This image was removed due to legal reasons. Republicans have bent themselves completely out of shape over the past day twisting Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s words on Palestine and the Holocaust. But the Democrats, miraculously, might just have enough backbone this time around to put an early end to this vilification of a female Muslim member of Congress. Advertisement After being slammed by Republicans including President Donald Trump, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, and Louisiana Rep. Steve “David Duke without the baggage” Scalise for her comments about the “calming feeling” she experiences when thinking about the ways her Palestinian ancestors sacrificed themselves to help Holocaust survivors, Democratic leadership has stepped in to call out the bad-faith arguments characterizing Tlaib as having felt “calm” about the Holocaust itself. “If you read Rep. Tlaib’s comments, it is clear that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are taking them out of context,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the Hill in an email on Monday. “They must stop, and they owe her an apology.” On Twitter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called upon Trump and House Republicans to apologize to Tlaib for mischaracterizing her comments. Perhaps Democrats have learned their lesson after failing to stand up for Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, another Muslim woman in Congress, after the first time Republicans tried to slander her as being anti-Semitic. Clearly their misstep in not defending Omar sooner is part of the reason why Republicans continued to try to misconstrue her support for Palestine, her stance decrying Islamophobia, and her questioning of foreign influence on the U.S. Advertisement Omar herself also stood up to Cheney and Trump on Monday, calling them out for Islamophobia. “Give it up, we all know you never met a Muslim you didn’t want to vilify!” Omar tweeted at Cheney. Advertisement The Democratic leadership actually learning a valuable lesson about the GOP’s racism, and responding accordingly? Sometimes, it appears, miracles do happen.<doc-sep>Representative Rashida Tlaib. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images The Republican Party, which has a hair-trigger sensitivity to left-wing anti-Semitism as censorious as any social justice warrior, has whipped itself into its latest frenzy over comments by Representative Rashida Tlaib. To understand the genesis of this bizarre controversy, let’s begin with Tlaib’s comment itself: There’s always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people’s passports. And just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away and it was forced on them. I don’t agree at all with Tlaib’s view of the Middle East (she is in favor of the one-state solution, which would almost certainly lead to endless bloodshed) nor do I especially endorse this comment in particular. But what she is saying here is not very hard to understand: While she regrets the establishment of the state of Israel, it did bring a benefit to Jewish refugees. Republicans are twisting the comment in two ways. The first charge is that she says Palestinians somehow willingly donated the land to Jews. “What she’s attempting to say is that she feels proud that the Palestinians opened their arms to victims of the Holocaust and gave up ‘their’ land to do so,” says RedState. “Rashida Tlaib says thinking of the Holocaust provides her a ‘calming feeling,’ shockingly claims Palestinians created ‘safe haven’ for Jews,” blares the headline in the conservative Washington Examiner. Tlaib does say Palestinians “provided” the land for Israel. But she doesn’t say anything about them opening their arms. Indeed, she says later in the interview that “it was forced on them,” making it perfectly clear that she is describing a land transfer that occurred against their wishes. Conservatives are angrily pointing out that Palestinians opposed the Zionist project, which is something Tlaib did not in any way deny. The second, even wilder charge against Tlaib is for supposedly minimizing the evils of the Holocaust. Tlaib “invoked the Holocaust in a positive light, saying she felt a ‘calming feeling’ knowing her ancestors helped ‘create a safe haven for Jews,’” claims the Washington Free Beacon. “There is no justification for the twisted and disgusting comments made by Rashida Tlaib just days after the annual Day of Holocaust Remembrance. More than six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust; there is nothing ‘calming’ about that fact,” says House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who once met with white supremacists and reportedly pitched himself as “David Duke without the baggage.” The claim that Tlaib said the Holocaust itself was “calming” is a pure lie. Tlaib was using the term “calming” in reference to a tragedy, but the tragedy is the loss of Palestinian Arab land. She is arguing that the loss to Palestinians that was offset by a gain for Jews is calming to her. Amazingly, her positive comment about the establishment of the state of Israel is being twisted into a positive comment about the Holocaust. Of course, it is true that the Holocaust is what led to the establishment of Israel. The causal relationship between the two events is an undeniable historical fact, one that Jews frequently observe. Tlaib is repeating the same basic observation that Jews habitually make — out of the darkness comes light. It is particularly Orwellian that they have twisted this element of her statement into some kind of tacit endorsement of Hitlerism.