Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) promoted a tweet on her Twitter account on Sunday that contained a phrase that is associated with calling for the elimination of Israel.
StopAntisemitism.org highlighted the tweet that Tlaib retweeted, which stated: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
“Rashida Tlaib RT’s out the same message that got Marc Lamont Hill canned from CNN,” StopAntisemitism.org noted. “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free – code for eradicating the State of Israel and its millions of Jews. Reminder – this is a sitting U.S. Congresswoman.”
The Daily Beast, a left-wing publication, wrote the following about the meaning of the phrase:
The river in this formulation is the Jordan, the naturally occurring eastern border of Israel and of the West Bank; the sea is the Mediterranean to the west. Uttered by advocates of the Palestinian cause for decades, the pithy slogan very pointedly makes no place for Israel. It evokes a strip of Middle Eastern land where Israel is no more, replaced by a unified Palestinian entity in the space it once occupied. It could be that this entity would welcome and protect a Jewish population. But when supporters of the Jewish state hear those 10 words, they worry about their potentially violent implications.
Rashida Tlaib RT's out the same message that got Marc Lamont Hill canned from CNN.
From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free – code for eradicating the State of Israel and its millions of Jews.
Reminder – this is a sitting U.S. Congresswoman pic.twitter.com/zEWOptrGPW
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) November 30, 2020
CNN did fire then-contributor Marc Lamont Hill in 2018 after he used the slogan, which The Times of Israel noted was associated with “Palestinian extremists,” during a speech at the United Nations. Hamas has repeatedly used the phrase, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). A recent report from the ADL described the phrase as “extreme.”
The ADL’s senior vice president for international affairs, Sharon Nazarian, responded to Hill’s remarks at the time by telling the Jewish Journal that “those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel.”
“It is a shame that once again, this annual event at the United Nations does not promote constructive pathways to ‘Palestinian solidarity’ and a future of peace, but instead divisive and destructive action against Israel,” Nazarian added.
He's also used his @CNN platform to oppose funding for Israel's Iron Dome air defense system—which does nothing but shoot down rockets fired at Israeli towns—because it "takes away all of Hamas's military leverage," saying, "that, for me, is the problem." https://t.co/D0y8UebP3v
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) November 29, 2018
Tlaib, who has a well-documented history of anti-Semitic remarks, was accused last week of anti-Semitism over her reaction to the announcement of Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken.
“So long as he doesn’t suppress my First Amendment right to speak out against Netanyahu’s racist and inhumane policies,” Tlaib tweeted. “The Palestinian people deserve equality and justice.”
Americans Against Antisemitism founder Dov Hikind responded: “Biden names a Jew to his cabinet What’s Rashida’s response?! ‘Welp, as long as that Judische pick doesn’t stop me from focusing my hatred on one country, Israel, then he’s a good Jew!’ It’s not your 1A right you’re trying to protect but your vile Jew-hatred! That’s ALL yours!”
Biden names a Jew to his cabinet
What’s Rashida’s response?! “Welp, as long as that Judische pick doesn’t stop me from focusing my hatred on one country, Israel, then he’s a good Jew!”
It’s not your 1A right you’re trying to protect but your vile Jew-hatred!
That’s ALL yours! https://t.co/JegzY5ZCtm
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) November 23, 2020
The Republican Jewish Coalition responded: “You can just say you’re worried because he’s Jewish…”
You can just say you're worried because he's Jewish… https://t.co/TdZL8BwrhB
— RJC (@RJC) November 23, 2020
Author Christina Sommers responded: “Your antisemitism is showing.”
Your antisemitism is showing.
— Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) November 23, 2020
Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby responded: “For some members of Congress, hating on Jews is always Priority #1.”
For some members of Congress, hating on Jews is always Priority #1. https://t.co/ZPaVb8U1eq
— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff_Jacoby) November 23, 2020