislation to combat the antisemitic “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” or BDS movement, which Ms. Tlaib supports, against Israel.

The bill passed the Senate amid a U.S. government shutdown. Her post on Twitter, which is now X, echoed the antisemitic trope of dual loyalty—that Jews are more loyal to Israel than the country where they live.

“They forgot what country they represent. This is the U.S. where boycotting is a right & part of our historical fight for freedom & equality. Maybe a refresher on our U.S. Constitution is in order, then get back to opening up our government instead of taking our rights away,” Ms. Tlaib posted.

During a podcast interview in May 2019, she said that the Holocaust gave her a “calming feeling.” Ms. Tlaib responded to critics at the time by saying 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, she said, “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 terrorist group Hamas. Both the PA and Hamas have come under fire for their human rights record.

The resolution cited Ms. Tlaib addressing activists with the antisemitic and anti-Israel groups “IfNotNow” and “Jewish Voice for Peace” outside the Capitol on Oct. 18. 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.

“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,” said Ms. Tlaib at the rally.

“Jewish Voice for Peace,” according to the Anti-Defamation League, is “a radical anti-Israel activist group that advocates for a complete economic, cultural, and academic boycott of the state of Israel” and “rejects the view that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a tragic dispute over land which has been perpetuated by a cycle of violence, fear, and distrust on both sides; in favor of the belief that Israeli policies and actions are motivated by deeply rooted Jewish racial chauvinism and religious supremacism.”

“IfNotNow,” said ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt, “seems to be more interested in spectacles and ultimatums than in discussion and dialogue grappling with the difficult issues involved in achieving peace.”

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. Ms. Greene’s resolution did not mention the post.

The 23 Republicans who joined all 199 Democrats to table the resolution were: Reps. Max Miller (R-Ohio), John Duarte (R-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Tim Wahlberg (R-Mich.), Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Dusty Johnson (SD), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisc.), Glenn Grothman (R-Wisc.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Rich McCormick (R-Ga.).