Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addressed allegations of anti-Semitism against her in a recent interview with Detroit Jewish News (JN) and described herself as “one solid, strong advocate … against the white supremacist in the White House.”
In her first conversation with the Jewish publication in her home district, Tlaib also compared the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel to the civil rights bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama, and touched on criticism that her fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has faced for offensive tweets.
Regarding what she would say to readers of JN who regard her as “Public Enemy Number One,” Tlaib appealed to her work with Jewish people in her community, and claimed her views on Palestine and Israel have been mischaracterized.
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Pointing out how she has a living grandmother and relatives in “territories occupied by Israel,” Tlaib said of her views on the Jewish state, “I think they’ve been misinterpreted or not fully understood. If people saw me more as a granddaughter, versus a congressmember, they would understand why I have said we need to push for true equality and justice in Israel.”
Regarding her current stance on the BDS movement, an anti-Israel boycott that the Anti-Defamation League described as “the most prominent effort to undermine Israel’s existence” and “rampant with misinformation and distortion,” Tlaib said, “Well, I absolutely support freedom of speech, and people want to taint the freedom to boycott.”
Tlaib continued, “It’s a peaceful way to speak up and say, ‘I’m against these human rights violations or these policies and this racism.’ And I am absolutely, very much adamant that people need the right to boycott. I raised my voice and said, ‘I believe in that kind of movement.’ I don’t know where we would be in our country without the Montgomery bus boycotts. It’s something that’s part of our American fabric.”
Tlaib pushed back on the idea “that the BDS movement is somehow anti-Semitic,” claiming “there are Jews who support the BDS movement. There are folks who truly believe in stopping racism of all forms, and they use the boycott as a form of speech.”
Tlaib later said of her Jewish constituents who oppose her for her stance on the BDS movement, “It’s just this one issue that we might disagree on. I had a few residents who were like, ‘I don’t know, Rashida.’ And I said, ‘You don’t have to be there, but know it’s coming from a place that I really believe.’ I really, truly believe that both communities can be free if we push back against Netanyahu’s racism and right-wing approach.”
Tlaib also defended Omar, her congressional colleague, who also supports BDS and even introduced a pro-BDS resolution in the House of Representatives in 2019. Omar was met with backlash when she tweeted in February 2019 that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) pays politicians to support Israel. Following the backlash, she deleted the tweets.
“I think there was a gasp,” Tlaib said of when Omar tweeted those sentiments. “But at the same time, the way she was vilified — because I know her, she’s not anti-Semitic.” She then contrasted Omar’s willingness to apologize for her tweets with President Donald Trump, who Tlaib claims never apologizes.
Of Trump, Tlaib said, “I think one solid, strong advocate you’re going to have against the white supremacist in the White House is me. And when (Trump) speaks the way he does about Muslims, immigrants, Jews, understand that. What I see is all of us coming together and pushing against that.”
The Israeli government banned both Omar and Tlaib from making a trip to Israel in August 2019 because of their support for the BDS movement, as well as for an itinerary that listed their trip to Israel as a trip to Palestine. Israel later relented and allowed Tlaib to visit after she requested to see her 90-year-old grandmother, but Tlaib refused the offer, saying, “I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in – fighting against racism, oppression & injustice.”
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