Posted on 11/07/23
| News Source: The Hill
The House voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib Tuesday night, rebuking the Michigan Democrat for her criticism of Israel following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on the U.S. ally.
The chamber approved the reprimand in a 234-188-4 vote, with 22 Democrats bucking party leadership to support the resolution and four Republicans voting against it.
The vote is the culmination of a week-plus effort by Republicans to punish Tlaib — the only Palestinian American serving in Congress — for comments that have drawn condemnation from both sides of the aisle.
And it marks the pinnacle of the current controversy surrounding Tlaib. The congresswoman posted a video on X over the weekend that said President Biden “supported the genocide of the Palestinian people” and included clips of protesters changing “from the river to the sea,” which the Anti-Defamation Leagues characterizes as antisemitic. In a subsequent social media post, Tlaib defended her use of the controversial phrase.
The comment sparked bipartisan condemnation and prompted a statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that, without naming Tlaib, criticized her use of the phrase, which he said is “widely understood as calling for the complete destruction of Israel” and “unacceptably risks further polarization, division and incitement to violence.”
Still, Democratic leadership earlier Tuesday had urged their members to vote against advancing the resolution, defending Tlaib’s right to make the controversial comments, despite most disagreeing with her words.
Democrats largely stuck together on the procedural vote, with only one voting against the motion to table, before a larger group split off on the final vote.
The censure resolution, sponsored by Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), accuses Tlaib of “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel,” referencing her use of the controversial phrase on social media.
It also cites a statement from Tlaib on Oct. 8, the day after Hamas launched its attack, which suggested that U.S. aid to Israel was partially to blame for the violence in the Middle East.