A letter criticizing Rep. Rashida Tlaib‘s use of an alleged antisemitic slogan when talking about the Israel–Hamas war is being circulated by a fellow Democratic lawmaker.
Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, who is Jewish, called out Ms. Tlaib‘s use of the phrase “from the river to the sea” which is a pro-Palestinian rallying cry but also identified as antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League.
The slogan refers geographically to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that includes all of Israel.
“We reject the use of the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ — a phrase used by many, including Hamas, as a rallying cry for the destruction of the State of Israel and genocide of the Jewish people,” the letter says. “We all feel deep anguish for the human suffering caused by the war in Gaza. Hamas started this war with a barbaric terrorist attack on Oct.7, 2023, and neither the Palestinian nor Israeli people can have peace as long as Hamas still rules over Gaza and threatens Israel.”
Ms. Tlaib recently posted a video on social media that featured people chanting the slogan, and she said President Biden “supported the genocide of the Palestinian people” because of the support the administration has given Israel.
In the video, Ms. Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, warns Mr. Biden that pro-Palestinian voters “will remember in 2024.”
The video ends with text across the screen saying, “Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people. The American people won’t forget. Biden, support a cease-fire now. Or don’t count on us in 2024.”
Ms. Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, has called for an end of aid to Israel since the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war.
She has defended the slogan, saying it’s an “aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.”
Mr. Schneider’s letter also voiced support for “Israel‘s right and obligation to defend itself,” and it said that Israel has an obligation to protect civilians.
“We also recognize the desperate needs of the civilians in Gaza, and fully support doing everything possible to expand safe zones, provide transit corridors, and deliver life-sustaining humanitarian aid,” the letter said.
“A humanitarian pause, of limited space and time, preceded by the release of the more than 240 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, the cessation of rockets fired by Hamas at Israel from civilian neighborhoods in Gaza, and the release of all Palestinian civilians being detained by Hamas as human shields in Gaza, would go far toward achieving these goals.”
Other Democrats have objected to Ms. Tlaib‘s use of the Hamas slogan.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said on social media that it is “one of division and violence and it is counterproductive to promoting peace.”
Ms. Slotkin, who is Jewish, said that she would “apologize and retract” a phrase if she discovered that it “hurt” any of her constituents “no matter its origin.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, over the weekend, reintroduced her resolution to censure Ms. Tlaib for her anti-Israel rhetoric and for joining a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the Capitol.
The resolution failed in the House last week in a 222-186 vote, with 23 Republicans joining Democrats to oppose it.
Some lawmakers had an issue with her use of the word “insurrection” to describe the demonstration. The new resolution changed it to “illegal occupation.”
Ms. Tlaib‘s rhetoric highlights a growing anti-Israel stance in the Democratic Party.
A new poll found that more Democrats, at 20%, than Republicans, at 7%, side with the terrorist group Hamas. More than half of Democrats, at 54%, sided with Israel, and 26% said they were not sure.
A majority of 71% of Republicans said they were with Israel and 22% said they weren’t sure. Independents supported Hamas with 6%, while 50% sided with Israel and 44% were not sure, according to the poll by Issues and Insights and Techno Metrica Institute of Policy and Politics.
The Washington Times has reached out to Mr. Schneider and Ms. Tlaib for comment.
