Tlaib claims US voters will make Biden pay for defending ‘genocidal maniac Netanyahu’
‘You are an enabler,’ far-left lawmaker says of president’s backing for arms sales to Israel, opposition to anti-Israel campus encampments and criticism of ICC prosecutor
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Far-left US Rep. Rashida Tlaib warned Sunday that pro-Palestinian Americans would make President Joe Biden’s administration and congressional lawmakers pay for their support for Israel in the upcoming election season.
“It is disgraceful that the Biden administration and my colleagues in Congress continue to smear [anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian students on college campuses] for protesting to save lives — no matter their faith or ethnicity. It is cowardly. But we’re not going to forget in November, are we?” said Tlaib in a speech at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit.
The conference has included speakers affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — a US-designated terror group. Panelists have been heard expressing support for terrorism and other acts of violent “resistance” against Israel, including Hamas’s October 7 onslaught during which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and 252 were taken hostage, mostly civilians.
It was unclear whether attendees infuriated by Biden’s support for Israel would go as far as to vote for former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump, but many have led campaigns urging voters to vote “uncommitted” as a form of protest in Democratic primaries. Some may choose to stay home entirely in what is sure to be a very close election in November.
While Tlaib is a Democrat, her remarks left some ambiguity regarding whether she would be okay with Trump returning to office as a result of her frustration with Biden.
“President Biden, I hope you hear us loud and clear. Attacking the authority of the International Criminal Court and interfering in the legal process is nothing more than an attempt to prevent the genocidal maniac [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials from being held accountable for their crimes against humanity,” Tlaib said to cheers from the large crowd at Sunday’s conference.
Here is Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib's full speech at the People's Conference for Palestine in Detroit, Michigan. pic.twitter.com/1BxNm8lMpJ
— Stu (@thestustustudio) May 26, 2024
“You are an enabler, President Biden,” she shouted, lamenting his support for security assistance to Israel.
She blasted Biden and US lawmakers for being more outraged by the anti-Israel encampments on college campuses than they were by the scenes coming out of Gaza.
Israel’s military campaign aimed at vanquishing Hamas has killed over 35,000 Gazans, according to the Strip’s Hamas-run health authorities, whose numbers cannot be verified, and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 Palestinian fighters in battle, as well as some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
“We’re going to march, and we’re going to move Congress, and we’re going to move the White House. Because they have no other option. We’re not going anywhere,” Tlaib warned, closing her speech with chants of “Free, free Palestine.”
