Tlaib on Two-State Solution with Israel As Jewish State: ‘Separate But Equal Didn’t Work’ 

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN) responded to a question on what she means by “coexistence” and the fact that “people that adhere to Zionism and think Israel should exist as a Jewish state” will oppose a “one-state solution” by stating that “separate but equal didn’t work. We saw it in our own country. But I’m not going to push it on the people. If folks want to push for a two-state, go for it.”

Host Chris Hayes asked, “Just to be clear here, when you talk about peaceful coexistence, you imagine a pluralistic, democratic state in the full land from the river to the sea, as people call it, the one-state solution. But that would be — fundamentally, the people that adhere to Zionism and think Israel should exist as a Jewish state, they’re just not going to like that. I’m not — I just want to clarify what the actual positions are.”

Tlaib responded, “I grew up in the most beautiful, blackest city in the country, where separate but equal didn’t work. We saw it in our own country. But I’m not going to push it on the people. If folks want to push for a two-state, go for it. But, guess what? Netanyahu’s current government is not supporting that. He’s literally said it to us over and over again. He doesn’t want to coexist with Palestinians. And we’re saying, no, we’re going to have a peaceful coexistence and pushing against those that want to target people solely based on the fact they’re Palestinian or of a different faith. And again, that’s what my city that I grew up in taught me, is to push against that kind of racism, that kind of discrimination, and that kind of, again, call for elimination. If — I’ll use the words he said, cleanse Gaza. This is what I have to continue to speak truth to power on. And I’m not going to allow folks to distort or try to silence, or again, try to make out that my residents are calling for something — anything, anything but the end to the violence.”

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