Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Thursday criticized U.S. universities for their response to anti-Israel protests, where protesters have engaged in anti-Semitic behavior on campuses across the country.
“Students across our country, from UM to Vanderbilt to the University of Southern California to Columbia University, are being retaliated against for using their constitutional rights to protest genocide. It’s horrifying,” Tlaib said. wrote X in response to a post by Isra Hirsi, daughter of Representative Ilhan. Omar, D-Min.
Hirschi said he was suspended from Barnard College in New York City hours before he was arrested for protesting against Israel at Columbia University.
Tlaib, who has Palestinian roots, has frequently criticized Israel and its leaders over its war with Hamas following the terrorist group’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on the Israeli community.
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Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib speaks during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza near the Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 18, 2023. On Thursday, she said the university was retaliating against anti-Israel students. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade Rose/File)
“Our country is not only complicit in this genocide, but an active participant,” she wrote Thursday, calling on the Biden administration to end arms deliveries to the Jewish state.
Despite expressing concern about the campus’ response to student protests, Tlaib has refused to condemn the anti-Semitism seen at some rallies where Jewish students have been targeted.
At protests at several universities, anti-Israel supporters are calling for an “intifada” (uprising) and the destruction of the Jewish state.
Tlaib’s comments about Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war sometimes drew criticism from fellow Democrats.
In November, she mentioned the popular phrase “from the river to the sea,” referring to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that surrounds Israel. Jewish organizations claim the phrase is anti-Semitic and a code for eradicating Israel.
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Anti-Israel activists gathered outside Columbia University in New York City on Thursday to protest the university’s stance on Israel. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
“From River to Sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, and hatred,” she wrote. “My work and advocacy have always centered on justice and dignity for all people, regardless of their faith or ethnicity.”
Critics claim that Tlaib’s stance on Israel, her calls for a cease-fire, and her silence on the targeting of Jewish students on college campuses are anti-Semitic.
She was scorned by fellow lawmakers for her comments on the issue days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Tlaib said she was saddened by the loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives, but she then appeared to blame the Israeli government for the unprovoked attack.
Mr. Tlaib has long accused Israel of committing genocide and said Israel targeted hospitals in the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, even though U.S. defense officials say the rockets were fired by terrorists. He has refused to apologize, claiming that he did so.
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“No one will be safe unless we recognize the violent realities of living under siege, occupation and apartheid,” she said. “No person, no child anywhere, should suffer violence or live in fear. We cannot ignore each other’s humanity. As long as we provide billions of dollars in unconditional funding, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
Tlaib’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
