Last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a resolution to censure her colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), after Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, made several pro-Palestinian comments following the killings in Israel on October 7 and the resulting war in that region.
The resolution by Greene accused Tlaib of “antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol Complex.”
That last charge was especially specious, since all Tlaib had done was speak outside ahead of a protest in which a couple of dozen demonstrators, most of them Jewish, were arrested inside a U.S. Capitol office building. Tlaib had spoken but was not an “instigator” or leader of the protest effort.
Specious Resolution
CNN’s Jake Tapper had attacked Greene’s resolution as unserious.
“Antisemitism is not a cudgel to be used against people for political points, nor is Islamophobia or racism or anti-gay behavior or misogyny or any other kind of bigotry,” Tapper said on the air last month while reporting from Israel. “Just over three weeks ago, 1,400 people, mostly Jews, mostly civilians, were slaughtered here in some of the cruelest and most unimaginable ways in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.”
That resolution was not taken up by the House, and nor was another one, by Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) to censure Greene herself. But now, Greene is planning to go after Tlaib again.
According to The Hill, Greene is preparing a second resolution to censure the Michigan Congresswoman.
The report states that Greene is taking another bite at the apple after Tlaib accused the president of supporting “the genocide of the Palestinian people” and also using the controversial phrase “from the river to the sea.” That phrase is seen by many as a call for the killing of Jews and the death of the state of Israel, although Tlaib called it “an aspirational call for freedom.”
Ironically Greene, who has introduced about a half-dozen resolutions in the last three years to impeach President Biden, is attacking Tlaib in part for accusing that same president of complicity in genocide.
Greene, per the report, will remove the word “insurrection” from the resolution text and replace it with “illegal occupation,” clearly using loaded language with specific resonance toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Hopefully the 23 Republicans who voted no to censure Pro-terrorists Pro-Hamas Anti-Israel anti-Semitic Rashida Tlaib will use their freedom of speech in Congress to censure (condemn) Terrorist Tlaib’s speech, lies, and actions that incited an illegal occupation on Oct 18th,” Greene said on X, the former Twitter, this weekend, also posting a list of the GOP members of Congress who had opposed the first resolution.
“They censured Adam Schiff so they should be able to vote to censure her. We can not stand by doing nothing while one of our colleagues calls for the genocide of our great friend and ally Israel. Terrorist Tlaib should be expelled but let’s see if we can at least censure her.”
Resolution or Bust
It’s unclear if this resolution has any more of a chance to pass than the first one did, or what will happen to Balint’s push to censure Greene. The House, under new speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, will also have to avoid a government shutdown, and also determine what to do with aid for Israel and/or Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) went even further than Greene on X this week, stating that “Rashida Tlaib is calling for the genocide of the Jewish people.”
“This is a lie. This rhetoric is dangerous and needs to stop,” Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) said on the same social media platform this week. “This endangers the life of Rashida and Palestinians standing up for their liberation everywhere.”
Author Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter. This piece should be considered opinion, representing the author’s own ideas.
