Rashida Tlaib Censured By U.S. House For Controversial Israel Comments

In a vote that saw bipartisan support, with Democrats and Republicans on both sides of the issue, the U.S. House of Representatives censured Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on Tuesday. The censure came as a response to her statements and actions related to Israel, which have stirred controversy.

U.S. House Votes To Censure Democrat Rashida Tlaib For Supporting Genocide Of Israel https://t.co/TMJFVlDsqs pic.twitter.com/XwRhetOnGR

— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) November 8, 2023

A total of 234 representatives voted in favor of the censure, with 22 Democrats crossing the aisle to join 212 Republicans in supporting the move. On the other hand, four Republicans voted against it, while four members voted present, and six did not vote.

The censure resolution specifically criticized Tlaib for “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”

One of the key points of contention was Tlaib’s defense of actions by Hamas, which included brutal acts such as murders, beheadings, molestations and kidnappings of victims, including Americans. Tlaib referred to these actions as “justified resistance” against what she called an “apartheid state.” 

However, the censure resolution argued that her statements spread false information, particularly regarding the Oct. 17 incident when Israel was accused of bombing the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. Multiple intelligence sources, including United States and Israeli intelligence, along with President Joe Biden, concluded that Israel was not responsible for the explosion. Tlaib, however, remained defiant and refused to walk back her statements.

The resolution also took issue with the latest point of controversy for the congresswoman, which came up on Nov. 3 when she posted a video on social media containing the phrase “from the river to the sea.” This phrase is widely recognized as a call for the destruction of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. 

Despite its implications of Israel’s destruction and denial of its fundamental right to exist, Tlaib tried to explain the phrase away as “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.”

In light of these concerns, the censure resolution concluded that she had repeatedly demonstrated conduct that was unbecoming of her, given her political position. “Whereas Representative Tlaib has repeatedly displayed conduct entirely unbecoming of a Member of the House of Representatives by calling for the destruction of the state of Israel and dangerously promoting false narratives regarding a brutal, large-scale terrorist attack against civilian targets inside the sovereign territory of a major non-NATO ally while hundreds of Israeli and American hostages remain in terrorist captivity: Now, therefore, be it resolved, That Representative Rashida Tlaib be censured,” the resolution stated.

https://youtu.be/YoIMIFJ4KYE?si=fIzhHYGKZ5-JdJqV

All but four Republicans, namely Reps. Ken Buck (R-CO), Thomas Massie (R-KY), John Duarte (R-CA) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) voted in favor of the censure. Among Democrats who voted for the censure are Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Jim Costa (D-CA), Don Davis (D-NC), Angie Craig (D-MN) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who initially promised to vote in favor of a censure.