Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tweeted on January 4 that the past year was “one of the deadliest” for Palestinians and called on Congress to “stop funding apartheid.”
Tlaib was quote-tweeting Jewish for Voice Peace (JVP), an organization that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. JVP’s tweet was accusing the newly installed Israeli government of “ethnic cleansing,” pointing to expulsion of residents from a Palestinian village.
“2022 was one of the deadliest years for Palestinians on record,” Tlaib tweeted. “Israeli forces and settlers killed more than 200 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, injured thousands more and demolished over 800 Palestinian homes. Congress must stop funding apartheid.”
2022 was one of the deadliest years for Palestinians on record. Israeli forces and settlers killed more than 200 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, injured thousands more and demolished over 800 Palestinian homes.
Congress must stop funding apartheid. https://t.co/Ot7emytUb7
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) January 4, 2023
Tlaib was criticized for her tweet.
“Actually, somewhere between 70% & 90% of the Palestinians killed were done so when they were in the process of carrying out terrorist and violent attacks, & more than 2/3 of them were claimed by militant and terrorist organizations,” Creative Community for Peace Executive Director Ari Ingel tweeted, linking to a video from HonestReporting explaining why the “deadliest year” claim parroted by Tlaib and the United Nations is misleading.
Actually, somewhere between 70% & 90% of the Palestinians killed were done so when they were in the process of carrying out terrorist and violent attacks, & more than 2/3 of them were claimed by militant and terrorist organizations:pic.twitter.com/Q7avpBqZjA
— Ari Ingel (@OGAride) January 5, 2023
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted, “Truly bewildering to see a Member of Congress use inflammatory rhetoric & spread disinformation about the Jewish state. Using the terms ‘apartheid’ & ‘ethnic cleansing’ is both offensive & wildly inaccurate.” He added in a subsequent tweet that “the majority of those killed were involved in perpetrating terror attacks. Moreover, @reprashida clearly feels no need to acknowledge the Israeli victims of Palestinian violence. The loss of any life is tragic, no matter what.”
Truly bewildering to see a Member of Congress use inflammatory rhetoric & spread disinformation about the Jewish state. Using the terms “apartheid” & “ethnic cleansing” is both offensive & wildly inaccurate, & @RepRashida’s source is biased. More on JVP: https://t.co/rjmrHQmMt4 pic.twitter.com/9SlbxuZKcj
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) January 6, 2023
Journal columnist Blake Flayton tweeted, “Hey Rashida, why don’t you tell us what the vast majority of those Palestinians were doing in the moments before their death? A key precursor to history’s antisemitic riots was accusing the Jews of ritualistic murder of the innocent.”
Hey Rashida, why don’t you tell us what the vast majority of those Palestinians were doing in the moments before their death? A key precursor to history’s antisemitic riots was accusing the Jews of ritualistic murder of the innocent. https://t.co/bkW8Mw3x1E
— Blake Flayton (@blakeflayton) January 5, 2023
Judea Pearl, Chancellor Professor of Computer Science at UCLA, National Academy of Sciences member and Daniel Pearl Foundation President, tweeted, “Those who count bodies and ignore intentions (e.g., @RepRashida) are bound to increase the former by fueling the latter.”
Those who count bodies and ignore intentions (e.g., @RepRashida) are bound to increase the former by fueling the latter.
Minnesota voters must hold them accountable. https://t.co/ramEGyyQy4— Judea Pearl (@yudapearl) January 8, 2023
Others defended Tlaib and focused their ire on Greenblatt. “White nationalists spent the entire week on the House floor preventing a new Congress from being sworn in. But @JGreenblattADL cares more about trying to bully @RashidaTlaib – the only Palestinian in Congress – into silence about the oppression of her own people.”
White nationalists spent the entire week on the House floor preventing a new Congress from being sworn in. But @JGreenblattADL cares more about trying to bully @RashidaTlaib – the only Palestinian in Congress – into silence about the oppression of her own people. https://t.co/SkQqmJO1Nx
— Jewish Voice for Peace Action (@JvpAction) January 6, 2023
Max Berger, who co-founded the avowed anti-occupation group IfNotNow, also tweeted in response to Greenblatt, “Truly bewildering to see an unelected ‘leader’ of a Jewish organization spread disinformation about progressive allies. Using terms like ‘inflammatory rhetoric’ is both offensive and wildly inaccurate.” He added in a subsequent tweet: “It’s truly dismaying that the ADL has much more consistently & aggressively fought critics of Israel’s government than white supremacist Republicans and their billionaire allies. The ADL should focus on fighting antisemitism and stop attacking black, Latino and Muslim allies.”
Truly bewildering to see an unelected “leader” of a Jewish organization spread disinformation about progressive allies. Using terms like “inflammatory rhetoric” is both offensive and wildly inaccurate.
More on Greenblatt here: https://t.co/EhxemFKCHe https://t.co/a5katHkUHR
— Max Berger (@maxberger) January 7, 2023
Tlaib’s office did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
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