The House censured Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday knowingly and falsely accusing Israel of bombing a Gaza hospital and promoting videos with the slogan “from the river to the sea,” which would be tantamount to a second Holocaust. On Wednesday, MSNBC Capitol Hill correspondent Julie Tsirkin joined Ana Cabrera Reports and claimed all Tlaib did was criticize Israel.
In the same video that contained “from the river to the sea,” Tlaib accused a president of her own party of enabling genocide. The idea that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians such an absurd lie and the same media that finds the need to fact-check every little thing Republicans say should not let her get away with it. Instead, Tsirkin noted “Well, there's a divide in this party more broadly when it comes to this conflict, Ana, because you heard more progressive members, for example, who have criticized the president's approach when it comes to this war. Some who have demanded even for a ceasefire.”
Tsirkin pretend that all Tlaib did was criticize Israel, “We've seen that rhetoric increase, one of those Democrats was, of course, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. She's just one of three Muslim members of Congress. She is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, and she has frequently -- even before this war -- taken to the side of Palestine. She has spoken against the Israeli government. She's done no different in this situation.”
No, she’s flat out lied about it, multiple times. Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider, who was one of 22 Democrats to vote for the resolution, accused her of blood libel for standing by the hospital claim. One could add the false claims of genocide.
Tsirkin eventually played a clip of Tlaib on the House floor declaring “The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is anti-Semitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it's being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation… I can't believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings just like anyone else.”
A tearful Tlaib can try to manipulate people by lying that she was simply criticizing Israel, but she can’t change the fact that she used “from the river to the sea,” which is not a criticism of Israel, but a call for its destruction. Claiming that it is just a peacenik hippie slogan about peaceful co-existence is insulting people’s intelligence.
Eventually, Tsirkin got more specific, citing Schneider, “he said it wasn't something he wanted to do. It wasn't an easy vote for him, and this wasn't the perfect vehicle to do it, he said, but this is the only one available for him to be able to make his position clear in saying that her rhetoric, including her embrace of the slogan ‘from the river to the sea’ over the weekend, is something that would not be tolerated by the Congress.”
Again, what’s the criticism? Tsirkin couldn’t say, probably because there isn’t one.
Here is a transcript for the November 8 show:
MSNBC Ana Cabrera Reports
11/8/2023
10:43 AM ET
JULIE TSIRKIN: Well, there's a divide in this party more broadly when it comes to this conflict, Ana, because you heard more progressive members, for example, who have criticized the president's approach when it comes to this war. Some who have demanded even for a ceasefire. We've seen that rhetoric increase, one of those Democrats was, of course, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. She's just one of three Muslim members of Congress. She is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, and she has frequently -- even before this war -- taken to the side of Palestine. She has spoken against the Israeli government. She's done no different in this situation.
This was the second attempt to censure her after Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tried to do that last week. It failed on a broad bipartisan vote. Last night was an emotional night for Talib on the floor. She spoke passionately about why she's standing in defense of Palestinians in this fight. Take a listen to what she said, and we'll talk about it on the other side.
RASHIDA TLAIB: The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is anti-Semitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it's being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation… I can't believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings just like anyone else.
TSIRKIN: You saw her emotion there. She was comforted by her colleague, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and other progressive members sitting around her, but there were 22 Democrats who voted to censure Tlaib. Those indicated, for example, Democrat Brad Schneider of Illinois who posted on X after his vote, he said it wasn't something he wanted to do. It wasn't an easy vote for him, and this wasn't the perfect vehicle to do it, he said, but this is the only one available for him to be able to make his position clear in saying that her rhetoric, including her embrace of the slogan “from the river to the sea” over the weekend, is something that would not be tolerated by the Congress.
