On Wednesday, House Democrats, aided by some Republicans, rejected an initiative to censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her criticism of Israel on his response to the Deadly Hamas terrorist attack.
The House voted to table — or kill — the censure resolution 222-186 with 23 Republicans voting with Democrats.
Shortly afterward, with the motion to table the Tlaib resolution passed, House Democrats passed a resolution to censure Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who had proposed censure of Tlaib.
Last month, Tlaib aroused the anger of his colleagues, including some Democrats, after refusing to apologize for blaming Israel for the deadly hospital explosion in Gaza at the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. U.S. officials said initial evidence suggests the explosion came from an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket, not Israel.
The resolution to censure Tlaib, introduced by Greene, cited several of her comments dating back to 2019 and her recent participation in a protest at the Capitol calling for an end to the war.
Greene accused Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, of “anti-Semitic activity” and “sympathy with terrorist organizations.” The United States has designated Hamas a terrorist organization.
Before Wednesday night’s vote, the Michigan Democrat called Greene’s measure “unbalanced” and “deeply Islamophobic.”
“I am proud to stand in solidarity with Jewish peace advocates who are calling for a ceasefire and an end to violence,” he added. Tlaib wrote in a statement. “I will not be intimidated, I will not be dehumanized and I will not be silenced. I will continue to call for a ceasefire, the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and people arbitrarily detained, and for every American to be brought home.”
Greene’s resolution went so far as to falsely claim that Tlaib led an “insurrection” at the Capitol complex on October 18, when thousands of people gathered in the rotunda of the Cannon Office Building and outside the National Mall to call for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas.
The protest was sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace, a progressive Jewish group that has organized several demonstrations demanding a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
More than 300 people were arrested for protesting in the Capitol complex, but the protest never turned violent as reported. Attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 did.
Tlaib addressed protesters in front of the National Mall. She became emotional while calling for a ceasefire and criticizing President Joe Biden for what she called his unwavering support for Israel, who, according to her, was committing genocide.
“President Biden, not all Americans are with you on this and you need to understand that. We are literally watching people commit genocide and kill the vast majority like this, and we stand by and say nothing. We will remember that, ” Tlaib said.
Hours after Greene introduced her resolution against Tlaib, Democratic Rep. Becca Balint fired back with her own against the Georgia congresswoman — who has her own. history of inflammatory rhetoric.
Balint claimed that Greene had “repeatedly fanned the flames of racism, anti-Semitism, LGBTQ hate speech, Islamophobia, anti-Asian hatred, xenophobia and other forms of hatred” .
A vote to censure a member of Congress confers no power beyond a public condemnation of that member’s behavior. It does not deny privileges to Congress or expel the member. A simple majority is enough for a resolution of censure to be adopted.
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, asked about the resolutions earlier this week, told reporters, “We’ve had a lot of discussions this week, we’ll see what happens.”