U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) on Wednesday said he had introduced a resolution to censure fellow Michigan U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) “for her antisemitism and disgraceful response to the attacks on our ally, Israel.”
Bergman’s news release came after Tlaib gave a statement to the Wednesday afternoon responding to critics over her initial statement on Sunday about the violence in Israel and Gaza.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group, last week launched surprise attacks against Israel out of Gaza. Israel has since declared war and the death toll is nearing 2,400 people, including 25 Americans.
NEW: Tlaib responds to critics regarding her stance on violence in Israel and Gaza
Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, has been a longtime critic of Israel. On Wednesday, she told the Advance: “I do not support the targeting and killing of civilians, whether in Israel or Palestine. The fact that some have suggested otherwise is offensive and rooted in bigoted assumptions about my faith and ethnicity.”
That came after her statement on Sunday, which has been blasted by Republicans and some Democrats for failing to condemn Hamas:
“I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day,” Tlaib said. “I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity. The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.
“The failure to recognize the violent reality of living under siege, occupation, and apartheid makes no one safer,” she said. “No person, no child anywhere should have to suffer or live in fear of violence. We cannot ignore the humanity in each other. As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
In a statement, Bergman, a retired lieutenant general in the Marine Corps., argued that Tlaib’s “longstanding history of antisemitic and racist rhetoric toward Israel cannot go unchecked.
“As Hamas terrorists beheaded infants, paraded dead Jewish teenagers through town, and attacked innocent concert goers in the most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, Rep. Rashida Tlaib chose to place the blame solely on Israel and the Jewish people,” Bergman added. “There is no moral equivalence between Israel defending itself and Hamas attacking innocent Israeli civilians. Tlaib’s long history of anti-Semitic tropes and blatant anti-Jewish propaganda is both disturbing and evil – and should have no place in the halls of Congress.”
Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) joined with Bergman in introducing the resolution.
“Hamas terrorists have raped and murdered women, beheaded Jewish babies, burned Jewish children alive and killed Americans, yet Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib refused to condemn the evil, brutal attacks. Worse, she justified their vile actions and called Israel an “apartheid state,” placing blame on Israel for the barbarism of these terrorists,” said Luttrell. “There should be zero tolerance for this atrocious antisemitism in America, especially in the halls of Congress.”
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authored by Susan J. Demas
First published at https%3A%2F%2Fmichiganadvance.com%2F2023%2F10%2F12%2Frep-bergman-wants-to-censure-rep-tlaib-for-comments-about-violence-in-israel-and-gaza%2F
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