U.S. House censures Rep. Rashida Tlaib for pro-Hamas ‘From the River to the Sea’ remarks
Democrats joined Republicans in passing a censure motion against a Michigan congresswoman.
The House passed a resolution late Tuesday to formally reprimand Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat, for her criticism of Israel. The motion, introduced by Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), garnered support from both sides of the aisle, passing with a 234-188 vote, Politico reported.
McCormick's resolution accused Tlaib of “promoting false narratives” regarding the Palestinian militant group Hamas' actions against Israel and for advocating the elimination of the Israeli state.
The censure comes after Tlaib shared a video chanting a phrase commonly associated with Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by multiple countries, including the United States. The chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is widely interpreted as a call to dismantle the state of Israel and to “free” it of Jews.
This censure represents a successful follow-up to a failed attempt by Republicans the previous week to reprimand Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress and a vocal critic of the Israeli government.
She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire by Israel, which initiated combat operations into the Gaza Strip following the October 7 terrorist attack carried out by Hamas, which saw the largest slaughter of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
During her defense on the House floor, Tlaib argued that her critiques were aimed solely at the Israeli government, not the Israeli people, and warned against conflating criticism of a government with the hatred of Jews.
“The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent,” she insisted.
The resolution against Tlaib is part of a larger pattern of censure motions in the House, including a withdrawn Democrat-led motion to censure Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and another censure introduced against Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) for his remarks comparing “innocent Palestinian civilians” to “innocent Nazi civilians.”
The bipartisan support for Tlaib's censure, including votes from 22 Democrats, indicates a strong House stance against rhetoric deemed harmful to U.S.-Israel relations. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and 70 other Democrats publicly condemned Tlaib's language, emphasizing that the House does not consider her statements acceptable.

Ian Miles Cheong
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