by
Rep. Rashida Tlaib
Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan was one of two Congressional members who did not vote Tuesday for a resolution affirming Israel's right to exist, Business Insider reports. The vote was 412-1.
Tlaib, a Palestinian American who has a grandmother in the West Bank, voted "present," which is essentially a neutral vote that is neither for or against. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the lone vote against it.
Tlaib issued a statement saying the resolution "ignores the existence of the Palestinian people" and "brings us no closer to peaceful coexistence."
On X, formerly Twitter, she also posted this statement:
My statement calling for the release of all hostages and Palestinian political prisoners. pic.twitter.com/VtHYFiZpit
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) November 29, 2023
Earlier this month, the House censured Tlaib, voting 234-188 for a resolution that accused her of “promoting false narratives” involving the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and of “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”
She was also criticized for embracing the phrase, “from the river to the sea,” which some say calls for the destruction of Israel. She has insisted it is “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction or hate.”
