Photos from left to right, top to bottom: Ryan Garza, Kent Nishimura, Cody Scanlan, and Tom Hawley ~ USA TODAY NETWORK
WASHINGTON D.C., Nov. 2, 2023 ~ All U.S. House Democrats and 23 House Republicans, including lawmakers from Michigan, voted to kill a censure resolution late Wednesday against Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) regarding her statements on Israel and Palestine.
The resolution was tabled in a 222-186 vote, with Republican Congressmen Bill Huizenga (MI-4), John Moolenaar (MI-2), and Tim Walberg (MI-7) joining the group of House GOP members who killed the measure. The censure resolution was introduced by Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene (GA-14), who accused Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress, of “antisemitic activity” and participating in an “insurrection” in reference to a recent ceasefire protest she spoke at on the U.S. Capitol Complex.
PODCAST:
Nov. 2, 2023 ~ Republican Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-5) talks to Tom Jordan and Kevin Dietz about why he thinks Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) did not violate the First Amendment.
Nov. 2, 2023 ~ Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council and the American Jewish Committee, talks to Guy Gordon, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds about the latest in the Israel-Hamas war, and the House rejecting a motion to censure Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12).
(CONTINUED) A counter-censure against Greene was also dropped Wednesday regarding prior comments she made deemed by many to be racist, antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ+, and supportive of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol rioters. Tlaib has been criticized for making comments following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, claiming she blamed Israel for the attack.
The day after the attack, Tlaib released a statement saying that she grieved “the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day,” and that Israel should dismantle “the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”
In a statement from Walberg after the vote, he said: “As much as I disagree with previous comments made by Rep. Tlaib, First Amendment liberties are for every American, and I will support this constitutional right whether the speaker is on the political left or right and whether they are speaking heinous lies or harsh truths. When we hear evil speech, we should not look to the government for the answer but rather speak up as individuals to denounce it.”
As of Thursday morning, the death toll from Israeli airstrikes has risen to over 9,000 Palestinians, including about 3,800 children. Over 1,400 Israelis died in the attacks from Hamas.
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