Rabbis slam Tlaib: ‘Lies from Nazi Germany do not belong in US Congress’

A leading American rabbinic group promoting religious liberty and human rights likened statements made by a US lawmaker to those published by Nazi propagandist Julius Streicher in the virulently antisemitic ‘Der Sturmer’.

By World Israel News Staff

Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), reacting to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s friendly visit to Israel this week, posted a vicious comment on social media against the Jewish state from her official government account.

It was certainly not the first time that Tlaib, widely considered to be antisemitic, called Israel an “apartheid state,” along with other lies.

This time, on Monday, she tweeted:

“Speaker McCarthy wants to rewrite history but the apartheid state of Israel was born out of violence and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. 75 years later, the Nakba continues to this day.”

Speaker McCarthy wants to rewrite history but the apartheid state of Israel was born out of violence and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

75 years later, the Nakba continues to this day. https://t.co/s5P35dgqv0

— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 1, 2023

In response, Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, issued the following statement:

“The violence at Israel’s formation was the “War of Extermination” declared by the Secretary-General of the Arab League, promising to do to the Jews in the Holy Land what Hitler had done in Europe. And the ethnic cleansing was of Jews from Arab states, over 850,000 driven from their homes, the majority of whom found refuge in Israel.

“By contrast, the Arab population of Israel has grown more than tenfold since 1948,” he noted.

“It is beyond vile to falsely accuse the victims of ethnic cleansing of being its perpetrators. But it is not unprecedented: in Nazi Germany, Julius Streicher described Jews as bacteria feeding upon others. It should not need to be said, but rhetoric from Nazi Germany does not belong in Congress,” Schonfeld concluded.

The Coalition for Jewish Values represents over 2,000 traditional, Orthodox rabbis as the largest rabbinic public policy organization in America.

The Yesha Council, representing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, also condemned Tlaib’s tweet but took a different angle, blaming Twitter CEO Elon Musk for making the social media platform a place where she could bash “the only democracy in the Middle East.”

Thank u @elonmusk for your new “community notes” system. @RepRashida has been spewing anti #Israel lies ever since she was elected. Instead of looking out for the residents of #Michigan’s 12th, she uses her platform to bash the only democracy in the Middle East. Thanks Elon! https://t.co/xvBvXNWSoY

— מועצת יש”ע (@YESHA_council) May 3, 2023

At a reception Monday evening in the White House’s East Room celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which concludes Ramadan, President Joe Biden made special mention of Tlaib and antisemitic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, saying they were “looking beautiful.”

AntisemitismapartheidCoalition for Jewish ValuesJoe BidenKevin McCarthyNazi propagandaRashida TlaibUS-Israel relations