On Tuesday, the House passed a vote to formally disapprove of Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Mich.) statements on Israel, alongside her stance on a contentious pro-Palestinian slogan.
This is significant: The motion saw support from nearly two dozen House Democrats. Tlaib, the sole Palestinian American in Congress, has drawn bipartisan criticism for her staunch denouncements of Israel.
The latest: By a vote of 234-188, with four abstentions, the House approved a censure resolution presented by Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) against Tlaib for “perpetuating false stories” related to the Oct. 7 incident and “advocating for the eradication of the State of Israel.”
22 Democrats, including Jewish members, moderates from competitive districts, and representatives from states with significant Jewish populations like Florida and New York, voted in favor of the resolution. Four Republicans dissented: Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), John Duarte (R-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). Statements made: Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), a prominent pro-Israel Democrat, expressed that while the censure resolution was not flawless, it was the only formal option available to counter the “harmful misinformation and slurs” propagated by Rep. Tlaib.
The specifics: The censure targets Tlaib for labeling Israel’s actions as an “apartheid system” in her comments on the Oct. 7 event, which she says leads to oppressive conditions and resistance.
The resolution also highlights Tlaib’s attribution of a hospital bombing in Gaza to Israel, which the Pentagon indicated was due to a misfired rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Furthermore, it addresses Tlaib’s recent defense of the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which some pro-Palestinian supporters argue is a plea for fairness, but supporters of Israel interpret as a call for aggression against Israelis. The counterargument: Tlaib countered by saying her colleagues had chosen to misrepresent her views in resolutions rife with “obvious untruths.”
Tlaib asserted that she has consistently condemned the tragic targeting and killing of civilians by both Hamas and the Israeli government, grieving for both Israeli and Palestinian victims. Background: Last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) attempted to censure Tlaib with a proposal accusing her of inciting an “insurrection” by participating in a protest at Capitol Hill last month, which demanded a truce in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Greene’s proposal was defeated after it failed to gain the support of more than two dozen Republicans, many of whom objected to the use of the term “insurrection.” Greene was prepared to initiate another vote this week on a modified version of the resolution, substituting “insurrection” with “illegal occupation,” but withdrew it after McCormick’s resolution was prioritized by the Republican leadership. The perspective: Several Republicans opposed both resolutions, expressing concern over penalizing colleagues for contentious remarks and the tiresome nature of continual, highly partisan censure debates.
Ahead of the vote, Duarte commented to Axios that House censure for inflammatory statements is unnecessary, calling it a waste of time and suggesting that disagreements should be communicated through their respective channels.
