OPINION:
Rep. Rashida Tlaib was planning to host an event at the Capitol Visitor Center that by its very name — “Nakba Day,” a mourning of the “catastrophe” called the creation of the Israel state — was anti-Semitic. Then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy came alongside her and sat down beside her and said, no, nope, not gonna happen. He canceled the event and in its place, scheduled a ceremony to honor America’s historic friendship with Israel.
That’s called a smackdown.
If it hadn’t been for the Republican majority — if it hadn’t been for McCarthy’s resolute leadership on this matter — Tlaib, who’s of Palestinian descent, would have been handed the anti-Israel, pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions crowd a photographic moment of carefully framed U.S. political unity against the Jewish state. Think of the propaganda opportunities; right at the U.S. Capitol, for goodness sake!
From The Jerusalem Post: “The ‘Nakba 75 & The Palestinian People’ event was … to remember the ‘catastrophe’ — the meaning of the word Nakba — of Israel’s establishment in 1948. The event invitation deplores ‘Zionist militias’ and the IDF, falsely claiming that they ‘violently expelled approximately three-quarters of all Palestinians.’ The plan was to ‘educate members of Congress and their staff about this history and the ongoing Nakba to which Israel continues to subject Palestinians.’”
That a sitting member of Congress — a tax-paid servant of the American people — would be involved in such an event is travesty enough. But to hold it at the Capitol Visitor Center ratchets the disgust level. That’s akin to a congressional stamp of approval. That’s a statement that America stands for anti-Semitism.
The Palestinian people weren’t randomly targeted by Israel and driven from their lands.
The Palestinian people were part of an armed attack against Israel, with an end game of wiping out the Jewish people.
That Israel won that conflict doesn’t make Palestinian people into victims.
“Tlaib was scheduled to headline the anti-Israel event with several organizations that support the [BDS movement, an anti-Semitic effort to wage economic war on Israel. They include the Jewish Voice for Peace, a ‘radical anti-Israel activist group’ that … has come under fire for glorifying Palestinian terrorism. Other organizers include Engage Action, another BDS supporter that claimed Israel is an ‘apartheid state,’ and Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, an advocacy group that claims Jewish money is infecting politics,” The Washington Free Beacon wrote, of the event.
Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, is a long-time advocate of all-things-Nakba.
In May of 2022, Tlaib, with several cosponsors, including Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, introduced a resolution to recognize the term and campaign, saying in a Twitter post, “The Nakba is well-documented and continues to play out today. We must acknowledge that the humanity of Palestinians is being denied when folks refuse to acknowledge the war crimes and human rights violations in apartheid Israel.”
But her fight is not America’s fight.
Her fight is not on the side of American interests.
“The event in the U.S. Capitol is canceled,” McCarthy tweeted, of Tlaib’s “Nakba” gathering. “Instead, I will host a bipartisan discussion to honor the 75th anniversary of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
Smack.
Down.
America must stand tall for Israel, always. Forces that deny the right of the Jewish people to exist are demonic and evil and have no place in U.S. government.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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