Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich).. Photo: Screenshot.
US President Donald Trump on Monday slammed Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib over recent remarks she made on the Holocaust, saying, “She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people.”
In an interview broadcast by Yahoo News on Saturday, Tlaib, the 42-year-old daughter of Palestinian immigrants to the US who represents Michigan’s 13th congressional district, said, “There’s always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out.”
“And just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time,” she added. “And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away and it was forced on them.”
Tlaib’s comments were widely criticized as an extreme distortion of history. And on Monday, Trump tweeted, “Democrat Rep. Tlaib is being slammed for her horrible and highly insensitive statement on the Holocaust. She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?”
Democrat Rep. Tlaib is being slammed for her horrible and highly insensitive statement on the Holocaust. She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019
Trump was not the only Republican to condemn Tlaib. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana issued a statement saying, “There is no justification for the twisted and disgusting comments made by Rashida Tlaib just days after the annual Day of Holocaust Remembrance. More than six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust; there is nothing ‘calming’ about that fact.”
Scalise also lashed out at House Democrats in general.
“Unfortunately, this is far from the first display of heinous anti-Semitic comments coming from Democrat House members this year, and it’s clear this is now the norm for their caucus,” he said. “It’s long past time for Speaker Pelosi to take swift action and make it clear that these vile comments have no place in Congress.”
Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming joined Scalise, describing Tlaib’s statements as “sickening.”
She also urged Democratic leaders “to finally take action against Representative Tlaib and other members of the Democratic caucus who are spreading vile antisemitism.”
“All of us, regardless of party, must stand as Americans against the evil of antisemitism,” she added. “If the Democratic leadership continues to stand by in silence, they are enabling the spread of evil.”
Tlaib’s communications director, Denzel Campbell, responded to Cheney and other Republicans in a statement, saying, “Once again, Republican leaders and right-wing extremists are spreading outright lies to incite hate. Congresswoman Liz Cheney should be ashamed of herself for using the tragedy of the Holocaust in a transparent attempt to score political points.”
In an apparent attempt to speak for American Jews, Campbell said Cheney’s remark “cheapens out public discourse and is an insult to the Jewish community and the millions of Americans who stand opposed to the hatred being spread by Donald Trump’s Republican party.”
Statement on lies being spread regarding Congresswoman Tlaib’s appearance on Yahoo’s SkullDuggery Podcast. pic.twitter.com/fBASeibLwV
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 13, 2019
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