A proud Democrat and a member of New York Dem Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive “squad,” Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib has faced pushback since she was first elected in 2018 over comments that some have deemed anti-Semitic. Now, one congressman says it’s finally time for Tlaib to face the consequences.
In a statement to Breitbart on Friday, Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R) called for Tlaib to be removed from her roles on various House committees, charging that the congresswoman has shown long “a deeply disturbing pattern of anti-Semitism.”
“This week, Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib participated in a forum led by one of the nation’s most anti-Israel advocacy groups that featured other participants with reported connections to Hamas, terrorism financiers, and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement,” Reschenthaler said, as Breitbart reported.
“Rep. Tlaib’s participation in this conference, coupled with her recently deleted retweet of a slogan calling for the elimination of Israel, are just the latest examples of a deeply disturbing pattern of anti-Semitism that has been on display since she was elected,” he added. “Yet Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [D-CA] and House Democrats refuse to condemn her heinous behavior.”
“Defeaningly silent”
Later in his statement to Breitbart, Reschenthaler contrasted Democrats’ reactions to Tlaib’s allegedly hateful remarks to that of Republicans, who removed Republican Rep. Steve King (IA) from his committee assignments after he made what Reschenthaler described as “inexcusable racist remarks.”
“House Republicans demonstrated we have zero tolerance for hateful speech in our ranks. When outgoing Republican Congressman Steve King made inexcusable racist remarks, not only did he receive widespread condemnation from both sides of the aisle, but Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy rightfully stripped him of his committee assignments,” Reschenthaler said in his statement.
He went on: “Speaker Pelosi, on the other hand, is deafeningly silent. By failing to act and hold Rep. Tlaib accountable, Pelosi is emboldening her and others to continue spreading and escalating this dangerous, hateful bigotry.”
Of course, this is far from being the first time that Tlaib has been accused of embracing anti-Semitic ideology. In 2019, the Washington Free Beacon revealed that Tlaib had followed an Instagram account that “depict[ed] Jews as rats” and blamed Israel for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Fox News reported later last year that Tlaib and fellow Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN) attempted to visit Israel with an organization called Miftah. According to Fox, the group once published an article hailing suicide bomber Wafa Idrees as the “the beginning of a string of Palestinian women dedicated to sacrificing their lives for the cause.”
The bottom line
With figures like these in Congress, it’s no wonder that Reschenthaler is worried for his constituents.
“As a Member of Congress representing southwestern Pennsylvania, I have seen firsthand what happens when we stand by and allow anti-Semitism and intolerance to pervade our communities,” he told Breitbart. “In 2018, 11 Jewish worshippers were killed and six others were wounded at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh,” he explained.
“It is past time we show the American people that there is no place in Congress, or anywhere, for this shameful intolerance,” Reschenthaler concluded. “I call on my colleagues across the aisle to join me in calling for Rep. Tlaib to immediately lose her committee assignments.”
The post Pennsylvania congressman wants Tlaib removed from House committee assignments: Report first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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