Former New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind is calling on his fellow Democrats to condemn Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for her anti-Semitism.
In a Wednesday video posted to Twitter, Hikind highlighted how within her first few days in Congress, Tlaib accused “the Jewish people of dual loyalty here in America, something that the enemies of the Jewish people going back to Nazi Germany and all over the world have used against the Jewish people.”
Hikind was referencing a tweet where Tlaib accused supporters of an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) bill in Congress of forgetting “what country they represent.” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called Tlaib’s tweet “deeply problematic.”
Hikind then pointed to the photo floating on Twitter of Tlaib with Abbas Hamideh, “a supporter of Hezbollah, a supporter of Hamas.” Hikind proceeded to highlight some of Hamideh’s tweets, including one that read, “Long live the courageous Arab-Muslim lion, [Hezbollah] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah!”
“Let us remember that Hezbollah has been involved in [an] attack upon American soldiers,” Hikind said. “This is a terrorist organization, as defined not just by the Trump administration, the Obama administration before. And this is who our new member of Congress associates with? On her first day, she associates with those who want to murder and maim and destroy the Jewish people and destroy the state of Israel.”
Hikind then asked if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) have “the guts” to condemn Tlaib.
“Is it only when it’s a Republican that Democrats speak out?” Hikind asked. “Or is it only when it’s President Trump that the Democratic Party is united to condemn any kind of racism or hatred? What about the Democratic Party?”
At what point will @TheDemocrats raise their voices in condemnation against the vile haters in their ranks? First the “dual loyalty” trope and now cozying up to a Hezbollah/Hamas supporter? @RashidaTlaib should be ostracized just as Rep. King was by the GOP! pic.twitter.com/OzcazCFdI8
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) January 16, 2019
Tlaib seemed to make reference to the Hamideh photo with a Tuesday tweet stating, “Right wing media targeting me again.”
“Yes, I am Muslim and Palestinian,” Tlaib wrote. “Get over it.”
Right wing media targeting me again rather than focusing on the President's reckless government shutdown. Yes, I am Muslim and Palestinian. Get over it.
Focus on the human impact of this disaster. #EndTheShutdown
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 15, 2019
Pelosi and Schumer’s offices did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment as of publication time.
