3 NC Democrats helped Republicans censure Rashida Tlaib. They shouldn’t have | Opinion
Late Tuesday night, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, for statements she has made about the Israel-Hamas war.
The resolution, introduced by a trio of House Republicans, passed with the support of most Republicans and 22 Democrats. Three of those Democrats are from North Carolina: Reps. Kathy Manning, Don Davis and Wiley Nickel.
But censuring the only Palestinian American in Congress for her criticisms of Israel is wrong. More than 10,000 Palestinians have died in the past four weeks, killed by Israeli military actions, and instead of searching for a peaceful solution, lawmakers are attempting to silence one of the only voices in Congress willing to question the morality of a war that the United States is supporting.
The resolution condemns Tlaib for “promoting false narratives,” pointing to the fact that she accused Israel of bombing a hospital in Gaza last month, an allegation that later turned out to be untrue. Multiple news outlets, including The New York Times, shared the same incorrect information. Should Tlaib have retracted her claims and apologized, instead of continuing to be skeptical and calling for further investigation? Yes, but that doesn’t make her an antisemite.
The resolution also says Tlaib has called for “the destruction of the state of Israel” by using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” a slogan that has long been used as a call for Palestinian liberation. Because the slogan has been co-opted by Hamas, a terrorist group which openly states its desire to slaughter Jewish people, many consider it to be an example of antisemitic hate speech.
But for most Palestinians, who simply want to be free from Israeli occupation, it means something different altogether. Tlaib, for her part, said it is “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.” Should Tlaib, as a member of Congress, avoid using that phrase, knowing how Jewish Americans might receive it? Maybe, because as an elected official, her words do matter more than most, and they can be easily manipulated by those who wish to assume the worst of her.
Still, that doesn’t mean she should be censured, and such excessive scrutiny of Tlaib’s words and actions doesn’t seem quite fair. Because she is not defending her heritage in the way people believe she should — or perhaps because she dares to defend it at all — she becomes a villain.
Besides, these standards aren’t being applied equally. Other members of Congress have repeatedly and openly used dangerous or blatantly genocidal rhetoric when speaking about Palestinians. Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, questioned the existence of “innocent Palestinian civilians,” comparing it to the idea that there were “innocent Nazi civilians” during World War II. Rep. Max Miller, a Republican from Ohio, said that Gaza should be eviscerated and turned “into a parking lot.” Other House Republicans have introduced legislation to expel Palestinians from the United States.
They have not received nearly as much scrutiny or criticism as Tlaib. That might sound like whataboutism, but it matters. Who Congress chooses to condemn — and who it chooses to let slide — matters. And censuring the only Palestinian American in Congress for her speech while overlooking the speech of her white colleagues sends a troubling message.
But this resolution is less about the minutiae of what Tlaib says and does than it is about who she is and what she represents. Tlaib may be among the few members of Congress criticizing the U.S. government’s unflinching support for Israel and complicity in the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but it’s a position supported by many voters. Public opinion is increasingly wary of Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks, and a growing number of Americans support a ceasefire, polls show. Just as we condemn the murder and kidnapping of Israeli civilians by Hamas — an atrocity for which there is no justification — we must condemn the collective punishment of civilians in Gaza. Yet Congress seems largely indifferent to Palestinian suffering — and when someone who has intimate knowledge of that suffering called attention to it, they attempted to silence her rather than listen.
Regardless of whether you like Tlaib, or whether you agree with her, she shouldn’t be punished for expressing those beliefs. You may take issue with her worldview and her principles, but in a country that claims to value representative government and diversity of thought, her perspective should matter, too.
