Michigan congresswoman and far-left “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib is facing backlash after it was revealed she will host a congressional event to mark the Palestinian “Nakba” (Catastrophe) — a term used by Palestinians to refer to the creation of the Jewish state.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a third-term member of Congress long accused of anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric, is scheduled to host a congressional event this week to commemorate the “Nakba,” or “Catastrophe,” of Israel’s establishment.
The event, set to take place at the Capitol Visitor Center on Wednesday, features numerous anti-Israel organizations as cosponsors, including the radical Emgage Action and Americans for Justice in Palestine Action.
The invitation for the function, which lists Tlaib as a “special guest,” accuses “Zionist militias and the new Israeli military” of having “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,” it continues.
Flashback: Tlaib: We Shouldn’t Be Giving “Apartheid” Israel Billions — “They Promote Racism and Dehumanization”
It makes no note of Israel’s declaration of independence and calls for peace “in the very midst of the onslaught” launched against the country’s Jewish inhabitants being met with more bloodshed as surrounding Arab nations rejected the notion of a Jewish state and declared war instead.
In response to the announcement, officials and groups slammed the radical congresswoman.
The Republican Jewish Coalition noted that the “antisemitic Democrat” Tlaib would be hosting the event, highlighting how “These are the ascendant anti-Israel voices in the Democratic Party, and House Democrats continue to pathetically coddle them.”
“Rashida Tlaib, who has repeatedly used antisemitic tropes, is hosting an event to attack Israel with groups that defend terrorism and support the antisemitic BDS movement,” wrote Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
“This is outrageous. We condemn this completely,” she added. “Republicans stand with Israel!”
“Imagine if Rashida Tlaib would spend as much time working for Michigan’s 12th District as she spends demonizing the world’s only Jewish state,” tweeted StopAntisemitism, an American-based group dedicated to fighting antisemitism.
“The only ‘catastrophe’ is that there are antisemitic and racist Members of Congress, like [Rashida Tlaib]!” wrote CEO of the International Legal Forum and human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky.
Philanthropist Adam Milstein accused Tlaib of “using the US Congress to promote her anti-Israel extremism” through the event.
“The Democrats don’t even try to hide their hate anymore,” one Twitter user noted.
Last week, Tlaib was fact-checked by Twitter’s new “Community Notes” system after she objected to a bipartisan trip to Israel.
Tlaib, who has expressed antisemitic views and has been barred from Israel due to her support for the “boycott, divestment, sanctions” (BDS) movement, was reacting to a tweet by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was warmly received in Israel last week.
After the radical legislator claimed that “apartheid” Israel “was born out of violence and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” she was promptly fact-checked by the Community Notes system, which uses crowdsourcing from a variety of viewpoints rather than outsourcing to third-party organizations (many of which have a partisan bias).
The Community Notes accurately pointed out that Israel was officially created by a UN resolution, and not violence — though Palestinian Arabs and surrounding Arab states tried to crush the state in its infancy.
Tlaib often finds ways of bringing Israel and the Palestinians into matters, even when only discussing local issues.
Last year, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon accused the progressive “Squad” member of espousing “pure hate” and “antisemitism.”
The “Squad” has a history of antisemitic charges and has been accused of repeated attacks on Israel while ignoring the plight of Palestinians at the hands of Hamas or Afghans under Taliban control.
Previously, Tlaib’s campaign was reported to have paid $170,000 to an “anti-Israel activist” who has “called for defunding the police” on multiple occasions.
After her participation in an anti-Israel conference with purported terrorist ties as well as having retweeted a slogan calling for the elimination of the Jewish State, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) urged his colleagues “across the aisle” to join him in calling for Tlaib’s immediate removal from all congressional committees.
The radical “Squad” member has long supported emptying out all federal prisons and has scolded President Joe Biden for not enacting Green New Deal-like policies into law while calling for Congress to pass the president’s Build Back Better Plan and eliminate the filibuster.
Despite being in the top ten percent of income earners, Tlaib has demanded taxpayers pay off her student loans.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.