<doc-sep>Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi joined progressive Jewish groups to defend freshman Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib after she faced attacks from President Donald Trump and other Republicans over comments regarding Israel and the Holocaust. Pelosi posted to Twitter on Monday afternoon, calling the attacks on Tlaib "outrageous" and saying that the representative's comments had been misrepresented. She wrote that Trump and Republicans "should apologize to Rep. Tlaib & the American people for their gross misrepresentations." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also commented on the controversy through his official Twitter account. "If you read Rep. @RashidaTlaib's comments, it is clear that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are taking them out of context," he wrote. "They must stop, and they owe her an apology." The comments from the Democratic leaders came after the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats issued an official statement supporting Tlaib and calling on Pelosi and Hoyer to do the same. The group responded to Hoyer's post, thanking him for "speaking out." Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, discussed Israel and the Holocaust during an interview on Yahoo! News' Skullduggery podcast which aired on May 10. She suggested that a one-state solution would be an ideal way to resolve tensions between the Palestinian territorities and the Israeli government. Critics, however, jumped on her comments referencing the Holocaust. "There's kind of a calming feeling I always tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors, Palestinians, who lost their land, and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out," Tlaib said. She continued by explaining she was glad her ancestral homeland had become a safe haven for Jews, but the Palestinians had lost "their human dignity," and the situation needed to be rectified. Republicans’ desperate attempts to smear @RepRashida & misrepresent her comments are outrageous. President @realDonaldTrump & House GOP should apologize to Rep. Tlaib & the American people for their gross misrepresentations. — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 13, 2019 Republican critics lashed out at Tlaib for saying the Holocaust brought on a "calming feeling." Trump also took aim at the progressive congresswoman in a Monday Twitter post. "Democrat Rep. Tlaib is being slammed for her horrible and highly insensitive statement on the Holocaust. She obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people," the president wrote. "Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?" Rebecca Vilkomerson, the executive director of the American-Jewish group Jewish Voice for Peace, criticized the reaction from the president and Republicans. "The most recent attacks on Rep. Rashida Tlaib are from the same playbook as previous attacks on Muslim leaders," Vilkomerson told Newsweek. "They are rooted in not just bad-faith misrepresentation of her words, but also in a distressing underlying Islamophobia. Weaponizing bogus accusations of anti-Semitism to de-legitimize leaders of color is deeply disrespectful to both Jewish and Muslim communities." Yonah Lieberman, a representative for If Not Now, another American-Jewish group, shared similar sentiments in a comment to Newsweek. "Rep. Tlaib made a nuanced comment about how two tragedies are intertwined: that of the Jewish people in Holocaust, and that of the Palestinian people after 1948. There is nothing anti-Semitic in pointing out, as she did, that the creation of a safe haven for Jews in Israel also led to Palestinian suffering," Lieberman said, and accused Republicans of making "false accusations of anti-Semitism" to shut down criticism of Israeli policies. Oh Trump is weaponizing antisemitism to undercut a popular, progressive politician who makes legitimate criticism of Israel? Must be a day of the week ending in y. https://t.co/p4fvGZ661f — IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) May 13, 2019 "It's deeply insulting to the victims of the Holocaust for Republicans to use this historical atrocity to attack those who are currently targeted by white supremacists and nationalists," he said. Tlaib has stood by her comments and explained that they were misconstrued. "It's more than just silencing a member of Congress," she tweeted Monday afternoon. "They are using my faith & ethnic background to promote their hate agenda that leads to more violence. The GOP has no policy agenda, and continues to enable a lawless President who doesn't care about protecting our democracy."