Rashida Tlaib is the lone Palestinian-American in the US Congress. (File)
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to censure Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib over her remarks on the Israel-Hamas war. Tlaib, the lone Palestinian-American in the Congress, has long courted criticism for her stance on the decades-long conflict in the Middle East.
The Republican-controlled House voted 234 to 188 to censure the three-term Congresswoman from Michigan, according to Al Jazeera.
Censure, a formal statement of disapproval in the form of a resolution, is adopted by majority vote.
Among those in favour of censuring Ms Tlaib were 22 Democrats, a reflection of how the Israel-Hamas war has left the Democratic Party divided. Interestingly, though, four Republicans voted against the resolution, which accuses her of “promoting false narratives” concerning Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and of “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel,” according to The New York Times.
A Democrat and three Republicans refused to take positions on the resolution to censure Tlaib.
While the House debated the resolution, a visibly emotional Tlaib once again called for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes have killed over 10,000 Palestinians, with a significant number of women and children among them.
“I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable,” she said, holding back tears as Representative Ilhan Omar, her fellow Democrat from Minnesota, comforted her. “The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me.”
On the floor of the house, Tlaib underlined she had been critical of the Israeli government, not its people, adding that the movement calling for a ceasefire was “growing every single day”.
“You can try to censure me, but you can’t silence their voices,” she said.
Last week, Tlaib was criticised for defending the “from the river to the sea” chant, a pro-Palestinian slogan deemed “anti-semitic” by many.
