Rep. Tlaib is not only being censored, pro-Israel groups are running attack ads against her a year before she runs for re-election

On Tuesday night, the US Housed voted to censure Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, over her support for Palestine and her criticism of Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

This was also a bi-partisan supported vote, with 22 Democrats voting in favor of censorship. In addition, there have been calls from other so-called progressives in Michigan, like Attorney General Dana Nessel who condemned Rep. Tlaib for pro-Palestinian comments she made on social media.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib responded to her censorship with powerful comments that called out her fellow members of Congress and President Biden in this video.

Unfortunately, this is not the only actions being taken against Rep. Tlaib. In a recent article on Jacobin, there is an article about the group Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), which is now running political ads attacking Rep. Tlaib and her stance in US military aid to Israel, the Israeli occupation and the current Israeli assault on Gaza.

In 2022, Rep. Tlaib was challenged by another Democrat during the primaries. The Political Action Committee that was primarily funding her opponent, was the United Democracy Project, which is a pro-Israel group, that spent $26 million in 2022 to support Democrats who were pro-Israel or to defeat Democrats who were critical of Israel.

In 2023, Democratic Majority for Israel is doing the same thing that the United Democracy Project did in 2022, which is to defeat politicians who are critical of Israeli, like Rep. Tlaib. Democratic Majority for Israel created a video to smear Rep. Tlaib, a video that has been airing in Michigan, which is Tlaib’s state. According to Jacobin: 

Presumably, the real point of the ad is to build support for some sort of primary challenge in 2024, although so far no one knows who the challenger would be. But DMFI’s attempt at smearing Tlaib is transparently ridiculous — and Democratic voters are increasingly siding with her actual position.

Here is the attack ad.

What the ad is doing is criticizing Rep. Tlaib for standing up for the rights of Palestinians, along with making unsubstantiated claims about Hamas beheading babies.The media watchdog group, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting in a post from October 20th, a post that challenged the validity of the beheading of babies claim,  stated:

It all started with television reporting by journalist Nicole Zedek, who works for the 24-hour Israeli cable news channel i24, now embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces. In one October 10 report, she said, “I’m talking to some of the soldiers, and they say what they’ve witnessed…babies, their heads cut off.” In another report later that day, she says, “About 40 babies at least were taken out on gurneys,” prompting the host to interject: “Nicole, I have to cut in—that’s such a shocking, jarring statement there…. You’re saying 40 babies, dead babies?” 

Zedek’s reporting was cobbled together into the viral claim that 40 babies were beheaded, despite that, by her own account, she had not seen the bodies herself, and relied solely on Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers as her sources. This might not have mattered as much if she were reporting on a less inflammatory subject, or had a more reliable source, but the IDF is known for misleading journalists. 

The next day, Zedek told a podcast (Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, 10/11/23) that “it’s sickening” that people were scrutinizing her reporting of alleged baby beheadings closely: “We have these soldiers confirming what they’ve seen of the mutilation of these children.”

The claim remains up on i24’s website, as of October 18. Israel’s largest newspaper Ha’aretz (12/2/19) found in a 2019 investigation that i24 had compromised its integrity years earlier by becoming more pro-Netanyahu in order to obtain a broadcast license. It also reputedly has close ties to the Israeli military (Anadolu Ajansi, 10/11/23).

This kind of character assassination is standard in the political world, which is why it is vitally important that we verify claims coming from centers of power or from profit-driven news sources.

It is also disheartening to see the Democrats and Republicans attack one of the most progressive members of Congress, but this is further evidence that neither party will tolerate incumbents or candidates that have a strong connection to community and a deep analysis of systems of power and oppression. As a Michigander, I proudly stand with Rep. Rashida Tlaib!