Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district, is under fire for her comments regarding Israel and Palestinians. The comments, which were made during an interview with the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery, not only drew criticism from her fellow Democrats, but some have also called for her to apologize.
Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian-American woman to be elected to Congress, was asked about her views on the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her response was to suggest that Palestinians have a legitimate claim to their land and that she refused to “humanize” convictions about the validity of a two-state solution.
Tlaib’s comments have been denounced by pro-Israel lawmakers in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Democratic Representative Ted Deutch of Florida called Tlaib’s comments “reckless & inflammatory” in a tweet. He went on to say that he condemns all anti-Israel sentiment and hopes Tlaib apologizes.
Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), one of the few Jewish members of Congress, also criticized Tlaib’s comments. Gottheimer argued that her comments fail to acknowledge the difficulties inherent in implementing a two-state solution and risks undermining years of diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and other countries.
Tlaib is no stranger to criticism from her party. She has previously faced backlash for her support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement which calls for international corporations to disinvest from Israel, in addition to her criticism of the Israeli Prime Minister.
Despite the criticism, Tlaib has been unapologetic in her views. In response to the news of the criticism, she tweeted that she was “unapologetically passionate” about this issue and stood by her sentiments.
Tlaib’s comments have sparked a heated debate about her views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of the U.S. in it. Though she continues to refuse to apologize, the controversy surrounding her comments remain.