House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) is defending Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) following her silent protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the House Chamber on Wednesday, saying that she was merely representing the voters in her district.
“Rashida Tlaib is an elected member of Congress,” Jeffries said during a press conference Thursday at the Capitol. “She has a responsibility to her district the same way I have a responsibility to my district.”
Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, caused an uproar during Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday when she held up a small sign accusing the Israeli prime minister of being a “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide.”
The charges arose in protest against Netanyahu’s handling of Israel’s war with Hamas, triggered by the terrorist group’s attack on Israel last October, which led to the deaths of around 1,200 people and the abduction of a further 250, according to the Israeli authorities.
In response, Netanyahu promised to eliminate Hamas, launching military operations in Gaza that led to the mass displacement of Palestinians and a humanitarian crisis that bordering on hunger, according to the United Nations and international aid groups. Almost 40,000 people were killedaccording to the Gaza Ministry of Health, with women and children representing the majority of identified deaths.
In May, the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor recommended charges against several Hamas leaders for their role in the October 7 massacre, and against Netanyahu and his defense minister for their response to those attacks. Among the accusations against Israeli leaders: using hunger as a weapon of war and intentionally targeting civilians.
Netanyahu, in Wednesday’s speech to a joint meeting of Congress, flatly rejected the accusations, calling the starvation accusations “a complete fabrication” and arguing that Israeli forces have made efforts to protect civilians while hunting Hamas militants.
“O [Israeli military] dropped millions of leaflets, sent millions of text messages and hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get Palestinian civilians out of danger,” he said.
Still, there was much collateral damage from Israel’s operations. In addition to the tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths, hundreds of humanitarian workers It is journalists were also killed during the fighting. In April, seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, a food relief group run by celebrity chef José Andrés, were killed in an errant Israeli attack which made headlines around the world.
Tlaib, who represents a significant Muslim population in her district outside Detroit, has been perhaps the most vocal of Netanyahu’s critics on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, she brought to the speech a Palestinian-American who lost 150 members of his family in the war in Gaza. And before the speech, Tlaib issued a statement condemning congressional leaders for bringing the Israeli leader to the Capitol, calling the invitation “utterly shameful.”
“He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,”she said.
Republicans wasted no time attacking Tlaib for her protest during the speech. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) referred to Tlaib as “Iran’s useful idiot,” while Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said she should be “run out of town.”
Tlaib was not the only one to protest Netanyahu’s visit. Dozens of other Democrats, including prominent figures like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), highlighted their opposition by boycotting the speech and instead visiting family members of October 7 hostages still detained in Gaza.
Pelosi later characterized the speech as “by far the worst performance by any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of speaking to the Congress of the United States.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