<doc-sep>Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) questions Michael Cohen on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., February 27, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Making the click-through worthwhile: Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib ignites the latest installment in the controversy over anti-Semitic rhetoric, Senate Democrats mark Mother’s Day by cheering for government-funded abortion, and Trump bestows a nickname on Mayor Pete. Rashida Tlaib Ignites New Controversy over Anti-Semitism Over the weekend, Yahoo! News published a new episode of the “Skullduggery” podcast, an interview with Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.). After she was asked about her support for a “one-state solution” to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Tlaib noted that the U.S. had recently marked Holocaust Remembrance Day and said she was “humbled” by the fact that her ancestors suffered to create a new home for the Jewish people. More from Tlaib’s remarks: There’s, you know, there’s a kind of a calming feeling, I always tell folks, when I think of the Holocaust and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence, in many ways, had been wiped out. . . . I mean, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that [safe haven], in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away, right? And it was forced on them. And so, when I think about one-state, I think about the fact that, why couldn’t we do it in a better way? House Republicans were quick to criticize Tlaib for her comments. “There is no justification for the twisted and disgusting comments made by Rashida Tlaib just days after the annual Day of Holocaust Remembrance,” said House minority whip Steve Scalise (R., La.) in a statement. “More than six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust; there is nothing ‘calming’ about that fact.” Congresswoman Liz Cheney (Wyo. ), the third-ranking GOP representative, called on House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Democratic majority leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) to “take action” against Tlaib and other members of their caucus for their “vile anti-Semitism.” For her part, Tlaib has refused to back down. Her communications director released a statement on Sunday evening, insisting that the congresswoman hadn’t said the Holocaust brought a calming feeling to her and calling the Republican criticism of her “dangerous.” On Twitter, Tlaib was even less conciliatory: Policing my words, twisting & turning them to ignite vile attacks on me will not work. All of you who are trying to silence me will fail miserably. I will never allow you to take my words out of context to push your racist and hateful agenda. The truth will always win. — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 13, 2019 Though the GOP response was arguably somewhat overblown — Tlaib’s comments were certainly objectionable, but it’s not fair to accuse her of celebrating the Holocaust — the congresswoman’s response is reminiscent of the tactics employed by her fellow Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), who has provoked GOP outrage with her own anti-Semitic rhetoric. It’s a simple tactic: Say whatever you want and, when the criticism comes, insist that your opponents are trying to silence you and are putting you in danger. Advertisement But no one is calling for Tlaib and Omar to be silenced or claiming they shouldn’t exercise their right to free speech. What these Democrats really want is to exercise that right without being challenged. They don’t want freedom of speech, they want freedom from criticism. And to turn the tables on their critics, they dismiss any kind of censure as “dangerous.” Senate Democrats Celebrate Mother’s Day by Celebrating . . . Abortion? Every year, Planned Parenthood — the nation’s largest abortion provider — runs a morbidly ironic fundraising campaign on Mother’s Day, and this year was no exception: Happy Mother's Day! It’s important now more than ever to protect our right to make decisions about our own bodies and our own lives — and that includes being able to decide if and when to become a mother. #MothersDay pic.twitter.com/X4dF8EQeqK — Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) May 12, 2019 But this year, Democratic politicians enthusiastically joined the group in its efforts. In a burst of self-delusion and stunning cognitive dissonance, Senate Democrats took to the floor to celebrate Mother’s Day, using their remarks to celebrate “reproductive care” and defend government funding of the abortion provider. Advertisement “With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it’s important to make clear that we cannot stand idly by while the administration undermines access to . . . reproductive care for women,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.). Senator Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) likewise criticized the Trump administration for trying “to defund health clinics that provide routine care and mammograms,” referencing a new policy that would remove about $50 million in federal funding from Planned Parenthood clinics — which have never actually offered mammograms and where provision of most procedures aside from STD tests and abortion have dropped significantly