Rashida Tlaib’s claims of genocide in Gaza draw bipartisan ire

House Republicans have introduced two separate measures to censure a Democrat amid bipartisan criticism of her comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – the lone Palestinian American member of the US Congress – has accused President Joe Biden of supporting genocide in Gaza.

Her remarks have been met with fierce pushback from the White House as well as many of her Democratic colleagues.

One Republican lawmaker accused Ms Tlaib of “promoting false narratives”.

The video features clips of Mr Biden stating his support for Israel, followed by clips of the dead and injured in Gaza, and pro-Palestinian protests across the US.

“Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people,” titles at the end of the video state. “The American people won’t forget.”

“Biden, support a ceasefire now, or don’t count on us in 2024,” it adds, referencing the upcoming US presidential election.

The video also features people chanting the slogan “from the river to the sea”, which calls for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel.

Jewish groups like the Anti-Defamation League claim the slogan is a call for the destruction of the state of Israel, and that it is “an anti-Semitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination”.

That interpretation is disputed by some pro-Palestinian activists who say that most people chanting it are calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, not the destruction of Israel itself.

Representing a Michigan district that includes parts of Detroit and Dearborn, Ms Tlaib is one of just three Muslim lawmakers in Congress.

She has long angered party leaders and pro-Israel groups with her unflinching criticism of Israel.

Defending her latest remarks, she said the slogan is “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate”.

But the comment has drawn criticism from all corners, including from Democratic allies in her own state.

In a tweet to Ms Tlaib, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called the use of the phrase “hurtful”.

“I have supported and defended you countless times, even when you have said the indefensible, because I believed you to be a good person. Please retract this cruel and hateful remark,” Ms Nessel wrote.

“This is not how Jews view the phrase ‘from the river to the sea.’ This is not how Hamas views the phrase ‘from the river to the sea,'” he tweeted.

“Hamas uses it as a rallying cry,” Mr Moss added. “And they don’t simply want to displace Jews in Israel. They want Jews dead.”

On Monday, Georgia Republican Rich McCormick introduced a resolution to censure Ms Tlaib for “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel and dangerously promoting false narratives”.

Speaking on the House floor, Mr McCormick said the Michigan Democrat had “doubled down” on “a genocidal call to violence”.

Mr McCormick’s motion came after his fellow Georgian, Marjorie Taylor Greene, re-introduced her own measure against Ms Tlaib, this time “for anti-semitic activity and sympathising with terrorist organisations”.

Ms Greene’s first resolution failed last week, after 23 Republicans sided with Democrats to kill the motion over criticism of its language.

Meanwhile, other progressive Democrats in Congress, like Pramila Jayapal from Washington, declined to side with Ms Tlaib’s comments that President Biden supports “genocide”.

“I am not willing to say that yet,” Ms Jayapal said in an interview with MSNBC. “But I will just tell you that Rashida is not the first person to say this.

“There are credible reports from agencies across the world. And, you know, the United Nations has said we are hurtling towards the genocide of Palestinians.”

Jon Finer, the White House deputy national security advisor, told ABC in an interview on Sunday that the Biden administration disagrees “with some of that messaging and with some of the terms used to describe this conflict”.

“We do not accept their application to this particular war even as we continue to raise our serious concerns about the toll that this is taking on civilian life,” he said.

Ms Tlaib has vowed to keep speaking out, telling the Detroit Free Press in a statement: “My colleagues are much more focused on silencing me − the only Palestinian American voice in Congress − than they are on ending the horrific attacks on civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank right now.

“Instead of attacking me and distorting my words, they should listen to their constituents and call for a ceasefire to save innocent lives,” she said.

More than 1,400 Israelis were killed in Hamas attacks on 7 October. Since then, more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

The Biden administration has so far stopped short of calling for a ceasefire, but has become increasingly cautious in its language on the conflict as it seeks to balance competing interests.

On Monday, Politico said it had obtained a so-called dissent memo, in which State Department staffers demanded that the US support an immediate ceasefire.

It is unclear how many signatories the document has, but it calls on the government to “publicly criticise Israel’s violations of international norms” and “excessive use of force against Palestinians”.

Mr Biden has repeatedly said that he supports Israel’s right to defend itself, while pushing for pauses in fighting to allow humanitarian aid, food and water into Gaza.

His stance has been backed by many in the Democratic Party. But Mr Biden has also received some criticism, especially from Arab-American Democrats and young voters.

A recent poll showed only 17% of Arab-American voters plan to vote for Mr Biden in 2024, a drop from 59% in 2020.