Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is bringing on a censure resolution against Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), accusing her of engaging in antisemitic activity, expressing sympathy for terrorists, and leading an “insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol last week.
Ms. Greene announced the censure resolution on Tuesday morning. Reps. John Carter (R-Texas), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), and Randy Weber (R-Texas) co-sponsored the resolution.
The measure specifically faults Ms. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, for a variety of past comments she’s made about the Israel-Palestinian situation and for joining a group of protesters at the Capitol on Oct. 18.
In one instance, the resolution notes a 2020 post on the X social media platform in which Ms. Tlaib wrote “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The censure resolution states this phrase was originated by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has been adopted by Hamas, and “calls for the elimination of Israel and the death of all Jews.”
The U.S. and Israeli governments have both designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization. The Israeli military is currently engaged in a campaign targeting Hamas after members of the Palestinian faction breached the Israel-Gaza barrier on Oct. 7 and proceeded to kill hundreds of civilians and take around 200 people back to Gaza as hostages.
The censure resolution further faults Ms. Tlaib for one of her early responses to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
“Instead of denouncing the horrors of Hamas slaughtering Israelis and demanding the release of all hostages held by Hamas, Rashida Tlaib stated on Oct. 8, 2023, ‘The path to the 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 resolution also accuses Ms. Tlaib of exhibiting hatred for America by sharing a social media post on Oct. 12 that blames America for allowing the deaths of Palestinian babies at the hands of Israel. The Israeli military has been carrying out retaliatory airstrikes and limited ground raids on Gaza in the days since the Oct. 7 attack. The ongoing Israeli military operations raise the risk of civilians in Gaza becoming caught in the crossfire.
Various reports have alleged hundreds and even thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza could be attributed to Israeli strikes, though the exact numbers cannot be confirmed at this time. In an Oct. 20 report, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimated more than 1,500 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the ongoing fighting days since Oct. 7.
Ms. Tlaib is among a group of House Democrats who have called for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, citing concerns about civilian casualties in the conflict.
Tlaib Accused of Leading Insurrection
In addition to accusing her of engaging in antisemitic activity and sympathizing with terrorists, Ms. Greene claimed Ms. Tlaib’s involvement in an Oct. 18 protest event amounted to a leadership role in an insurrection.
The protesters entered the Cannon House office building on the afternoon of Oct. 18 and began chants in support of a ceasefire. Capitol Police began arresting and expelling some of the protesters after warning that they were not allowed to lead protests inside Congressional buildings.
The protest group was organized with the help of Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization that describes itself as a “progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization” that shares “solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle.”
Ms. Tlaib was photographed while addressing a crowd of protesters outside the congressional building that day before they went into the building.
“Rashida Tlaib led an insurrection at the United States Capitol Complex on October 18, 2023, which put Members of Congress, their staffs, and Capitol visitors in danger by shutting down elevators, stairwells, and points of egress, while obstructing official business in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, including a Senate Foreign Affairs Committee hearing,” Ms. Greene’s censure resolution reads.
The censure resolution also notes the Anti-Defamation League has referred to Jewish Voice for Peace as ‘‘a radical anti-Israel activist group that advocates for a complete economic, cultural, and academic boycott of the state of Israel,” and that believes that the decades of conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian people is caused by Israeli policies based in “Jewish racial chauvinism and religious supremacism.’’
The censure resolution alleges at least one group message shared among the Oct. 18 protesters called for a “Global Intifada,” which the resolution states is the Arabic word for ‘‘rebellion’’ or ‘‘struggle.’’
“This type of Israel-hating, America-hating behavior from a sitting Member of Congress is unacceptable, and she does not represent anything America stands for,” Ms. Greene said in a Tuesday press release.
NTD News reached out to Ms. Tlaib’s office for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of this writing.
In 2021, the then-Democratic House majority passed a resolution to remove Ms. Greene from her congressional committee assignments over comments and social media posts she made before entering Congress. In one of the instances, Ms. Greene reportedly liked a Facebook post that referred to “a bullet to the head” of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
In 2021, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) also raised the possibility of introducing a censure of Ms. Greene after she compared mask mandates to Jews being forced to wear gold stars in Nazi Germany. Mr. Schneider backed away from the centrist resolution after Ms. Greene apologized for the comparison.