Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) will be hosting an event at the Capitol Visitor Center on May 10 commemorating Nakba Day.
The event, titled “Nakba 75 & the Palestinian People,” lists several anti-Israel groups as organizers, including Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), and Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU). The event page says that it will feature Tlaib, but The Washington Free Beacon and Jerusalem Post both noted that only “a sitting member of Congress” can reserve a spot at the Capitol Visitor Center.
“May 15th marks 75 years since the beginning of the Nakba, which means ‘catastrophe,’” the event page states. “Seventy-five years ago, Zionist militias and the new Israeli military violently expelled approximately three-quarters of all Palestinians from their homes and homeland in what became the state of Israel. To uplift the experiences of Palestinians who underwent the Nakba, and educate Members of Congress and their staff about this history and the ongoing Nakba to which Israel continues to subject Palestinians, we’ve partnered together to host this congressional and community educational event, to be followed immediately afterward by dinner.”
Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) told The Jerusalem Post, “There is strong bipartisan support in Congress for the US-Israel relationship, and no effort that attempts to rewrite history and question Israel’s right to exist has any hope of succeeding. At a time when that relationship is integral to our joint fight against terror, expansion of Israeli-Arab normalization efforts, and shared security and intelligence efforts, this narrative only sows divisiveness and hate.”
Jewish groups also denounced Tlaib and the event.
“The real Nakba is [that Tlaib] got elected to represent her district and the American people in Congress,” Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the Free Beacon. “She could have been and should have been someone who would work tirelessly to bring Palestinians and Israelis together to make peace. Instead, she continues to serve as a cheerleader for demonization and delegitimization of the Jewish state.”
Stop Antisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez similarly told The New York Post that Tlaib “continues to mischaracterize Israel’s history and policies, making her a natural ally for organizations like IMEU, one of the top propagators of false anti-Israel rhetoric on social media. The real ‘catastrophe’ is Rep. Tlaib and her allies’ refusal to engage with Zionism in good faith. Fact checks haven’t stopped them because they hold ideology above accuracy; as long as they ignore the reality of Israel’s past, they can’t participate in honest conversations about its present and future.”
Brooke Goldstein, who heads The Lawfare Project and co-founded End Jew Hatred, tweeted: “It’s one thing to spew hateful rhetoric, it’s another to use US Congress to do so. Rashida Tlaib [shouldn’t] be permitted to hold a ‘Nakba Day’ event on US Congress property. This day ‘mourns’ the inability of Arabs to commit a genocide of Jews in 1948. Outrageous and unacceptable.”
It’s one thing to spew hateful rhetoric, it’s another to use US Congress to do so. Rashida Tlaib shouldnt be permitted to hold a “Nakba Day” event on US Congress property. This day “mourns” the inability of Arabs to commit a genocide of Jews in 1948. Outrageous and unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/bF75LaFjvI
— Brooke Goldstein (@GoldsteinBrooke) May 9, 2023
The Republican Jewish Coalition tweeted, “These are the ascendant anti-Israel voices in the Democratic Party, and House Democrats continue to pathetically coddle them.”
Antisemitic Democrat @RashidaTlaib is hosting a “Nakba Day” event in the U.S. Capitol, calling Israel’s establishment a “catastrophe”.
These are the ascendant anti-Israel voices in the Democratic Party, and House Democrats continue to pathetically coddle them. https://t.co/xtR6D9pex1
— RJC (@RJC) May 8, 2023
Tlaib’s office did not immediately respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
