A slew of elected officials blasted “death to America” chants at a pro-Palestinian rally last week in Dearborn, Michigan, but Rep. Rashida Tlaib wasn’t one of them.
The Democratic lawmaker has not commented publicly on the anti-American rhetoric at the Al-Quds Day event in her district. Ms. Tlaib also refused to answer when asked repeatedly Thursday by a Fox News reporter if she denounced the slogans, saying, “I don’t talk to Fox News.”
The congresswoman’s stiff-arm drew an outraged response from other members of Congress.
“After refusing to condemn Hamas murdering babies in Israel, Rashida Tlaib now won’t condemn ’death to America’ chants,” Rep. Ashley Hinson, Iowa Republican, said on X. “She should not be a member of Congress.”
Sen. Rick Scott, Florida Republican, said Ms. Tlaib “refuses to condemn chants of ’death to America.’ This blatant disrespect to our nation is disgusting from anyone — especially a sitting member of the United States Congress.”
Ms. Tlaib’s lack of response comes in sharp contrast to the widespread condemnation of the “death to America” and “death to Israel” calls at the Al-Quds rally on April 5 outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library.
Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib says she won’t condemn “death to America” chants because Fox News was askingpic.twitter.com/DIUah8S4IR
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 11, 2024
Those repudiating the anti-U.S. bombast included the Michigan Muslim Community Council and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who said that “some attendees were chanting statements that were unacceptable and contrary to the heart of this city.”
“We reject all inflammatory and violent statements made at the gathering,” Mr. Hammoud said in a Monday statement. “Dearborn is a city of proud Americans; the hateful rhetoric heard on Friday does not reflect the opinion of the members of this community.”
Asked whether President Biden would address the anti-American chants, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Tuesday’s press briefing, “I mean, you’re hearing from me. … Obviously, we will condemn any violent rhetoric.”
She added: “Peaceful protest is something that the president has also been very clear that it’s important to give folks space to peacefully protest. But any type of violent rhetoric, we are going to denounce.”
Rep. John James, Michigan Republican, said on X: “Extremist rhetoric like this has gone mainstream on the left, and this is just the most recent example. (Democrats love to say that ’silence is violence,’ but when calls for genocide go out from their base … crickets!)”
At International Al-Quds Day Rally in Dearborn, Michigan Protesters Chant “Death to America!”; Speakers at the Rally: America Is One of the “Rottenest Countries” on Earth; Israel Is ISIS, Nazis, a Cancer pic.twitter.com/B6hMlaKfi5
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) April 7, 2024
The Washington Times contacted Ms. Tlaib’s office for comment.
Video posted by the Middle East Media Research Institute showed a man identified as activist Tarek Bazzi whipping up the crowd by attacking the U.S. and Israel, at one point saying that “the entire system has to go.”
“It’s not Genocide Joe that has to go. It’s the entire system that has to go,” he said. “Any system that would allow such atrocities and such devilry to happen and would support it, such a system does not deserve to exist on God’s Earth. And so when these fools ask us if Israel has the right to exist, the chant ’death to Israel’ has become the most logical chant shouted across the world today.”
He said people have asked: “Why are our protests on the International Day of Quds, why are they so anti-America? Why don’t we just focus more on Israel and not talk about America?”
Mr. Bazzi continued, “Gaza has shown the entire world why these protests are so anti-America, because it’s the United States government that provides the funds for all of the atrocities that we just heard about.”
An estimated 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were slaughtered and about 250 people taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists, prompting Israel to declare war.
Another speaker, Imam Usama Abdulghani, said Ruhollah Khomeini, the late Iranian revolutionary leader, “recognized that Israel is an evil settler colonialist project [and called it a] cancer.”
Stop Antisemitism Now asked on X: “At what point do we determine that people like this are a national security threat?”
Al-Quds Day, which was “originally conceived by … Khomeini, serves as a platform for support for terrorism and other violence against Israel and regularly includes virulent antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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