Congressman Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) has recently called on his colleagues to take action against Rep. Rashida Tlaib's (D-MI) and have her removed from all congressional committees following controversial remarks she made about Israel.
He made his plea in light of two new incidents involving antisemitism, arguing that "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was 'emboldening' Tlaib's dangerous, hateful bigotry,' by remaining silent on the issue, according to conservative outlet Daily Wire.
The first incident related to Tlaib's participation in an anti-Israel conference led by one of the nation's most strident opponents of the Jewish state – American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). The second incident involved Tlaib sharing online content that appeared to endorse the destruction of Israel.
The Pennsylvania representative remarked that he had seen firsthand where standing by and allowing antisemitism and intolerance to pervade American communities led, referencing the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in October 2018 that killed 11 and wounded six others.
#ICYMI | Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar held press conference addressing their barred entry into Israel. @IlhanMN claimed the decision by Netanyahu "was edged on and supported by @realDonaldTrump's administration." https://t.co/kBE8cx3bnY pic.twitter.com/Z9jpxAvc3M
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 20, 2019
Reschenthaler juxtaposed House Republican's zero tolerance for hate speech in its ranks, highlighting that when GOP Congressman Steve King made "inexcusable racist remarks," he received widespread condemnation from both sides of the aisle and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy "rightfully stripped him of his committee assignments."
The retweet – which Tlaib responded to in honor of "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and then precipitously took down without comment – used a well-known phrase that calls for Israel's elimination. It read: "From the river [Jordan] to the sea [Mediterranean], Palestine will be free.
It was a phrase that got Marc Lamont Hill in trouble with CNN, who dropped him as a Middle East analyst, despite his protestations that he was unaware of its provenance after he used it in a speech.
There is likely little hope for Tlaib's censure. Fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) who also spoke at the AMP conference escaped serious punishment and certainly did not lose her seat on the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee after she accused pro-Israel advocates of allegiance to a foreign country.
Shortly after President-elect Joe Biden announced that Antony Blinken would be his nomination for secretary of state, the congresswoman tweeted that she welcomed the appointment as long as he – a Jew – would not attempt to squash her First Amendment rights to condemn Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
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This article was first published by i24NEWS.
