Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) has expressed openness to the idea of censuring a fellow House Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) over comments she made as Hamas and the Israeli military continue to fight following the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas.
During an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Mr. Moskowitz, who is Jewish, faulted Ms. Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, for continuing to suggest the Israeli military may have been responsible for a strike at the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza last week. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claimed that as many as 500 people were killed by a blast that hit the hospital on Oct. 17.
Hamas publicly attributed the hospital blast to an Israeli military strike, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after reviewing the blast denied the allegation and claimed the blast was more likely the result of an errant rocket launched by members of the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad faction.
The IDF also said it had intercepted a phone call in which “terrorists were well-aware that a rocket had misfired” with specific reference to the al-Ahli Hospital, and that Hamas had “intentionally inflated the body count in order to further galvanize international support,” which according to aerial images was not from a direct hit on the hospital but instead from casualties in the parking lot.
President Joe Biden subsequently announced that an independent U.S. intelligence assessment also concluded that the IDF was not responsible for the blast.
Shortly after the hospital blast, Ms. Tlaib shared a post on the X social media platform attributing the blast to Israel and ridiculing President Biden for not supporting calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Despite U.S. intelligence assessments attributing the blast to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad faction, Ms. Tlaib has chosen to weigh Hamas’s claims in equally high regard, holding open the possibility that the Israeli side could still be at fault.
In a Monday press statement, Ms. Tlaib called for an independent investigation of the Oct. 17 hospital blast and said the United States and Israeli governments both have “long, documented histories” of misleading the public about various war crimes. The UK and Canadian governments have also conducted their own assessments, agreeing with the IDF and United States’s conclusion.
When Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany asked Mr. Moskowitz about Ms. Tlaib “doubling down” on her comments about the hospital attack, he said, “I continue to be disappointed in members of Congress who are not willing to listen to U.S. intelligence and listen to the Biden administration who have said Israel had nothing to do with the issue that happened in the parking lot of the hospital.”
The Fox News host then asked if Ms. Tlaib should face punishment, including a potential censure vote.
“I think once we get a house speaker here, I think that censure resolution will come to the floor. And I do think it’s something that everyone should consider,” Mr. Moskowitz said.
Greene Files Censure Resolution
Mr. Moskowitz didn’t explicitly say how he would vote if a resolution to censure Ms. Tlaib does come to the House floor. Still, his comments could show a growing backlash against Ms. Tlaib’s comments on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced her own censure resolution against the Michigan Democrat from the far-left Progressive Caucus, with the backing of Reps. John Carter (R-Texas), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), and Randy Weber (R-Texas).
Ms. Greene’s resolution specifically accuses Ms. Tlaib of engaging in antisemitic activity, noting various comments she’s made about the Israel-Palestinian situation as far back as 2019.
The Republican-led censure resolution further accuses Ms. Tlaib of leading an “insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 18. The insurrection claim stems from Ms. Tlaib’s participation in a political rally, calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, in which the Michigan Democrat addressed a crowd of protesters outside the Capitol, after which many members of the group later entered the Cannon House office building.
Capitol Police eventually began arresting and expelling some of the protesters after issuing warnings that they were not allowed to protest inside the Congressional building.
Ms. Greene’s censure resolution further alleges that 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 a “rebellion” or “struggle.”
“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,” the censure resolution reads.
NTD News reached out to Ms. Tlaib’s office for comment but did not receive a response by the time this article was published.