over the last decade. But falsehoods in support of Planned Parenthood are a staple of Democratic rhetoric. “President Trump is working to sabotage the care moms and their families rely on,” said Senator Patty Murray (D., Wash.). “President Trump is . . . working to strip Title X grants from Planned Parenthood, which serves tens of thousands of women in my home state of Washington each year and millions more nationwide.” Senator Mazie Hirono (D., Hawaii) lamented the “unrelenting attacks on women’s health by Donald Trump and Republicans,” including “continuous efforts to defund Planned Parenthood to taking away Title X funds.” Advertisement Advertisement “An investment in family planning is money well spent because it helps moneys cope with reproductive health planning and can help prevent health crises,” said Senator Chris van Hollen (D., Md. ).<doc-sep>
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday slammed President Donald Trump and Republicans for attacking Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib over recent comments she made on Israel, Palestine, and the Holocaust. Though Tlaib glossed over a complex and widely debated history on the creation of the state of Israel, Trump and GOP lawmakers took her words out of context to accuse her of anti-Semitism. Tlaib in a tweet on Sunday stood by her remarks, saying, "Policing my words, twisting & turning them to ignite vile attacks on me will not work." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan stirred controversy in recent days over comments on Israel, Palestine, and the Holocaust that led to heated accusations of anti-Semitism from Republicans. Tlaib and her supporters — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — have countered that the comments were deliberately taken out of context to distort their meaning. During an interview with Yahoo's "Skullduggery" podcast released on Friday, Tlaib said, "There's kind of a calming feeling, I always tell folks, when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors, Palestinians, who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity. Their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people's passports." "I mean, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time, and I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways," Tlaib added. "But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away, right, and it was forced on them. And so when I think about a one-state, I think about the fact that, why couldn't we do it in a better way?" Tlaib — whose parents immigrated to the US from Palestine — supports a one-state solution to the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel, contrary to decades of US policy calling for a two-state solution. The modern history of Israel in many ways began with the Balfour Declaration in 1917, when the British government called for the establishment of a permanent Jewish state in Palestine after seizing the territory from the Ottomans. The declaration included a stipulation that "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities." This morphed into heated tensions between Arabs and Jewish settlers in Palestine and riots in the streets by the mid-1930s. Following World War II and the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were murdered, the United Nations in 1947 approved a plan for Palestine to be partitioned into a Jewish state and an Arab state. By May 1948, Israel declared independence. That same month, a coalition of forces from neighboring Arab nations invaded, sparking the first conflict in a series of Arab-Israeli wars. Tlaib's comments may have glossed over the complexities of the history of the region, but a number of Republicans parsed her words to accuse her of portraying the Holocaust in a positive light. The freshman lawmaker had specifically referred to the Holocaust as a "tragedy." Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, for example, in a statement said there's "no justification for the twisted and disgusting comments made by Rashida Tlaib ... More than six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust; there is nothing 'calming' about that fact." "Unfortunately, this is far from the first display of heinous anti-Semitic comments coming from Democrat House members this year, and it's clear this is now the norm for their caucus," Scalise added. Similarly, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming also falsely accused Tlaib of saying that thinking of the Holocaust gives her a "calming feeling." President Donald Trump followed their lead in a tweet on Monday, saying that Tlaib "obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people." Later in the day, Pelosi tweeted, "Republicans' desperate attempts to smear @RepRashida & misrepresent her comments are outrageous." Pelosi further called on Trump and Republicans to apologize to Tlaib and the "American people" for their "gross misrepresentations." Alongside fellow freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, Tlaib is one of the first two women Muslim lawmakers in US history to sit in Congress. Omar has also faced strong rebukes from Republicans — and even some Democrats — over her commentary on Israel.