Since the October 7th massacre of Jewish civilians in Israel, a number of members of Congress have made disturbing and problematic statements, particularly among the 15 House Democrats who refused to vote for a resolution condemning Hamas terrorists for their horrific bloodbath. Dishonorable mentions could be bestowed upon a number of them, but one individual has earned unique opprobrium for her words and actions. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib refused for days to denounce Hamas for its decapitation of babies. She still has not condemned Hamas directly. Her initial statement responding to the massacre of Jews was disgraceful. It was shot through with victim blaming, and urged America to abandon its ally literally on the day of the terrorist attack, in which dozens of American citizens were murdered. She justified her vote against the aforementioned House resolution by complaining that it was "one-sided." Indeed, it was one-sided, against Hamas' barbarity against innocent men, women and children. She saw this as a reason to oppose the measure.
Worst of all, she rushed to share dangerous, riot-fomenting, life-threatening misinformation, falsely and recklessly accusing Israel of bombing a hospital in Gaza. She regurgitated false Hamas propaganda that 500 people were killed in this alleged attack. She also blamed America's president for the attack, renewing her effectively pro-Hamas call for a "ceasefire" that would prevent the Jewish state from defending itself after more than 1,600 of its people were butchered, burned, shot, raped, and kidnapped. In reality, the hospital was not bombed at all. Its parking lot was hit by an errant Islamic Jihad rocket, fired from inside Gaza, intended to kill Israelis. The resulting blast killed less than ten percent than the Hamas-fabricated death toll. Much of this evidence emerged within hours, and US intelligence and other independent sources confirmed that Israel was not responsible the incident. Tlaib's false social media post remains live, even to this day:
Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2023
Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many… https://t.co/mZYoifT7bj
A week later, the Congresswoman tacked on a new tweet, stating that "media outlets and third-party analysts have raised doubts about claims and evidence offered by both Israel and the Gaza Ministry of Health, and I agree with the United Nations that an independent investigation is necessary." Seven days after the fact, she decided to highlight "doubts" about what Israel said -- yes, she led with skepticism of Israel, despite its vindication by the clear evidence -- while also conceding doubts also exist over what the "Gaza Ministry of Health" (also known as Hamas) wrongly claimed. She cited the rabidly anti-Semitic United Nations in calling for an "independent investigation," as if that hadn't already happened. She's pretending as though the truth isn't clear, even though it is. It was, in fact, independently verified by the Biden administration. Of course, she partially blamed Biden for the attack in the first place, in the context of wrongly implicating Israel.
She has no interest in truth or evidence. This matter is closed and resolved, except to a conspiratorial and fanatical cabal of Israel haters. As such, she has doubled and tripled down in her blood libel against Israel in public comments and interviews. Tlaib is a Hamas misinformation-spreading, propaganda-spewing bigot. The record is clear. A House vote on a resolution to censure her for her grave affronts against the truth, fueled by her blatant anti-semitism, is expected in the coming days. One top Republican leader sounded supportive of the effort, which has unfortunately been spearheaded by a tainted and unserious GOP member:
NEWS: House Majority Leader Scalise supports a formal censure of Rashida Tlaib, expects a vote next week. Tlaib has tripled down on the ‘Israel hospital bombing’ lie, her latest embrace of Hamas propaganda. https://t.co/z9y7DeBhmp
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 26, 2023
But according to reports, some rank-and-file House Republicans are balking at the censure effort, citing 'freedom of speech' concerns and precedent:
On the GOP call: MTG called out Rep. Young Kim for voting to kick her off committees after Young Kim expressed concerns that the censure resolution was too political and asked leadership to reconsider bringing it to the floor
— Kadia Goba (@kadiagoba) October 29, 2023
Every House Republican -- 100 percent of them -- should be more than willing to censure Tlaib. They're not throwing her in jail, or even out of Congress. They're reacting to her series of Hamas-fostered, anti-Semitic lies. She has a right to spout literally dangerous misinformation in service of her alarming sympathies and her abiding hatred of the Jewish state. And others have a right, if not a duty, to publicly rebuke her for said conduct. She blamed Israel and America for something that didn't even happen, then further embraced and amplified the Big Lie even after it had been thoroughly debunked. She is a menace. She is a stain on the institution. Her behavior crosses several bright lines. On the merits, a censure is entirely appropriate.
On a less-important political level, with Democrats divided and sniping at each other over Israel, this vote should unify Republicans. It should simultaneously apply uncomfortable pressure to House Democrats, who've struggled internally with how to handle anti-Semites in their ranks in the recent past. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi shamefully gave her members a moral cop-out exit path when she ran the chamber. Now Republicans are at least theoretically in charge, and it's beyond me why a single one of them would vote to protect Tlaib from even modest, symbolic consequences for her egregious words and conduct. This shouldn't be a close call. Censure her.
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