US House Censures Rashida Tlaib Over Anti-Israel Comments, Defence Of 'River To Sea' Slogan

The United States House of Representatives has cast a vote to censure Michigan's Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, marking a significant disapproval of the Palestinian-American representative defending Hamas terror attack against Israel as “resistance” and defence of anti-semitic "river to sea" slogan.

The vote concluded with a count of 234 in favour to 188 against, following a notable instance where 22 Democrats aligned with Republicans to censure Tlaib, a punishment that is considered just short of being expelled from the House.

The vote follows Tlaib’s accusation that US President Joe Biden was supporting a “genocide” of Palestinians due to his backing for the Israeli offensive against the Hamas terror group.

Tlaib stood by her use of the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," a slogan frequently heard at pro-Palestinian demonstrations and widely interpreted as a call for the elimination of the State of Israel.

She claimed that the phrase was “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.”

According to the US Jewish advocacy group Anti-Defamation League, the slogan "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" is characterized as an antisemitic rallying cry.

The group notes that it has historically been used by "anti-Israel voices, including supporters of terrorist organizations such as Hamas".