In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Rep. Rashida Tlaib is pressed regarding her support for the antisemitic BDS movement. After suggesting it is not antisemitic but rather a legitimate form of non-violent protest against Israel’s so-called “racist” policies, Tlaib cannot keep up the pretense any longer after being asked about the Jewish people’s right to a state where Israel is now.
Note her answer. She refuses to say she recognizes the Jewish people’s right to a state but rather acknowledges that such a state exists (and she is very deliberate in her answer). She then goes on to complain that Israel only exists to the detriment of the palestinians.
As a reminder, the IHRA working definition of antisemitism encompasses:
Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
Then again, she has already fallen foul of this provision too:
Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
Calling her antisemitic is not a way to silence her. It is calling her out for what she really is.
