The United States House of Representatives has voted to censure Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, over her comments on the Israel-Hamas war. The House voted 234 to 188 on Tuesday night to censure the three-term Democratic congresswoman from Michigan. Some 22 members of her own party joined Republicans in backing a resolution that claimed Tlaib had been “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel”. The punishment is one step below expulsion and follows a failed censure resolution last week.
This resolution has been a subject of debate on its implications for free speech and disciplinary action of performing wrongful actions.
Tlaib has also repeatedly condemned Hamas’s assault. Ahead of the vote, Tlaib defended her position, saying she would “not be silenced” or allow her words to be distorted. With some progressive Democrat colleagues by her side, she stressed her criticism had always been directed toward the Israeli government and its leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The debate on the censure resolution, introduced by Rich McCormick, a Republican from Georgia, was emotional and intense. Brad Schneider, a Jewish Democrat from Illinois, said he believed it was important to debate what the words meant. “It is nothing else but the call for the destruction of Israel and murder of Jews,” he said. “I will always defend the right to free speech. Tlaib has the right to say whatever she wants.”
It was unclear if Schneider supported the resolution’s final passage. Other Democrats warned of the risks to free speech from the censure and the precedent it would set. Lawmakers who are censured are asked to stand on the floor of the House as the censure resolution is read aloud to them. With the vote, Tlaib will become the second Muslim-American woman in Congress after Ilhan Omar to be formally admonished this year over criticism of Israel. Republicans voted in February to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.