Rep. Rashida Tlaib
Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib became the 26th member in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives to be censured.
On Tuesday night, the House voted 234-188 to censure her for statements related to the Hamas-Israel war. Only 22 Democrats joined Republicans in favor of the measure.
The proposed censure was offered by Republican U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, and accused Tlaib of responding to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel by calling for the end of “the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance," the New York Times reports.
Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, was also criticized for defending the chant "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free," a phrase many Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, have interpreted as a call for the elimination of Israel.
In recent days, Tlaib tweeted that the phrase is "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate."
Some Jewish politicians in Michigan didn't buy that, including Attorney General Dana Nessel, who tweeted:
"I have supported and defended you countless times, even when you have said the indefensible, because I believed you to be a good person whose heart was in the right place.
"But this is so hurtful to so many. Please retract this cruel and hateful remark."
"Representative Tlaib has stoked anti-Semitism in this nation and undermined our national security," Rep. McCormick, who authored the measure, said on the House floor, according to the Detroit News.
"I ask my colleagues to support this resolution to show the world, especially our adversaries, that the United States stands behind our allies and won’t back down to terrorists."
Tlaib said on the floor that her criticism is of the Israeli government, not the citizens, and the movement pushing for a ceasefire is growing.
“You can try to censure me, but you can’t silence their voices,” she said, according to the Times.
